Category Archives: Tobacco industry

Australia breaches WHO treaty with carbon neutral certification of big tobacco company

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Endorsement of British American Tobacco by Climate Active was revoked after complaint was made, FoI documents show

The government has been forced to revoke carbon neutral certification given to a big tobacco company after the endorsement was found to be in breach of a World Health Organization treaty to which Australia is a signatory.

Freedom of information documents show a complaint was made by the managing director of the Carbon Reduction Institute, Rob Cawthorne, to the health department in August 2022 about British American Tobacco (BAT) receiving the certification from Climate Active.

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Victorian government hired KPMG to consult on tobacco changes despite firm’s links to industry

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Exclusive: transparency advocates condemn arrangement as ‘appalling’ while health department refuses to say how much consultancy was paid

The Victorian government paid a consultancy firm that has spent decades working for big tobacco to lead the state’s consultation on changes to tobacco and vaping laws, before the process was abandoned.

The state’s health department has repeatedly declined to say how much KPMG was paid for the work this year and did not answer questions about whether the international firm’s long association with big tobacco and its ongoing work for the industry were declared.

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Quarter of submissions from vape users to Australian inquiry parrot text from tobacco industry campaign

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Exclusive: study finds 26% of individual responses to TGA vaping reforms contained text from template provided as part of ‘astroturfing’ campaign

More than one-quarter of submissions from individual e-cigarette users made to the Australian government’s vaping reforms consultation featured text from an “astroturfing” campaign led by the tobacco and vaping industry, “bypassing conflict-of-interest” declaration requirements, a study has found.

The World Health Organization defines astroturfing as the faking of a grassroots movement that in reality is being controlled by a hidden multinational company or organisation, in this case tobacco and vaping companies.

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Ministers urged to restrict marketing of vapes to children in England

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Children’s commissioner points to research showing some are so addicted to nicotine they can’t concentrate in school

The children’s commissioner for England has urged ministers to crack down on the “insidious” marketing of vapes to young people, which is leaving them so addicted to nicotine they can’t concentrate on lessons.

Rachel de Souza said the government would be “failing a generation” if these “highly addictive and sometimes dangerous products” were allowed to become mainstream.

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Ministers plan to ban retailers in England from giving children free vapes

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Promotional samples dodge rules forbidding sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s, who are vaping in rapidly increasing numbers

Retailers will no longer be able to hand out free samples of vapes to children after ministers announced plans to close a legal loophole.

Although it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to under-18s, it is not illegal for retailers and marketing firms to hand out free samples. This is because vapes are not covered by the tobacco advertising rules prohibiting free distribution, as they are not considered a tobacco product.

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Almost half of tobacco lobbyists in Australia have held positions in government, study finds

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Research investigates the ‘revolving door’ between the tobacco industry and politics and how it influences policy

Understanding the links between tobacco companies, their lobbyists and Australian politics “was like doing a complex, 5,000-piece jigsaw with many missing or blank pieces”, Cancer Council NSW researcher Melissa Jones says.

In research that took several months, Jones and her colleagues found almost half (48%) of internal tobacco company lobbyists held positions in state, territory or federal government before or after working in the tobacco industry.

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Tobacco-linked organisations and executives fail to declare interests to TGA vaping inquiry

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Known links to tobacco multinationals and vaping lobby groups omitted in submissions to federal government consultation on reform

Organisations and executives with known links to big tobacco and vaping companies have failed to declare them in submissions to a major government consultation on vaping reforms aimed at protecting children from nicotine addiction.

The submission of the Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) chief executive, Theo Foukkare, to the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s vaping reforms consultation on behalf of the AACS states “no” in response to the question: “Have you or your organisation ever received services, assistance or support (whether monetary or non-monetary in nature) from the tobacco industry and/or e-cigarette industry?”

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UK ambassador to Yemen took part in opening of Jordanian cigarette factory

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Michael Aron praised facility part-owned by British American Tobacco at ribbon-cutting event in 2019

A UK ambassador took part in the opening ceremony of a Jordanian cigarette factory part-owned by British American Tobacco (BAT) and praised the new facility in a televised interview, in the latest example of British diplomats breaching strict guidelines against mixing with the tobacco industry overseas.

The envoy stood at the ribbon as it was cut and later appeared in promotional material on the tobacco company’s website, but no record of his presence at the event was kept by the British embassy in Amman because the event was not considered a “formal meeting”.

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Tobacco companies to be billed for cleaning up cigarette butts in Spain

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Ruling is part of a package of measures designed to reduce waste and increase recycling

Tobacco companies are to be forced to foot the bill for cleaning up the millions of cigarette ends that smokers discard every year under new environmental regulations in Spain.

The ruling, which comes into force this Friday, is part of a package of measures designed to reduce waste and increase recycling. It includes a ban on single-use plastic cutlery and plates, cotton buds, expanded polystyrene cups and plastic straws, as well as cutting back on plastic food packaging.

