Latin America: Civil society mobilizes to counter the influence of the tobacco industry

A recent study published in the Pan American Journal of Public Health[1] reveals how health advocacy strategies helped curb tobacco industry influence in the regulation of new tobacco and nicotine products in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The study is based on an analysis of 48 public documents published between 2017 and 2022, and a survey conducted between September and October 2022 with 15 advocacy actors from 14 countries in the region, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Jamaica, and Uruguay. These data were cross-referenced to assess the strategies used to promote or strengthen the regulation of new tobacco and nicotine products. The researchers applied the "political dystopia model" to classify instrumental, action-based, and discursive, argument-based, health advocacy strategies in response to tobacco and nicotine industry tactics.

A regional context of confrontation and mobilization

In a context of a rapid expansion of tobacco and nicotine products presented as "less risky" and a proliferation of regulatory circumvention strategies, decision-makers in many countries are finding it difficult to effectively regulate these new measures. Tobacco companies, particularly multinationals such as Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT), are mobilizing considerable resources to exert pressure on regulatory processes worldwide, including in Latin American and Caribbean countries.

In this region, where institutional and technical capacities may be more unevenly distributed, industry interference strategies encounter structured opposition. This study highlights the dynamics of confrontation between, on the one hand, influence campaigns led by the tobacco industry, and, on the other, the coordinated response of civil society actors, public health agencies, researchers, and legal experts.

They have developed a regional response capacity based on monitoring, legal analysis, access to public debate and institutions, as well as the dissemination of a narrative that constitutes a counter-narrative to that of the tobacco industry and is based on public health and the protection of human rights. The strategies, whether legal, media, or political, are anchored in a responsive advocacy model adapted to local realities. They aim to counteract the industry's narratives around innovation, freedom of choice, and harm reduction, by reaffirming the fundamental principles of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Diversified action strategies in the face of aggressive lobbying

The study highlights four main types of instrumental strategies implemented by civil society actors. First, coalition management allowed public health organizations to collaborate with academics, lawyers, clinicians, parents, and even international institutions, with financial support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and technical support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). This approach made it possible to pool resources, share scientific data, and coordinate actions in several countries simultaneously. These activities included media campaigns, public statements, interventions in schools, and institutional dialogues with public authorities.

Information management then involved the sustained production and dissemination of information and awareness-raising materials, such as brochures, technical data sheets, reports, posters, press releases, videos, and social media posts. These tools helped to popularize the health risks associated with new products, denounce their attractive marketing targeting young people, highlight the strategies deployed by the industry to circumvent existing laws, and remind people of the legal obligations arising from the FCTC. This strategy also included training journalists and creating publicly accessible information portals.

Third, access to the political process has manifested itself through direct participation in public consultations, legislative hearings, and inter-ministerial working groups, as well as the provision of technical expertise in drafting legislation. Civil society actors have also played a whistleblower role, flagging industry-influenced legislation, denouncing undeclared lobbying efforts, and demanding transparency measures. In Colombia, they helped halt a bill to deregulate electronic devices. In Brazil, they participated in the mobilization that strengthened Anvisa's role in regulating vaping. In Mexico, they helped ban the importation and marketing of unauthorized nicotine products.

Finally, legal recourse has been strategically mobilized to denounce violations of the law, obtain injunctions, and enforce international obligations. In Argentina, complaints were filed against illicit promotional content broadcast on YouTube. In Uruguay, a decree favorable to tobacco products was suspended thanks to an appeal filed by NGOs. In other countries, litigation has helped consolidate case law on illegal advertising or the unauthorized sale of nicotine-containing products. This judicial strategy is part of a regional dynamic of legal defense of the right to public health in the face of the commercial expansion of the tobacco industry.

Discursive strategies to deconstruct industry rhetoric

Alongside concrete actions, advocacy actors deployed discursive strategies aimed at delegitimizing the tobacco industry's narrative. They emphasized the inherent dangers of new tobacco products, whose long-term effects remain largely unknown, and their high addictive potential, particularly among young people. The "harm reduction" narrative, frequently used by manufacturers to position their products as an alternative to combustible tobacco, was widely questioned. Public health actors emphasized that independent scientific evidence did not support these claims, which were often based on studies funded or conducted by the industry itself.

They also reiterated that the absence of combustion does not mean the absence of danger, and that many products contain nicotine levels much higher than those of traditional cigarettes, with a risk of increased addiction. Furthermore, they refuted the idea that regulatory measures would undermine commercial freedom, emphasizing the superiority of the right to health and the international obligations of States, particularly under the FCTC. This argument was disseminated in the media, public statements, and technical documents presented to decision-makers.

The authors emphasize that the tobacco industry's practices of interfering in tobacco control policies are well documented. This is particularly true with regard to its tactics of dividing and fragmenting stakeholders. Accordingly, they argue, it is essential for public health advocates to rely on concerted action and a coherent argument. This strategic unity is all the more important as the industry redoubles its efforts to relax existing regulatory frameworks. This coordinated approach finds solid legal support in the FCTC and successive resolutions of the Conference of the Parties, which provide a common ground and facilitate the harmonization of regulations and best practices at the regional and international levels.

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE

[1] Crosbie E, Wilson S, Tran B, Albuquerque de Figueiredo B, Severini L, Severini G, et al. Health advocacy strategies to influence policymaking on and regulation of new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products in Latin America and the Caribbean. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2025;49:e31. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2025.31