France: The tobacco industry declared more than €800,000 in lobbying in 2023

According to data published in early July by the Ministry of Health, the tobacco industry said 805 992,55€ from expenses relating to activities of influence or representation of interests, i.e. 13% more compared to 2022[1]. In the lead, the manufacturer British American Tobacco which spent nearly €200,000 using the companies Forward Partners, AMC and Ernst and Young Conseil (EY) and on internal remuneration of lobbyists. The EY firm also advises competitor Philip Morris.

According to the public health code, these expenses linked to activities of influence or representation of interests include, among other things, the remuneration of staff employed internally, for all or part of the lobbying activities; purchases of external services from consulting companies specializing in influence or even benefits in kind or in cash, the value of which exceeds €10 intended for parliamentarians, members of government or other personnel whose mission is to prepare decisions relating to to tobacco and nicotine products.

Expenses mainly covered by the main tobacco companies

Among all manufacturers, importers, distributors of tobacco products as well as the companies, professional organizations or associations representing them, six of them declared influence expenditure for a total amount of €805,992.55 euros . These include the Federation of Cigar Manufacturers (FFC – €228,031), British American Tobacco (€199,436.25), the Association of Smoking Tobacco Suppliers (AFTF – €129,600), Philip Morris (€104,060). .86€), the National Company for the Industrial Exploitation of Tobacco and Matches (SEITA – 81,315.94€) and finally JT International France (63,548.50€). Twenty-nine companies declared that they had not incurred any expenditure relating to lobbying activities (the latter being grouped under the FFC or the AFTF).

These amounts also include the remuneration of internal lobbyists for the four tobacco manufacturers who declared a total of eighteen collaborators in 2023.

These declarations differ from those issued by tobacco players in the registers of the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP) in the same year. In December 2023, the ACT-Alliance against tobacco[2] had published a report based on these data and had estimated, adding the 200,000 to 300,000 euros from the Confederation of tobacconists and the 175,000 to 200,000 euros from professional associations, that the lobbying operations had represented, in France , between 1.15 million and 1.7 million euros. The association, however, warned that this amount was probably underestimated, the lobbying sector particularly lending itself to opaque activities. The various tobacco players had also declared twenty-eight employees carrying out lobbying actions.

The influence of the tobacco industry to slow down health policies

These influencing activities were particularly effective for the tobacco industry since no tax measure in favor of the fight against smoking was voted on during the debates on the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) in the National Assembly in October 2023. During the discussions, 61 amendments were tabled by deputies from all sides, of which 53 aimed to reduce or eliminate the planned increases. Tobacco manufacturers also benefit from significant support from the Confederation of tobacconists, which is particularly active in these lobbying actions with parliamentarians.

Several French deputies had also been singled out in 2023 by the National Committee Against Smoking for their proximity to the tobacco industry by submitting amendments favorable to the latter, in particular Joëlle Melin (RN – re-elected on July 7), Caroline Fiat (LFI – Not re-elected), Charles de Courson (center – re-elected), Thibault Bazin (LR – re-elected) and Valérie Bazin-Malgras (LR – Re-elected). According to letter A, RN MP Yoann Gillet (re-elected) had been invited to lunch in June 2023 by Japan Tobacco International. The latter had submitted a bill, pushed by the Confederation, aimed at “better combating the illicit sale of tobacco”. The argument of the increase in illicit trade in tobacco products is an argument used by the tobacco industry to oppose price increase policies[3]-[4]. In this influence strategy, tobacco companies also use the consulting firm KPMG each year. The latter publishes a report on the subject entirely financed by Philip Morris assessing the scale of parallel markets in France. Despite major methodological biases and its scientific invalidity, this report is the subject of media coverage and continues to be authoritative in the media and public debates.[5].

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[1] Transparency of the tobacco industry's influence relationships, Ministry of Labor, Health and Solidarity, published on July 4, 2024, consulted on July 9, 2024

[2] Tobacco industry: more than 1 million euros spent on lobbying to slow down public health policies, ACT, published December 4, 2023, accessed July 9, 2024

[3] Topart F, Béguinot E, Gallopel-Morvan K. Analyzing arguments on tobacco tax increases. Focus on French parliamentary questions and responses, 2000-2020. Tob Induc Dis. 2024 Jan 8;22. doi:10.18332/tid/175618. PMID: 38196511; PMCID: PMC10774864.

[4] Gignéau D, Guillou-Landréat M, Gallopel-Morvan K. Tobacco Tax Increases: A Discourse Analysis of the French Print and Web News Media from 2000 to 2020. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 17;19(22):15152. doi:10.3390/ijerph192215152. PMID: 36429873; PMCID: PMC9691216.

[5] Report, Illicit trade, a tool of disinformation and influence of the tobacco industry, CNCT, June 2023