He changed his stance afterward, when sales increased. While many local activists who have waged Central Point-type campaigns have grown increasingly aware over the last decade or so of the tobacco industry's efforts to expand into overseas markets, most have not seen any way to plug into international issues. For example, Pat Hale, the training manager for the tobacco prevention and education program in Oregon works with a Bulgarian group, Women Against Tobacco. Together, they are doing school surveys, collecting data on students' smoking rates and exposure to second-hand smoke. They hope the comparative data will help spur stronger regulations in both places, especially Bulgaria, where smoking restrictions are minimal.
Organizers believe the partnership system helps activists in all countries.
Developing country partners benefit from access to information and some resource support. The partnerships should also serve to heighten the U.S. groups' interest in U.S. government policy on international tobacco issues. Although smoking rates have remained relatively flat, overall tobacco consumption in the United States has declined in recent years. One consequence of the increasingly negative image of the tobacco industry, as well as the Clinton administration's belief that being anti-tobacco was a winning national issue, was that the once bipartisan tobacco industry has turned increasingly Republican. Most Democrats no longer want to be saddled with a tobacco industry affiliation.