Tobacco lobbying and propaganda represents a major obstacle in adopting a modern - more health oriented legislation in many EU Member States. Despite well-established requirements for government officials to report meetings with lobbyist, the general public is often unaware of them taking place. Also, while national governments often can’t afford to oppose the tobacco manufacturers directly in the media during the ongoing legislation process, Non-governmental organizations can openly oppose the false claims made by 3rd parties – tobacco proxies (individuals, groups, organizations) which usually the tobacco companies use to hide their direct involvement because of a broken public image. Therefore, the role of Non-governmental organizations is an important one. NGOs and our grassroots members are inherently good at pooling resources, disseminating knowledge and linking up together in coalitions (national and EU-wide) which represent a strong united front and are necessary to counteract the “deep pockets” of the Tobacco Industry and its huge propaganda machine in key moments of the legislation process. This presentation will focus on how to successfully organize a supporting media campaign, on the challenges encountered when raising public health awareness, on the importance of mobilizing the general public, on the lessons learned during many years of struggle against the tobacco industry from a NGO perspective.