UK: Coalition urges MPs to reject gifts from tobacco, alcohol and junk food companies

A report The UK's Commercial Determinants of Health Report, developed by Action on Smoking and Health, Obesity Health Alliance and Alcohol Health Alliance, highlights common strategies used by the tobacco, alcohol and junk food industries to delay and undermine public health policies in order to protect their commercial interests.[1].

The health coalition is calling on British Prime Minister Keir Starmerde to restore the integrity of public life by prohibiting these companies from putting pressure on MPs by offering them gifts that could expose them to conflicts of interest.

Commercial determinants of health refer to the way in which commercial actors, their products and their practices influence health. Some of these industries: tobacco, alcohol, agri-food or even fossil fuels deploy numerous strategies to hinder the implementation of policies relating to non-communicable diseases (cancers, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc.) caused by their products.

Overall, 13% of UK adults smoke, 21% drink more than the recommended alcohol intake and 64% are overweight or obese.[2].

Similar tactics for these industries

One common tactic these companies use is to deny or downplay evidence of the risks of consuming their products, or to challenge their addictive nature or even misrepresent the scientific data behind their products. For example, Coca-Cola funded a research institute at the University of Colorado to persuade people to focus on exercise, not calorie intake, as part of their weight-loss strategies, even though exercise has been shown to have little impact on weight compared to diet.

These industries also tend to position themselves as players who are part of the solution to combat the consumption of these products. For several years, tobacco manufacturers have been marketing new tobacco and nicotine products (heated tobacco, vaping products, nicotine pouches) that they actively promote as reduced-risk products. Their strategy is to amalgamate them in order to confuse consumers and decision-makers even though the risks associated with these products are simply modified.

These industries also use threats of litigation to delay policies aimed at reducing these risks. This has included the plain-packaging bus for cigarettes and the minimum unit price for alcohol. To disseminate arguments that are favorable to them, they do not hesitate to distort scientific evidence, and to use front groups to present their positions. The tobacco industry has long funded organizations that appear to be grassroots initiatives, but are in fact astroturf groups.[3]. Thus in the UK, the Forest Group claims to defend "smokers' rights" but is almost entirely funded by the big tobacco companies. Similarly, the Tobacco Retailer's Alliance claimed to defend small retailers but was funded and managed by the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association.

Under the guise of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the tobacco, alcohol and junk food industries fund and support charities, community groups and research and education programmes, thereby distracting from the harm they cause with their products. For example, the tobacco industry funds cigarette butt collections on beaches or health initiatives in low- and middle-income countries.

Another example is the Public Health Responsibility Deal (PHRD), adopted by the UK coalition government from 2010 to 2015. This proposed a partnership approach with the alcohol and food industries to reduce adverse health effects, rather than regulation. An independent evaluation found that the initiative had no positive impact on public health. Instead, the documents show how the Responsibility Deal enabled the alcohol industry to influence the political agenda and take policies such as minimum unit pricing of alcohol off the table. Moreover, since the introduction of the PHRD, more than a decade of programmes have been put in place to encourage the food industry to voluntarily cut sugar, salt and calories. Despite repeated commitments from this industry and assurances that it "knows best" how to address these issues, no targets have been met and the vast majority of products do not show significant improvements.

Gifts or benefits to parliamentarians to influence public policies

One of the long-standing and continuing influence tactics is to offer MPs gifts and hospitality from these industries in order to build contacts. Since 1974, MPs in the UK have been required to register their financial interests (including gifts and benefits) transparently when they exceed £300. The Coalition therefore calls on MPs to avoid conflicts of interest and to refuse gifts and other benefits, such as tickets to sporting or cultural events, from these companies.

The industry also tries to 'get around' this system, for example by organising events in Parliament where gifts can be given but are not sent directly to an MP's office, or by offering gifts that fall below the £300 threshold (e.g. large Cadbury chocolate bars) or by offering tours of local factories where gifts are given but are not tracked or made public.

In early 2024, former Clacton (Essex) MP Giles Watling declared a “business lunch” and attended an “annual celebration” with Japan Tobacco International, worth a total of £351.04. In May of that year, he tabled a number of amendments to the new Tobacco and Vapes Bill, including to make tobacco sales restrictions apply to people under 21, rather than those born after 2009.

In August 2022, Thérèse Coffey, then a Conservative MP, declared in the Register of Members’ Interests that she had accepted a ticket to Lord’s Cricket Ground in London worth £922.80 from the pub and beer group Greene King. Three weeks later, Thérèse Coffey, a long-standing opponent of ‘nanny state’ policies, became Health Secretary in Liz Truss’s short-lived government and opposed several proposals to improve public health during her tenure.[4].

This tactic of gifts and invitations is not limited to parliamentarians. In France, where legislation is strict in this area[5], an article in Politico revealed that the cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris organized a major communication campaign with more than sixty journalists from the general and professional press, as part of the tennis tournament at Roland-Garros. This invitation followed the publication of the conclusions of the parliamentary mission on behavioral taxation in the field of health (tobacco, alcohol, sugary or artificially sweetened drinks). The mission recommended in particular the introduction of a pack of cigarettes at 25 euros by 2040, or a strict alignment of the taxation of heated tobacco with that of manufactured cigarettes.[6].

©Tobacco Free Generation

AE

[1] Killer Tactics, Report, Action on smoking and health, published August 2024, accessed September 3, 2024

[2] Obesity Health Alliance, Alcohol Health Alliance, Action on Smoking and Health. Holding us back: tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food and drink: Advocating for a coherent health policy approach, published in 2023

[3]  Propaganda and manipulation practice used in the media and particularly on the internet, consisting of giving the impression of a mass phenomenon that emerges spontaneously when in reality, it was created from scratch to influence public opinion.

[4] Denis Campbell and Henry Dyer, UK MPs urged to give up freebies from tobacco, alcohol and junk food firms, The Guardian, published August 31, 2024, accessed September 3, 2024

[5] Communicated, First conviction of a tobacco manufacturer for propaganda, CNCT, published on February 5, 2019

[6] Generation without tobacco, Invitation to Roland-Garros: Philip Morris tries to seduce journalists, published June 6, 2024, accessed September 3, 2024