Altria seeks FDA help to promote its new tobacco products

In a letter sent to the FDA[1], the manufacturer wants the US agency to support its advertising campaign to inform Americans that smoking, not nicotine, causes cancer and thus encourage them to switch to "reduced-risk" products. According to Altria, such a campaign would help the FDA in its fight to reduce the tobacco epidemic and would benefit public health by encouraging more smokers to use non-combustible products. This campaign Moving beyond smoking (Go Beyond Smoking) is part of an overall strategy to develop a whole range of new nicotine products.

The vast majority of Altria's revenue currently comes from the sale of traditional cigarettes and cigars, but with the decline in the consumption of manufactured cigarettes, the company is in the midst of a transition to secure its future. This adaptation by the manufacturer, followed by other major firms in the sector, is subject to FDA regulation. Indeed, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act), enacted on June 22, 2009, gives the FDA the authority to issue opinions on the risks of all tobacco and nicotine products and also to regulate their manufacture, distribution, and marketing.

A tobacco industry strategy to slow smoking reduction

By lobbying the FDA to change the image of nicotine, Altria has several goals. The company is working to counter any regulation of its new products. By adopting a "harm reduction" narrative, tobacco manufacturers are developing an image policy and seeking exemptions for their new products. These exemptions would, in turn, make it easier to renormalize tobacco consumption and increase the social acceptability of all its products.

To achieve this, Altria and other manufacturers are deploying numerous public relations activities, positioning themselves as "partners" in the fight against the tobacco epidemic, legitimate to participate in the debate and decision-making. Given the current seriously damaged image among the general public, the tobacco industry, and Altria in particular, is resorting to third party to convey its messages and defend its interests. Experts and stakeholders in the medical and scientific spheres are particularly targeted. This approach of using prestigious personalities or structures is not new. The challenge is to succeed in manipulating the scientific data and the state of knowledge that constitute the basis on which public decision-makers develop their policies.

Finally, by creating doubt and uncertainty around tobacco control measures, the industry is simultaneously attempting to reduce public support for the regulatory measures in force and/or being considered for these new products.