The Observatory on strategies of the tobacco industry (Observatory) was launched in 2016 by the Center for Studies on Tobacco and Health (CETAB) of the National School of Public Health (ENSP) of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) to monitor interference attempts of the tobacco industry in public health policies. The information generated by the Observatory is intended to support the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), in accordance with its measures, which include article 5.3:

"in establishing and implementing their public health policies relating to tobacco control, Parties shall act to protect these policies from the commercial interests and other interests of the tobacco industry, in accordance with national legislation".

The Observatory collects information in the public domain about the strategies of the tobacco industry and its interest groups, using reliable data sources, verified and made available in each published article. This information can be used by a large number of interested parties such as managers and legislators to guide public policies or by students as a source for academic studies on the subject.