Philip Morris International does not give up on cigarettes and opens a factory in Tanzania

In an effort to expand the market for smoked cigarettes in low- and middle-income countries, Philip Morris International is promoting tobacco cultivation in Tanzania and is set to open a cigarette factory there soon. This move is in clear contradiction to the tobacco company's claims to contribute to "a smoke-free world."

For several years, Philip Morris International (PMI) has focused its institutional communication on the end of smoked tobacco and has publicly called for "a world without smoke"This tobacco major is the sole financier of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW), to the tune of 400 million US dollars (368 million euros) since 2017. PMI's speech, relayed by FSFW, seeks to convince that the efforts of this cigarette manufacturer are entirely focused on new tobacco and nicotine products (heated tobacco, electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches), presented as reduced-risk products.

PMI's investment plans in tobacco growing and cigarette production in Tanzania show that the manufacturer is not giving up on smoked tobacco products, which it mainly markets to low- and middle-income countries.

Philip Morris returns to Tanzania

PMI has not purchased tobacco from Tanzania since 2017. Following a meeting at the Vatican on February 22, 2024 between Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hasan and PMI Vice President Scott Coutts, PMI is expected to once again become a key player in the Tanzanian tobacco industry.[1]. PMI has in fact announced that it will acquire 12,000 tonnes of tobacco leaves in this country each year for a period of five years.

Tobacco leaf production has been increasing in recent years in Tanzania, which has become Africa's second largest producer by volume. It was 122,000 tonnes for the 2023/2024 season and is expected to reach 200,000 tonnes in 2024/2025, then 300,000 tonnes the following season, according to Tanzanian Minister of Agriculture Hussein Bashe.[2]This policy was actively financed with public funds, to the tune of 11.2 billion Tanzanian shillings (4.6 million euros).

PMI also plans to build a cigarette factory in the city of Morogoro, in partnership with a local player and with the support of the Minister of Agriculture. Work on this factory could begin at the end of 2024. This will allow PMI to continue supplying cigarettes to the African market, considered by cigarette manufacturers to be booming.[3].

Tanzania, under the influence of the tobacco industry

Tanzania ratified the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2007, but remains heavily tied to the tobacco industry. According to the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2023, which tracks the tobacco industry’s extensive interference in public policies in 80 countries, Tanzania is the tenth most influenced by the tobacco industry and its score has deteriorated since 2021.[4]It is notably one of the five countries where the full implementation of the FCTC is most hindered by the tobacco industry.

In 2023, for example, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone at the inauguration of a secondary school funded by Japan Tobacco International (JTI), in the presence of the Japanese ambassador. In 2022, the same Prime Minister travelled to Japan to sign a contract for 30,000 tonnes of tobacco leaves with JTI.

The meetings of the Tanzanian President, Prime Minister and Minister of Industry with representatives of the tobacco industry are a good illustration these interferences. They constitute violations of the provisions associated with Article 5.3 of the FCTC. The latter aims to protect public policies from the tobacco lobby and prohibits any interaction with the tobacco industry that is not strictly necessary for the regulation of products. The place given to the tobacco culture in Tanzania's current economic development is also a symptom of this collusion with the tobacco industry. In 2023, the WHO dedicated World No Tobacco Day to tobacco cultivation, urging producing countries to replace it with food cultures economically viable, this restructuring being part of the obligations of countries that have become Parties to the FCTC treaty.

For its part, PMI's speech on "a world without smoke" seems to be essentially an image strategy, with smoked cigarettes still remaining, as for other cigarette manufacturers, its main source of income. With the exception of North Africa, smoking prevalence remains comparatively modest in many African countries, however the strong population growth in these countries is sufficient to expand the sales volumes of tobacco products.

Keywords: Tanzania, Philip Morris International, tobacco farming, cigarette factory

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[1] Philip Morris International commits to purchase Tanzanian tobacco as production expands, The Citizen, published February 22, 2024, accessed March 6, 2024.

[2] Tanzania ranked 2nd largest producer of Tobacco in Africa, The Citizen, published February 22, 2024, accessed March 6, 2024.

[3] Richardson YC, Philip Morris To Open New Cigarette Factory in Tanzania, Showing It Isn't Serious About Creating a “Smoke-Free Future”, CTFK, published March 4, 2024, accessed March 6, 2024.

[4] Assunta M, Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2023, Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control. Bangkok, Thailand, November 2023, 84 p.