Donation of 500,000 packages to the Ukrainian army: PMI's communication operation

According to a Ukrainian MP, Philip Morris International has donated 500,000 packs of cigarettes to the Ukrainian army as part of its ongoing war with Russia. This PR stunt, designed to boost the manufacturer's image, can also be interpreted as a desire to normalize and maintain the tobacco epidemic, including in conflict zones.[1]The manufacturer may also want to make people forget its hesitations about leaving the lucrative and strategic Russian market.

The Russian military's invasion of Ukraine was quickly seen by the tobacco industry as a communications opportunity. In a March press release, Philip Morris International expressed its solidarity with the "suffering men, women, and children," while announcing the donation of essential supplies, including medical equipment.[2].

Tobacco is not a basic necessity

The donation of half a million packs of cigarettes to Ukrainian soldiers, however, suggests that tobacco belongs to the category of basic necessities. However, due to its uselessness and harmfulness, the consumption of tobacco products is diametrically opposed to the notion of vital necessity. This strategy is, however, systematically mobilized by the tobacco industry. Thus, between 1947 and 1951, of the thirteen billion dollars of goods shipped to Europe under the Marshall Plan, one billion consisted of tobacco products. Without any request from European countries, nearly a third of food-related funding was thus allocated to tobacco.[3]More recently, the tobacco industry has also increased pressure on public decision-makers around the world to have its products considered essential during periods of confinement due to the Covid health crisis.

Maintaining and spreading Ukrainian tobacco addiction

Given the low production cost of tobacco products, Philip Morris's donation to the Ukrainian army will potentially pay for itself quickly. By providing tobacco for free, the manufacturer ensures continued consumption, and therefore the spread of the tobacco epidemic. Facilitating access to tobacco products, by encouraging consumption, ensures the manufacturer can perpetuate the mechanisms of addiction to its products, and therefore maintain a sufficient number of consumers, or even recruit new ones. In Ukraine, smoking is the cause of a health disaster, causing the premature deaths of more than 125,000 people per year.[4].

FT

[1] Washington Examiner, Philip Morris gifts Ukrainian army 500,000 packs of cigarettes: Report, 03/31/2022, (accessed 04/04/2022)

[2] Philip Morris International, Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) Suspends Investment and Activates Plans to Scale Down Manufacturing Operations in the Russian Federation, 09/03/2022, (accessed 04/04/2022)

[3] Robert Proctor, Golden Holocaust, The Tobacco Industry Conspiracy, 2011

[4] Tobacco Atlas, Ukraine, (accessed 04/04/2022)