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Influence, Manipulation & Deceit

Big Tobacco’s fantasy is a nightmare for us all

Published Sep 22, 2023
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A gif showing cigarettes morphing into a vaping device

The world’s deadliest industry is trying to rebrand itself as your friend.123 Big Tobacco wants to be put in charge of, get credit for, and profit off solving the number one cause of preventable death and disease – the smoking epidemic they created.456 Their dangerous and hypocritical rebrand promises a “better tomorrow” and “smoke-free future” with dangerous, addictive vape products while they continue selling six trillion cigarettes each year, including launching new cigarettes in California just last year.4789 

Not so “smoke-free”: Big Tobacco launches new cigarette brands in California

In 2022, when Californians voted to end the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, Big Tobacco wasn’t thinking about their “smoke-free” rebrand, they were focused on making a profit off new cigarette brands to replace the products pulled off the shelves.1011 These new cigarettes are marketed specifically to Californians through online promotions, catchy marketing, and deep discounts.1213 This, from the same industry that claims cigarettes are a thing of the past and they want a “better tomorrow” for us all.47

An image of waste from discarded cigarette butts with a caption that reads: Big Tobacco wants to be put in charge of, get credit for, and profit off solving the number one cause of preventable death and disease - the smoking epidemic they created.

Big Tobacco innovation is about profits, not health

The tobacco industry’s innovation isn’t investment in people’s health but in profits. Big Tobacco claims they are driven by product innovation for the greater good, but in reality they don’t care about health, they care about profits.141516 They’ve conveniently ignored the growing body of research that shows vaping increases the risk of serious disease like stroke, may increase the risk of lung cancer, and amplifies mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.1718192021222324252627  

With cigarette demand slowly declining the past two decades, the tobacco industry has turned to tech startups, purchasing or investing in vape companies or products, pharmaceutical companies, and developing next generation tobacco products to diversify their portfolios, keeping people addicted and attracting young people to be “replacement” customers.28293031323334

Tobacco products like vapes are camouflage for Big Tobacco’s attempt at renormalizing tobacco use, which kills eight million people globally each year.35 If the tobacco industry really wanted people to quit smoking and have a “better tomorrow,” they’d quit selling cigarettes. Instead, research shows that many people who use vapes to quit smoking cigarettes end up using both products, making Big Tobacco a killing.3637383940

A close-up image of money with a caption that reads: Big Tobacco claims they are driven by product innovation for the greater good, but in reality they don't care about health, they care about profits.

Smoke and mirrors: Big Tobacco creates the illusion of credibility

The tobacco industry has spent decades funding studies to give their claims the illusion of credibility, paying big bucks to influence public perception, securing “special editions” of scientific journals, and releasing industry-funded research that says their vape products are safer.5414243 In July 2021, news outlets broke the story that Juul paid the American Journal of Health Behavior $51,000 to publish 11 company-funded studies.44 One of the world’s largest tobacco companies – Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA and maker of Marlboro cigarettes – was a stakeholder in Juul.43

Pay-to-play advocacy on behalf of Big Tobacco has been a critical piece to the industry’s disinformation strategy.45464748 It’s also helped foster narratives that the tobacco industry is now on the side of public health and is “socially responsible.”49 

  • Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, a non-profit launched in October 2017 entirely funded by global cigarette producer Philip Morris International (PMI), rebranded in 2024, changing its name to Global Action to End Smoking (GAES).5051 Though the newly named organization claims “it will not seek or accept funding from companies that produce tobacco or non-medicinal nicotine products” in the future, GAES remains funded entirely by money granted by PMI, including a recent payment of $140 million made in late 2023.50525354
  • Filter Magazine, launched closely behind Foundation for a Smoke-Free World in September 2018 and partially funded by PMI, claims to “advocate through journalism for rational and compassionate approaches to drug use, drug policy and human rights.”5556 However, they are mostly funded by the largest tobacco companies in the world and their front groups, and digitally publish Big Tobacco’s rebrand “news” stories.57
  • Tobacco companies have purchased advertising space meant to look like news articles, called advertorials, in major news outlets like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post to promote new products and industry strategy, but these are really just placements to market vape products.47

The reality behind Big Tobacco’s “harm reduction” rebrand

Big Tobacco knows the more their products are perceived as “safer,” the more people will be tempted to use them.16 

Vape use is an urgent public health concern in California, especially among young adults. Currently, 11.2 percent of young adults use vapes, the highest among any age group.58 These young adults were among middle and high school students during the height of the tobacco industry-created youth vaping epidemic.59 Big Tobacco actively preys on youth to be “replacement” customers because their products kill their existing ones.19 And research shows kids who vape are three times more likely to be daily cigarette smokers in the future.60

Big Tobacco exploits racist and discriminatory systems that further traumatize marginalized populations, preying and profiteering off them and creating higher use and disease rates compared to the overall population.6162 Vaping prevalence in California is higher among people experiencing mental health challenges (11.4%), people who identify as bisexual (9.6%), people who identify as multiracial (9.6%), and American Indian/Alaskan Native (9.0%).63 Big Tobacco funded misleading research to show that people with mental illness can use their products to relieve symptoms.64

Vaping has serious long-term health risks

There are serious health risks associated with vaping. Vape use has been linked to an increased risk of stroke and serious chronic illnesses like COPD, heart attacks, and heart disease, and may increase the risk of lung cancer.17182122232425262765666768  

We also know that vaping nicotine is associated with mental health issues and can change the brain chemistry of teens and young adults.69 Nicotine is an addictive brain poison and can amplify anxiety, depression, mood swings, and irritability.7071 It permanently damages the developing brain, priming it for addiction to substances of all kinds.70 Young people who use nicotine experience negative effects on their learning ability and attention spans, which can have lifelong impacts.72

The real way to eliminate harm from Big Tobacco

The real best way to undo the damage of Big Tobacco is by helping people who are addicted quit and by preventing kids from starting. Big Tobacco kills 110 Californians each day,73 for every death, 30 more suffer from tobacco-related diseases.74 It’s critical that people who are addicted have access to free, proven quitting methods, including medical support. Using counseling and medication together gives you the best chance of quitting for good.75  

California’s emphasis on increasing and supporting quit attempts is the result of 30 years of proven, science-based strategies. California has successfully pioneered innovations in cessation support that have helped reduce tobacco prevalence.76 As the most populous and diverse state in the nation, California has the third lowest adult smoking rate.77  Eliminating barriers to cessation access is a priority for the over three million adults who use tobacco, including cigarettes and vapes.78

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Explore the tobacco industry's damage

The tobacco industry currently spends billions each year on slick marketing tactics and political influence so they can profit off death and disease.
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Even for people who don’t use tobacco, there can be deadly consequences.
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The industry calls kids their “replacement customers. Big Tobacco sentences them to a lifetime of addiction and disease.
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This racist and unjust industry has strategically targeted certain communities with deadly products and manipulative messaging.
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No one’s safe from the environmental damage and health risks from toxic tobacco waste and its plastic pollution.
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