Understanding the long-term policy influence strategies of the tobacco industry: two contemporary case studies

Abstract

ObjectiveThis paper explores transnational tobacco companies’ (TTCs) long-term policy influence strategies using two case studies, harm reduction and illicit tobacco, to identify lessons for the tobacco control movement and wider efforts to address the commercial determinants of health.MethodsEvidence from a broad combination of sources including leaked documents and findings from over two decades of TTC monitoring were reviewed for each case study and categorised using the Policy Dystopia Model, focusing on the primary discursive strategy and key instrumental (action-based) strategies used.ResultsIn both case studies, TTCs seek to advance their interests by engaging primarily in reputation management, coalition management and information management strategies over the long-term to propagate their over-riding discursive strategy—‘we’ve changed, we are part of the solution’—despite clear evidence from both case studies that this is not the case. These strategies are globally coordinated and attempt primarily to reshape norms towards TTC involvement in tobacco control policy and delivery. Findings also suggest that industry denormalisation and the advent of Article 5.3 have led to the TTCs growing use of increasingly complex and opaque ‘webs of influence’.ConclusionsThe tobacco control community must develop its own proactive long-term strategies which should include industry denormalisation, new ways to fund research that reduce industry control, and improved transparency measures for research and policy. These findings, including TTC adaptations to Article 5.3, also indicate the need for more structural solutions, addressing corporate power and the underlying political and economic system. These lessons can be applied to other unhealthy commodity industries.

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“…This includes the ways in which ideas of personal responsibility are reproduced within broader neoliberal discourses. Our study also complements efforts to study the long-term strategies of corporate actors, such as the tobacco and alcohol industries, in advancing understanding of how harmful industries can shape the underlying norms and beliefs informing policy debates ( Hawkins & Holden, 2014 ; Hird et al, 2022 ).…”

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“…In recent years, there has been prolific research production on the corporate determinants of health, presenting thorough analysis pertaining to the Big Alcohol, Big Tobacco, and Big Food industries [4][5][6][7][8].…”

Tobacco industry messaging around harm: Narrative framing in PMI and BAT press releases and annual reports 2011 to 2021

“…Existing evidence suggests newer products are an important vector in the expansion of harm-reduction messaging of TTCs. This messaging includes discussions on the role of both traditional oral tobacco, including menthol products (17), and newer nicotine products such as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) including e-cigarettes; heated tobacco products and snus-style nicotine pouches (18)(19)(20) in reducing tobaccorelated harms, and has been developed over a number of years (10). Public understanding of associated harms is complicated by the diversification of the tobacco-product landscape (21); which challenges "traditional conceptualizations of smoking and non-smoking" (22), and normalizes tobacco use.…”

“…As well as directly impacting public perceptions of the corporation, the narratives of TNCs, including transnational tobacco companies' (TTCs), permit these institutions to influence health governance agendas at local, national and international levels ( 5 – 7 ). The power of TTCs in shaping public health has been well-documented ( 4 , 8 ), and recent research suggests that their public facing narratives work to obscure schemes of profit maximization ( 9 ) and ensure the long-term survival of the business ( 10 ). As such, these narratives pose a threat to the reduction of social and economic costs of tobacco-related diseases and to the successful implementation of tobacco control policies at a global scale ( 11 , 12 ).…”

“…Recent evidence suggests that tobacco industry language, specifically language relating to heated tobacco products and ENDS, continues to “foster confusion” among consumers ( 23 ) and influences the beliefs of both tobacco users and the public about tobacco-related harms ( 24 – 28 ). The persistence of misleading product-related language is most likely a manifestation of the long term strategy of normalization, which seeks to rebuild credibility to boost sales and profits ( 10 ). Denormalization is threatening to TTCs as it can be effective in reducing smoking initiation and increasing intention to quit ( 29 ).…”