Tobacco and nicotine industry: an influence network estimated at over 40 organizations in France

A report by the Contre-Feu alliance, which brings together anti-smoking organizations in France, highlights that at least 40 organizations — companies, professional federations, public affairs firms and consulting bodies — conducted lobbying activities in France between 2024 and 2026 in the interest of the tobacco and nicotine industries.[1]. According to the statements analyzed, these actors would have devoted between 1.3 and 2 million euros to these activities in 2025 and mobilized at least 44 people.

A structured network of influence

The report distinguishes several categories of actors: seven companies manufacturing or marketing tobacco or nicotine products, including Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, Imperial Brands-Seita, Logista and Le Petit Vapoteur; eight professional organizations or sector associations, including the Confederation of Tobacconists, FIVAPE and France Vapotage ; and 25 lobbying or public affairs consulting firms. Contre-Feu also identifies at least four think tanks, consulting firms, or equivalent organizations that produce work favorable to industry positions without necessarily being registered in the register of interest representatives' transparency. These include, in particular: KPMG (which publishes an annual report on the parallel tobacco market that is disputed by independent research), the Molinari Institute, IREF and the Observatory of Behavioral Taxation, structures long identified as third parties by the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT).

The association emphasizes that these figures are based primarily on voluntary declarations, notably to the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP). It therefore believes that the true extent of lobbying activities may be underestimated.

A major asymmetry of resources in favor of the tobacco lobby

Organizations whose activity is exclusively linked to representing the interests of tobacco and nicotine would have declared between 1.3 and 2.02 million euros of lobbying expenditure in 2025, compared to 1.9 to 2.5 million euros in 2024. Tobacco companies alone account for 62.7 million of this expenditure and 52.9 million of the staff mobilized.

For comparison, the report indicates that the advocacy budgets of Contre-Feu and some of its member associations, CNCT and Demain sera non-fumeur (DNF), were between 45,000 and 100,000 euros in 2025. Tobacco companies also reportedly declared 906,043 euros of influence expenditure to the Ministry of Health under their transparency obligation.

A presence in parliamentary debate, particularly in budget discussions

Between 2025 and 2026, the surveyed organizations reportedly declared 128 lobbying activities, compared to 117 in 2024. The report also notes 56 parliamentary questions favorable to the sector's interests among the 96 questions concerning tobacco, nicotine, or e-cigarettes between January 2025 and August 2026, representing 58.3% of parliamentary questions. Since 2024, ten bills deemed favorable to the sector's commercial interests have reportedly been introduced in the National Assembly or the Senate. These bills reportedly focus on the legalization or regulation of new nicotine products, as well as strengthening measures to combat the illicit trade. The report also cites the use of public forums, media campaigns, and meetings with political leaders. He cites as an example the intervention of a former member of parliament, Adrien Morenas, whose office allegedly received more than 60,000 euros from British American Tobacco between 2024 and 2025, according to the company's statements to the Ministry of Health.

Contre-Feu devotes a portion of its report to withdrawal of article 23 from the draft finance bill for 2026. This article proposed taxing vaping liquids based on their nicotine content, banning online sales of vaping products, and creating a licensing system for retail outlets other than tobacconists. According to the report, 22 lobbying activities related to this article were reported to the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP) in 2025, involving more than 15 organizations. FIVAPE and Le Petit Vapoteur each reported at least eight activities, while the Confederation of Tobacconists notably supported the licensing measure, which could grant them preferential market access. FIVAPE reportedly conducted a campaign estimated at €300,000, including contacts with members of parliament, press releases, petitions, advertisements, and demonstrations. The government ultimately withdrew the article during the budget process, and France has not yet implemented any taxation on vaping products or a general licensing system for their sale.

In line with this lobbying described as "« tentacled »"Contre-Feu warns of the absence of measures to strengthen tobacco and nicotine regulations in the initial texts of the draft finance bill (PLF) and the draft social security financing bill (PLFSS) for 2027.

Recommendations for transparency and independence in public health policies

Contre-Feu therefore recommends strengthening the application of Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which requires Parties to protect their public health policies from the influence of the tobacco industry's commercial interests. The need to implement this general obligation is all the more important given that The phenomenon of interference has intensified in recent years.. The association proposes, in particular, to limit meetings with industry representatives to the bare minimum and to ensure transparency and traceability.

She also advocates extending these obligations to nicotine stakeholders, distributors and retailers, including the Confederation of Tobacconists, as well as e-cigarette organizations such as FIVAPE and France Vapotage. These obligations should be enshrined in the Public Health Code, as is already the case in Article L. 3512-7 for the transparency requirements imposed on tobacco companies, and should also be included in the 2028-2032 National Tobacco Control Program.

Finally, Contre-Feu announces that it has contacted the HATVP so that it can verify the consistency of the declarations submitted by the organizations concerned and, if necessary, initiate the procedures provided for by law.

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1]More than 40 organizations and €2 million mobilized by 2025: the sprawling lobbying of the nicotine industry to hinder regulations, Counter-Fire, published on October 21, 2026, accessed the same day

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