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  5. Tobacco industry interference

Tobacco industry interference

Tobacco industry interference in Scotland

Timeline of tobacco industry challenges to Scottish tobacco control legislation
(pdf, 42kb, updated 12 December 2012)

The ASH Scotland report: The unwelcome guest: how Scotland invited the tobacco industry to smoke outside (pdf, 292kb) exposes the tactics used by the Tobacco Industry and its associates to oppose smoke-free legislation in Scotland.  Also see our follow-up reports (2007)on achieving Scotland's smoke-free success, (pdf, 1.16Mb) and Counter Measures (2010) (pdf, 2.84Mb).



Tobacco industry tactics to interfere with tobacco control


Cancer Research UK video on tobacco industry tactics (above). November 2013

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler commented that the tobacco industry in the United States  “survives, and profits, from selling a highly addictive product which causes diseases that lead to a staggering number of deaths per year, an immeasurable amount of human suffering and economic loss, and a profound burden on our national health care system,” and that the industry “marketed and sold their lethal product with zeal, with deception, with a single-minded focus on their financial success, and without regard for the human tragedy or social costs that success exacted."
United States v. Philip Morris (D.O.J. Lawsuit) 2006 [Accessed 31 August 2012]

Also see the ASH (USA) Tobacco Marketing Map which tracks the tobacco industry and its marketing schemes under the guise of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes across the globe. No amount of charitable giving by the industry can make up for the fact that they profit considerably from costly addictions, painful diseases, and countless deaths that all result from their unnecessary products and existence.

In its efforts to derail or weaken strong tobacco control policies, tobacco industry interference takes many forms.  These include (source World Health Organisation):

1. Manoeuvering to hijack the political and legislative process

The tobacco industry has been highly resourceful in undermining governments’ efforts to protect public health. Tobacco companies have become expert in creating and exploiting legislative loopholes and manoeuvering with lobbyists to effectively influence law-making.

2. Exaggerating the economic importance of the industry

Employment, tax contributions and other economic indicators are frequently used by the tobacco industry to demonstrate their contribution to the economy of a country. But the figures provided by the companies do not only exaggerate the economic importance of the industry but also ignore the social, environmental and health costs caused by tobacco and tobacco products.

3. Manipulating public opinion to gain the appearance of respectability

Tobacco kills – but the tobacco industry has developed a range of tricks to manipulate public opinion. By investing funds in youth programmes or unrelated social causes, such as disaster relief and nature conservation groups, tobacco companies shift the focus away from their deadly products and gain a veneer of social respectability.

4. Fabricating support through front groups

Due to its isolation, the tobacco industry needs to simulate support. The tobacco industry creates and uses phony “grassroots” groups that support its interests. Typically, these groups focus on individual freedom, the alleged economic damage caused by smoke-free policies or feigned controversy about second-hand smoke.

5. Discrediting proven science

Sowing the seeds of doubt on the scientific evidence about the harm caused by tobacco and second-hand smoke is a popular tactic used by the tobacco industry. In order to weaken tobacco control legislation, the industry sparks controversy to distract and confuse the public and governments.

6. Intimidating governments with litigation or the threat of litigation

Threats of legal action are a popular tactic to intimidate governments that introduce effective tobacco control policies. As domestic courts, based on the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), increasingly rule against the tobacco industry in cases brought against governments, the companies use bilateral and trade agreements to pursue states in international courts. The aim: to deter other countries from introducing effective tobacco control measures.

Countries that are Parties to the WHO FCTC have committed themselves to overcoming tobacco industry interference by implementing Article 5.3 of the treaty, which states that “In setting and implementing their public health policies with respect to tobacco control, Parties shall act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law.” All the Parties to the WHO FCTC have agreed on ways to stop tobacco industry interference based on four principles:

  • there is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry’s interests and public health policy interests
  • Parties, when dealing with the tobacco industry or those working to further its interests, should be accountable and transparent
  • Parties should require the tobacco industry and those working to further its interests to operate and act in a manner that is accountable and transparent
  • because their products are lethal, the tobacco industry should not be granted incentives to establish or run their businesses.


