Tobacco industry takes advantage of COVID-19 to restore its image

According to STOP (Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products), the global tobacco industry watchdog, tobacco companies are currently trying to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to repair their reputations.[1], and to increase their tobacco sales, while smokers affected by the Corona Virus would be more likely to develop severe forms of the disease. The tobacco industry is now seeking to undermine public health messages urging smokers to quit. Members of the Smoke-Free World Foundation, a front group affiliated with Philip Morris International (PMI), have argued, against any convincing scientific evidence, that a transition to other products in their range, namely e-cigarettes, would mitigate the health consequences of future respiratory viruses, that nicotine allows the reduction of severe forms of Corona Virus, and finally that the link between smoking and CoVID-19 is "weak and inconclusive". Tobacco companies have also distinguished themselves by adapting their product offerings to the pandemic. In Ukraine, for example, online advertisements have been reported, offering free deliveries of heated tobacco brands from British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris. In the same way, the tobacco industry is taking advantage of the crisis to increase pressure on regulations. In Italy, Canada and the United Kingdom, lobbyists are pushing governments to keep vape shops open during the lockdown, while Altria (Marlboro) has asked the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for an extension of its authorization to continue selling its e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. As usual, the tobacco industry, which continues its transformation into the nicotine industry, is trying to position itself as a responsible social actor, by seeking to establish partnerships with governments. For example, ITC Limited, India's largest tobacco company, has set up a COVID contingency fund to collaborate with local authorities in managing the pandemic, while Philip Morris International has donated €1 million to the Red Cross in Romania to finance testing kits as well as protective and ventilation equipment. These different examples perfectly illustrate the overall strategy of the tobacco industry, which wherever it can, seeks to undermine the progress made in public health, by producing and disseminating false information, seeking to influence public decision-makers by all means, while seeking to pass itself off as a credible, legitimate, and responsible actor. In this regard, it is important to recall the facts: Tobacco companies are directly responsible for eight million deaths per year worldwide and smokers are paying a heavy price in the mortality of the current Covid 19 epidemic. ©Tobacco Free Generation

---

[1] Expose Tobacco, " Industry watchdog warns governments of tobacco industry attempts to take advantage of COVID-19 pandemic », 07/04/2020 https://exposetobacco.org/news/covid-statement/ ©National Committee Against Smoking |