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New Zealand passes world-first tobacco law to ban smoking for next generation

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The country is believed to be the first to implement an annually rising legal smoking age

New Zealand has introduced a steadily rising smoking age to stop those aged 14 and under from ever being able to legally buy cigarettes in world-first legislation to outlaw smoking for the next generation.

Associate health minister Ayesha Verrall said at the law’s passing on Tuesday: “Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives and the health system will be $5bn better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking, such as numerous types of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, amputations.”

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Juul to pay $440m after years-long investigation into teen vaping

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E-cigarette company, whose products are blamed for a surge in youth vaping, also faces new marketing restrictions

The electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs will pay nearly $440m to settle a two-year investigation by 33 states into the marketing of its high-nicotine vaping products, which have long been blamed for sparking a national surge in teen vaping.

William Tong, the Connecticut attorney general, announced the deal on Tuesday on behalf of the states plus Puerto Rico, which joined together in 2020 to investigate Juul’s early promotions and claims about the safety and benefits of its technology as a smoking alternative.

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Juul can keep selling vaping products as it appeals ban, FDA says

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Regulators say ‘scientific issues’ warrant further review of its decision to bar products from sale in US

The Food and Drug Administration will continue to allow Juul to sell its products while the vaping company appeals a recent ban, the agency said on Tuesday.

The FDA wrote on Twitter that there were “scientific issues” warranting additional review of the agency’s ruling last month, which ordered the company to remove its e-cigarettes from the US marketplace.

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FDA ban on Juul e-cigarettes temporarily halted

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The company requested the hold while it appeals the sales ban which would have required it to immediately halt its business


Juul can continue to sell its electronic cigarettes, at least for now, after a federal appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked a government ban.

Juul filed an emergency motion earlier Friday, seeking the temporary hold while it appeals the sales ban.

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E-cigarettes: FDA bans market-leading Juul in blow to US tobacco industry

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Action is part of effort by Food and Drug Administration to bring scientific scrutiny to multibillion-dollar vaping industry

US health officials ordered the vape company Juul to stop selling its popular electronic cigarettes on Thursday, the latest blow against the tobacco industry by the Biden administration.

The action is part of a sweeping effort by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to bring scientific scrutiny to the multibillion-dollar vaping industry after years of regulatory delays.

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Written warning on every cigarette in Canadian world-first

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‘Poison in every puff’ message proposed amid government concern photo warnings on tobacco packages have lost impact

Canada is poised to become the first country in the world to require that a warning be printed on every cigarette.

The move builds on Canada’s mandate to include graphic photo warnings on tobacco products’ packaging, a policy that started an international trend when it was introduced two decades ago.

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US FDA moves to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars

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Effort to ‘help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers’ likely to face stiff opposition from big tobacco

The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued a long-awaited proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, a major victory for anti-smoking advocates but one that could dent sales at tobacco companies.

The proposal, which comes a year after the agency announced the plan, still needs to be finalized, and could take years to implement as it is likely to face stiff opposition from big tobacco.

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Fewer Americans smoked during first year of pandemic, study shows

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Experts suggest all-time low smoking rates may be thanks to less socializing and more time with kids

In the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, more Americans drank heavily and used illicit drugs – but apparently fewer smoked.

US cigarette smoking dropped to a new all-time low in 2020, with one in eight adults saying they were current smokers, according to survey data released on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Adult e-cigarette use also dropped, the CDC reported.

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British American Tobacco halts Russia sales after U-turn

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Owner of brands including Rothmans had said it would still sell products – but will now pull out

British American Tobacco has reversed its decision to continue selling cigarettes and other nicotine products in Russia, putting the sudden change of heart down to its “ethos and values”.

The owner of brands including Rothmans and Lucky Strike said it would pull out of Russia after all, two days after breaking ranks with companies such as Nestlé, Unilever, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s by refusing to quit its operations there.

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‘Smoking kills’ could be printed on every cigarette under new proposals

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MPs propose raft of tough new measures aimed at getting more people to stop smoking

Individual cigarettes could have “smoking kills” printed on them under a raft of tough measures proposed by MPs to encourage more people to quit the deadly habit.

MPs have submitted an amendment to the health and care bill going through parliament which would allow the health secretary to make graphic health warnings mandatory.

Raise the legal age for buying cigarettes from 18 to 21.

Stop e-cigarette makers using tactics that might entice children to try them, such as sweet flavourings and cartoon characters.

Make it illegal to give e-cigarettes away free as sampler products, as some manufacturers have done.

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Growing pains: Zimbabwe’s female tobacco farmers struggle to compete

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At the mercy of international markets and denied access to mainstream finance, the enterprising growers face a precarious existence

Moreen Tanhara waits patiently for officials to inspect her tobacco. The 49-year-old has travelled nearly 100 miles (150km) overnight in an old lorry to reach Tobacco Sales Floor, an auction house in Harare. Tanhara sits quietly on one of the fragrant sacks she has brought from Guruve, a farming area north of Zimbabwe’s capital, while on the auction floor workers prepare tobacco leaves for the first sales of the season.

Related: Zimbabwe urged to take action against child labour on tobacco farms

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