Investigation: The tobacco industry's rehabilitation of nicotine

In an investigation conducted by Le Monde and The Investigative Desk, journalists reveal a fundamental strategy of the tobacco industry: the rehabilitation of nicotine[1].

Stéphane Horel (Le Monde), Ties Keyzer, Eva Schram and Harry Karanikas (The Investigative Desk) conducted an investigation into the tobacco industry. In the first part, the journalists investigate the exploitation and promotion of " hypothetical virtues » of nicotine, particularly in protection against Covid-19.

The “nicotine hypothesis” in the fight against Covid

In spring 2020, a first study suggested that smokers would be less likely to develop a symptomatic coronavirus infection. A second study suggested that nicotine could have an action on the virus's entry receptors, and thus, " help save lives ". Quickly, a number of doctors and health experts denounced the methodological weaknesses of these studies, which, not having been subjected to peer review, were still not published in scientific journals. Despite the highly hypothetical and potentially exaggerated nature of a correlation between nicotine and Covid, a number of media outlets and think tanks nevertheless took up the subject. The Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank receiving funding from the tobacco industry, went so far as to state that " Smoking cigarettes saves lives ", when the World Health Organization points out that tobacco is responsible for 8 million deaths per year.

The shift to a nicotine industry

In recent years, the tobacco industry has been making a major shift in its strategy. Faced with the decline in the combustible cigarette market and suffering the setback of a significantly tarnished public image, cigarette manufacturers are now turning to promoting new products, such as heated tobacco. While no independent study has yet demonstrated the slightest toxicity of this new device, the tobacco industry is embarking on a campaign to promote heated tobacco, presented as a " less harmful alternative to cigarettes ". This strategy has two advantages for cigarette manufacturers. First, it allows them to obtain advantageous taxation on heated tobacco, representing 19% of the industry's turnover in 2019. Second, the notion of " risk reduction ", diverted into a marketing strategy, seeks to make the tobacco industry a credible player in public health.

A lobbying campaign in favor of vaping

As journalists show, the electronic cigarette is also the subject of a lobbying campaign. Thus, Dr. Farsalinos, close to the tobacco industry, and " champion of the nicotine hypothesis ", calls on MEPs four times in order to avoid more restrictive regulations on electronic cigarettes. With Clive Bates, a former activist of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), officially independent, Farsalinos goes so far as to request the pure and simple withdrawal of a scientific article, published in the journal New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The article in question highlighted for the first time the carcinogenic nature of electronic cigarettes. If the journal did not accede to this request, it did however publish a letter of support from 40 academics and experts, yet " openly linked " to the tobacco and nicotine industry. At the same time, one of the authors of the article was the target of an online harassment campaign.

Scientists at the heart of a conflict of interest

The authors of the investigation also point out a lack of transparency on the part of scientists, even though they are directly or indirectly linked to the tobacco and nicotine industry. The article reveals in particular the publication of an editorial in favor of the "nicotine hypothesis" in the scientific journal Toxicology Reports, however omitting to mention the existence of a conflict of interest for at least two of the eight co-signatories, including Farsalinos. The latter also did not wish to respond to requests from journalists, considered according to him as a " witch hunt ".

[1] S. Horel, T. Keyzer, E. Schram and H. Karanikas, Small tricks and big maneuvers of the tobacco industry to rehabilitate nicotine , Le Monde, December 19, 2020, (accessed 12/21/2020)