It is a small text with great consequences that provides the Official Journal this weekend. Decree " on the transparency of expenditure linked to activities of influence or representation of interests of manufacturers, importers, distributors of tobacco products and their representatives ", Looks at tobacco lobbies and signs the end of the opacity they enjoy. The legislative text aims to increase transparency on these activities. These lobbies will have to produce an annual report, which will be published on a dedicated website. This also applies to tobacco companies using influencers: they will have to declare this activity.
LOBBYING, A MEANS OF INFLUENCING PUBLIC DECISIONS
By lobbying, the government means any activity "aimed at influencing public decision-making, in particular on the content of a law or a regulatory act by entering into communication with the persons" concerned. Each year, the report must include, for the lobbies themselves, the amount of remuneration of people employed in a tobacco lobbying activity, the total number of paid staff and the proportion of their working time allocated to these activities. .
When a manufacturer, importer or distributor of tobacco uses influencing firms (in other words, lobbies), it will have to provide information about the identity of that company as well as on the annual amount of purchases of missions or services.
Finally, when a member of the government or ministerial cabinet, a parliamentarian, a collaborator or an expert charged with a public mission perceives " benefits in kind or in cash, in any form whatsoever, directly or indirectly, the value of which exceeds € 10 Related to the tobacco industry, this will appear on the website. In fact, tobacco companies and their representatives will also have to declare these gifts ". The report will mention the total annual amount received, the identity of the person or structure that received these benefits, as well as the amount, date and nature of each benefit received by the beneficiary during the year.
A PUBLIC REPORT OF THE SEPTEMBER RETURN
For the 2017 year, this report must be provided by manufacturers, importers, distributors and their representatives before the 1er May by mail. The Minister of Health will make them public on the website " at the latest the 1er September 2017 ". For the other years, the setting on line is fixed at the 1er July. The reports will be available for five years.
In an order of May 19, 2016, these measures were announced. They transpose a European directive into French law and see their concrete application in the latter text. A decree must still be published in order to set up the website, under the legal conditions guaranteed by the CNIL (National Commission for Informatics and Freedoms).
Source : Pourquoidocteur.fr
