In Brazil, industry loses its battle against public health

In Brazil, the sale of flavored tobacco is now definitively banned. On Monday, January 25, 2021, the Brazilian Regional Federal Court reaffirmed the regulatory power of the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA). In accordance with the law and the constitution, flavors and additives in tobacco are therefore prohibited from sale[1].

With its 2012 regulation, ANVISA made Brazil the first country in the world to ban the use of flavors and additives in tobacco products, including menthol. However, the implementation of this pioneering measure was quickly challenged by the tobacco industry and its allies, who then sued the Brazilian agency. In February 2018, the country's highest court, the Supreme Federal Court, already confirmed ANVISA's regulatory power for the first time, and therefore the ban on flavors and additives.[2]Three years later, this second approval by the Brazilian Regional Federal Court marks the end of a legal battle between the tobacco industry and public health, won by the latter.

Flooding Brazil with flavored cigarettes

As the NGO Tobacco Free Kids points out, this latency period has been largely taken advantage of by cigarette manufacturers. Indeed, Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT), while awaiting the verdict, have saturated the Brazilian and South American market with flavored cigarettes. According to a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 80% tobacconists near schools were selling flavored cigarettes with attractive packaging at the time of the survey.[3]. However, all studies show that such practices largely encourage adolescents to start smoking. Thus, it is estimated today that 80% of Brazilian smokers have started consuming flavored tobacco. The share of responsibility in the spread of the industrial epidemic is however far from being assumed by the cigarette manufacturers. In an interview with CNN Brasil Business, Jorge Irriba, president of BAT Brazil, affirms that his company aims for a "better future", before congratulating himself on a 10% increase in tobacco production in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.[4].

Brazil's good results in the fight against smoking

Having been a party to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control since 2006, Brazil has distinguished itself for several years by implementing coherent public policies to combat tobacco use, such as banning smoking in most public places and on public transport, or requiring broad health warnings to be displayed on packets. Above all, Brazil, having ratified the WHO Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products in May 2018, has since adopted a system for tracking and tracing tobacco products that is truly independent of cigarette manufacturers. Although industry interference weakens the effectiveness of health policies, the country has seen a clear improvement in his situationBetween 2016 and 2020, the share of illicit trade in the national market decreased by eight points to reach 34.6%, while the country experienced its lowest level of smokers in more than fifty years (13%).

[1] Brazilian Judges Rule against 'Big Tobacco' and Uphold the Ban on Flavored Tobacco Products, Tobacco Free Kids, January 29, 2021, (accessed 01/01/2021)

[2] Brazil's Highest Court Upholds Ban on Flavored Tobacco Products, Tobacco Free Kids, February 1, 2018, (accessed 01/01/2021)

[3] Technical Report on Flavored Cigarettes at the Point-of-Sale in Latin America, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Tobacco Control, July 2017

[4] BAT Brasil (ex-Souza Cruz) rises in 2020, but it is a cigar no country, CNN Brasil Business, January 14, 2021, (accessed 02/01/2021)

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