Lobbying: does the tobacco industry apply pressure everywhere in the world?

The arrival of the e-cigarette shook the tobacco world. But not every country is in the same position. One reason is tobacco lobbying, which sometimes plays a very large part in influencing consumers and even heads of state. Here is a brief look at the subject.

The heavy pressure from cigarette makers in Asia

Most producing countries have tobacco written into their DNA. The e-cigarette market struggles to gain ground there. In countries seen as consumers, meanwhile, Big Tobacco pushes hard to make the case for its products.

Behind Brunei, France stands as the second country least exposed to cigarette lobbying. At the other end of the scale, Japan and Indonesia bring up the rear. There, 600 deaths a day are recorded linked to smoking-related illnesses, quite apart from the staggering proportion of children who smoke.

It has to be said that in those countries the tobacco market is the largest employer after government. In other words, when governments warn about the dangers of tobacco, the lobbies use jobs as a bargaining chip. The tactic swings some politicians round to Big Tobacco’s position. Some openly support bills aimed at removing warning messages from cigarette packets. Should we expect a further tax after the tobacco tax linked to Covid-19?

E-cigarette versus tobacco: an impossible contest

In the United States, in the middle of the table, the vaping world struggles to expand under pressure from Big Tobacco. A constant tension has grown up between the two camps, pushing cigarette makers to find new ways of holding on to consumers. Heated tobacco blurs the lines in that respect, consumed with a device well known for having failed to catch on in France.

In France, the e-cigarette has taken its own place in the tobacco market, remaining 80% independent of it. Contested though it is, vaping is still widely regarded by a large number of former smokers as an alternative to the cigarette.