Tobacco Industry watch

 
 

 

The Tobacco Industry (TI): "Unlawful, deceptive and lethal" 
(US Supreme Court ruling) 

ASH wants the tobacco industry to take the same level of responsibility other businesses are expected to take for the safety and wellbeing of their consumers and the public - especially young people. 

Below are links to just some of what they've been doing instead. 

WHO ARE THEY? - the companies and their associated entities and individuals
WHERE ARE THEY? - their worldwide "Cigarette Citadels" mapped at Stanford Uni 
WHAT ARE THEY UP TO LATELY? - monitoring the industry month by month
TOBACCO INDUSTRY NEWS
- latest on the industry's misdeeds
TOBACCO ADVERTISING, PROMOTION & SPONSORSHIP (TAPS) - latest tricks
INTERFERENCE IN PUBLIC POLICY - and how to stop it
TOBACCO INDUSTRY MYTHS - spreading misinformation 
TOBACCO INDUSTRY BACKGROUND - past history and some leading figures
TOBACCO INDUSTRY DOCUMENTS - Legacy library, Uni of San Francisco
TAKING ACTION - resources and what you can do about it

PACK AND PROMOTION WATCH
Plain packaging - see the TI's history of opposition to ending their packet advertising. 

Big Tobacco: a story of lies, fraud and deceit 
Great comic strip by "Gus" for our partner organisation the Australian Council on Smoking and Health. Tells the story of the tobacco industry in a nutshell - 
with some real quotes from industry leaders. 

What's a life worth? The truth about tobacco
Snappy 3min video from American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation 
outlines the global tobacco burden and devious tactics 
employed by the tobacco industry to addict new users - mostly children. 
Find out what the industry makes per tobacco death. 

WHO ARE THEY?  
  
Their products kill 5 million a year - so who are these people? Not just the three big companies but also their many stakeholders and supporters.

WHAT ARE THEY UP TO LATELY?

Here are our latest monthly reporting charts of TI tactics in Australia - their misleading PR, political lobbying, intimidation, front groups, promotional ploys and more. Please contact us  with any suggested additions or changes.  Charts are in pdf (from Sept 2011)

April 2013 (latest)
March 2013   February 2013  Dec 2012 - Jan 2013  November 2012   October 2012   September 2012  
Aug 2012  
July 2012 
June 2012   May 2012  Apr 2012   Mar 2012   Feb 2012   Dec 2011-Jan 2012  
Nov 2011
  
Oct 2011   Sept 2011   Aug 2011  July 2011   June 2011   May 2011   Apr 2011  
Mar 2011
  
Feb 2011 
Dec 2010 - Jan 2011   Nov 2010   Oct 2010   Sept 2010   Aug 2010


TOBACCO INDUSTRY NEWS  

Read the latest on the industry's many misdeeds, recent court cases, reports, internal documents and more. Some lowlights include:

  • misinforming governments and the public 
  • hiding health harm
  • duping smokers with false suggestions of "safer" products
  • using marketing strategies known to be attractive to children
  • using front groups and associated entities  


TOBACCO ADVERTISING, PROMOTION AND SPONSORSHIP 
("TAPS") 
As one door closes, the tobacco industry tries to get around or under it - or forces another one wider open. See some of the tricky new marketing and promotional manoeuvres by tobacco companies to slip past those inconvenient advertising laws.

TOBACCO ADVERTISING WATCH
Tobacco advertising is not dead -
there are many loopholes.  Use this  checklist  to identify and monitor tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) in your area. You can also share any new examples of TAPS by uploading them onto this global  Facebook page 

 

INTERFERENCE IN PUBLIC POLICY       More at  TOBACCO INDUSTRY NEWS 

The tobacco industry has a long history of interfering in public health policy - blocking, weakening, delaying and undermining measures to reduce smoking. WHO report 2009 Under Article 5.3  of the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), Australia has an obligation at all levels of government to end this interference.  
WHO has chosen "Tobacco Industry Interference" as the theme of World No Tobacco Day, May 31 2012. The campaign will focus on the need to expose and counter the industry's brazen and increasingly aggressive attempts to undermine the FCTC because of the serious danger these tactics pose to public health. WHO site

Redefining "proof"
2011 paper
in American Journal of Public Health, "Inventing Conflicts of Interest: A History of Tobacco Industry Tactics", shows how, over many years and with great care, tobacco industry PR experts have shaped the way scientists, policymakers, media and the public, define scientific "proof".  Full paper   

Tobacco tactics in low-income countries
2012 paper in Cancer Causes and Control,  "The vector of the tobacco epidemic: tobacco industry practices in low and middle-income countries". Reviews literature including industry documents to show how tobacco companies use similar tactics in low-middle income countries as they use in richer countries.   Full paper


WHAT CAN BE DONE TO STOP TOBACCO INDUSTRY INTERFERENCE?

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)
World Health Organisation treaty - see Article 5.3. Australia, among hundreds of countries, has obligations to prevent tobacco industry interference in policy-making.  
Implementation guide  and summary   

FCTC Article 5.3 toolkit
Factsheets for governments give step-by-step guidance on key legislative and policy elements of preventing tobacco industry interference in health policies under Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention (above). From IUATLD (International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease). 



BUSTING TOBACCO INDUSTRY MYTHS
Tobacco companies and their allies continue to muddy the waters: undermining research, covering up, and fostering myths about smoking, secondhand smoke and popular measures to counter it. Links to useful sites that answer these myths. 

 

TOBACCO INDUSTRY BACKGROUND  
History, some past and present leading figures.





TAKING ACTION

Useful resources:

ASH Australia's Countering Tobacco Tactics: a guide to identifying, monitoring and preventing tobacco industry interference in public health
Step by step guide (2010) to the industry's current tactics in Australia and how to expose and counter them. 

The Golden Holocaust  by Robert Proctor (2012)
Says the blurb from Uni of California:  The cigarette is the deadliest artefact in the history of human civilization.... also one of the most beguiling, thanks to more than a century of manipulation at the hands of tobacco industry chemists.... Proctor draws on reams of formerly-secret industry documents to explore how the cigarette came to be the most widely-used drug on the planet.... paints a harrowing picture of tobacco manufacturers conspiring to block the recognition of tobacco-cancer hazards, even as they ensnare legions of scientists and politicians in a web of denial.

Rebutting the tobacco industry, winning smokefree air
Global Smokefree Partnership (2009) status report on tobacco industry interference to hold back and undermine public health legislation. Details the industry’s worldwide tactics of fear and misinformation, vs the positive impact of governments, organisations and individuals who are taking them on - with the backing of the FCTC treaty. 

What governments can do:

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)
World Health Organisation treaty to address all areas of tobacco impacts. Australia, among hundreds of countries, has obligations to prevent tobacco industry interference in policy-making.  
See implementation guide  and summary   

FCTC Article 5.3 toolkit
Good set of factsheets for governments, giving step-by-step guidance on key legislative and policy elements of preventing tobacco industry interference in health policies under Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention (see above). From IUATLD (International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease). 

Tips for taking tobacco action

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Page last updated 14/5/13