Additional resources:

  • NEW: 24 FEB 2014
    How Does the Tobacco Industry Attempt to Influence Marketing Regulations? A Systematic Review

    Savell E, Gilmore AB, Fooks G (2014) How Does the Tobacco Industry Attempt to Influence Marketing Regulations? A Systematic Review. PLoS ONE 9(2): e87389. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0087389
    Tobacco industry political activity is far more diverse than suggested by existing taxonomies of corporate political activity. Tactics and arguments are repeated across jurisdictions, suggesting that the taxonomies of industry tactics and arguments developed in this paper are generalisable to multiple jurisdictions and can be used to predict industry activity.

  • Understanding corporations to inform public health policy: the example of tobacco industry interests in harm reduction and reduced risk products.Anna B Gilmore and Silvy Peeters. The Lancet, Volume 382, Special Issue, Page S14, 29 November 2013 (institutional login needed)
    The main study limitation is that the document collections might not fully represent transnational tobacco company (TTC) interests in Europe because they mainly cover BAT and PMI. Nevertheless, the findings suggest that TTCs' harm reduction discourse signals a tactical adaptation to policy change rather than a genuine commitment to reducing harm. Public health must, therefore, continue to protect policies from TTC influence. TTCs' historic interest in smokeless tobacco might apply to nicotine-containing products. Furthermore, having eliminated any competitive threat from snus, TTCs are now investing in e-cigarettes, which needs careful monitoring because TTC control of this market would serve to maintain the dominance of the cigarette.

  • Corporate Europe Observatory, 08 July 2013
    A new report sheds some light on the extent and scope of tobacco lobbying in the Parliament. The tobacco industry has a long record of manipulation and disinformation, which has resulted in UN law intended to minimise interactions between the tobacco industry and public-health policy makers, as well as to ensure their transparency – the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Available from:http://corporateeurope.org/news/tobacco-lobbyists-all-fired-ahead-key-vote
  • 2012 Global shadow report Tobacco Watch: Monitoring Countries’ Performance on the Global Treaty, documents various industry activities in numerous countries that are Parties to the first global health treaty, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
  • TobaccoTactics (launched June 2012) aims to provide up-to-date information on the Tobacco Industry, its allies or those promoting a pro-tobacco agenda. The website explores how the industry influences and often distorts public health debates, using a whole raft of lobbying and public relations tactics.
  • Keep smiling, no one's going to die. An analysis of internal documents from the tobacco industry's main UK advertising agencies.  Gerard Hastings and Lynn MacFadyen. Centre for Tobacco Control Research, 2000.
    Hastings & MacFadyen summarise their analysis: 'One is left with the inescapable conclusion, that given the greatest threat to public health this country has faced since the great plague, these people are having fun, making money and show absolutely no concern for the consequences of their actions.'
  • Tobacco explained, the truth about the tobacco industry....in its own words.
    Clive Bates and Andy Rowell, ASH London, 1998.
  • Tobacco industry documents - one stop shop at Tobacco.org with links to key collections of tobacco industry documents and reports about them
  • Tobacco's dirty tricks - resources from Americans for Non-Smokers' Rights
  • Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler’s Final Opinion: Summary of Findings Against the Tobacco Industry
  • Mandal, S et al. Block, amend, delay: tobacco industry efforts to influence the European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive (2001/37/EC) (May 2012) (pdf)
  • Weishaar H, Collin J, Smith K, Grüning T, Mandal S, et al. (2012) Global Health Governance and the Commercial Sector: A Documentary Analysis of Tobacco Company Strategies to Influence the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. PLoS Med 9(6): e1001249. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001249
Key topics Economics Inequalities Stopping smoking Second-hand smoke Tobacco control legislation in Scotland Illicit tobacco Tobacco industry interference Tobacco use in pregnancy Global tobacco control Tobacco endgames
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