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Exaggerating the economic importance of the industry

One of the strategies used by the tobacco industry to influence political processes is to exaggerate its own economic importance by producing and disseminating data on employment, tax contributions, and other indicators.1

Arguments related to tax revenue have historically been used by sectors of the tobacco industry to advocate for reductions in the tax burden on their products. The justification is that lower taxes would allow prices to decrease, making legal products more competitive in relation to illicit ones. This would encourage a shift in consumption from the informal market to the formal market, which generates tax revenue.2

However, Brazil’s own experience shows a different reality. In the late 1990s, there was indeed a reduction in taxation. But instead of increasing, tax revenue declined, as companies made only minimal reductions—or, in some cases, even increased—the price of cigarettes.3 In addition, evidence shows that increasing taxes to raise the price of tobacco products is the single most effective measure to reduce consumption.

A potential increase in tax revenue has also been used as an argument to push for the legalization of the production and trade of Electronic Smoking Devices (ESDs) in Brazil. In 2024, PMI Impact—an initiative by Philip Morris International—funded a study conducted by the School of Multidimensional Security of the Institute of International Relations at the University of São Paulo, which estimated that Brazil could lose R$ 7.7 billion in state and federal tax revenue in 2025 due to the illegal trade of ESDs.4

In addition to often being overestimated, such claims also ignore the negative economic impacts of tobacco use.1 In Brazil, in 2015 alone, smoking was responsible for 156,300 deaths, 229,000 acute myocardial infarctions, 59,500 strokes, and 77,500 cancer diagnoses. This resulted in a total cost of R$ 56.9 billion—nearly R$ 40 billion in healthcare expenses and about R$ 17 billion in indirect costs due to productivity losses from premature death and disability.5 6 By comparison, tax revenue from tobacco product sales in the country that year was approximately R$ 13 billion.5

In the context of discussions on changes to the regulation of ESDs in Brazil, a study commissioned by BAT Brasil from the Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais (FIEMG) estimated that legalization could generate more than 100,000 jobs in the country, most of them in agriculture.7 However, the production of ESDs requires fewer leaves than the manufacture of combustible products and, according to calculations by the website O Joio e O Trigo based on data from internal documents of the e-cigarette manufacturer Juul, fewer than 100 rural producers would be enough to meet the demand projected by BAT in a legalization scenario in the country.8

These examples indicate that the economic arguments put forward by the tobacco industry follow a pattern of overstating benefits and omitting costs, both economic and social. Therefore, regulatory decisions and public policies must be based on the public interest and protected from the commercial interests of the tobacco industry, in line with Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).9

New Research Casts Further Doubt On Philip Morris International’s “Smoke-Free” IQOS Claims

02/08/2022

Researchers from the University of Nottingham have published a paper titled “Should IQOS Emissions Be Considered as Smoke and Harmful to Health? A Review of the Chemical Evidence.” The researchers conducted a literature review of studies examining emissions from heated tobacco products (HTPs).

Referência

https://exposetobacco.org/wp-content/uploads/IQOS-smoke-free-doubts.pdf

Fonte: https://exposetobacco.org/wp-content/uploads/IQOS-smoke-free-doubts.pdf

 

The use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies by the tobacco industry (TI) to interfere in the fight against illicit trade [STOP project]

23/05/2022

The illicit trade in tobacco products represents a major global concern for public health, economy and public safety. More specifically, the illicit trade in tobacco products undermines tobacco control policy efforts, particularly in relation to tax policy. As they are not taxed or regulated, illicit tobacco products do not have health warnings or packaging or labeling requirements, which favors their consumption. As with other regions in the world, the illegal cigarette trade in Mercosur involves lower average prices compared to taxed cigarettes. Furthermore, the increase in the accessibility of cigarettes, via the informal market, combined with the lower prices of smuggled products - and therefore not subject to regulation - favors the consumption of cigarettes by young people and low-income populations 1,4.

Referência

HASSELMANN, Luis Guilherme Hasselmann; RICHTER,  Ana Paula Cardoso; TURCI, Silvana Rubano; SILVA, Vera Luiza da Costa. Uso pela indústria do tabaco (IT) de estratégias de Responsabilidade Social Corporativa (RSC) para interferir no combate ao comércio ilícito [projeto STOP]. Centro de Estudos sobre Tabaco e Saúde (Cetab), Rio de Janeiro, 23 mai. 2022. 49p.

 

Big Tobacco struggles to convince investors it can quit cigarettes

14/02/2022

Expert insights, analysis and smart data help you cut through the noise to spot trends, risks and opportunities. Join over 300,000 Finance professionals who already subscribe to the FT.

Referência

BIG Tobacco struggles to convince investors it can quit cigarettes. Financial Times, Inglaterra, 14 fev 2022. Disponível em: https://www.ft.com/content/710c32db-1b23-4a89-b17d-24115a5e69e8. Acesso em: 1 jul 2024.

Fonte: https://www.ft.com/content/710c32db-1b23-4a89-b17d-24115a5e69e8

 

Vapes and heated tobacco bolster sales at British American Tobacco

14/02/2022

Keep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world. Stay informed and spot emerging risks and opportunities with independent global reporting, expert commentary and analysis you can trust.

Referência

VAPES and heated tobacco bolster sales at British American Tobacco. Financial Times, Inglaterra, 14 fev 2022. Disponível em: https://www.ft.com/content/b7801e17-012c-4914-a445-07a6e77ab3ef. Acesso em: 1 jul 2024.

Fonte: https://www.ft.com/content/b7801e17-012c-4914-a445-07a6e77ab3ef

 

Brazilian Institute for Ethics and Competition (Instituto Brasileiro de Ética Concorrencial)

10/02/2020

The Brazilian Institute for Ethics and Competition (ETCO) is a non-governmental organisation that works with multinationals and trade associations from the tobacco, alcohol, soft drinks, pharmaceutical, technology and fuel distribution sectors in Brazil. ETCO was co-founded by tobacco companies and receives undisclosed financial contributions from the industry. It lobbies heavily against the Brazilian government’s taxes on cigarettes.

Referência

BRAZILIAN Institute for Ethics and Competition (Instituto Brasileiro de Ética Concorrencial). Tobacco Tactics, Inglaterra, 10 fev. 2020. Disponível em: https://tobaccotactics.org/article/brazilian-institute-for-ethics-and-co.... Acesso em: 7 ago. 2023.

 

Smuggling realities: On numbers, borders, and performances

03/07/2018

This essay seeks to describe the efforts made to portray the “reality of smuggling” in Brazil by analyzing the instruments and the strategies of the actors involved in these efforts, such as the Institute for Social and Economic Development of the Borders (IDESF), the National Forum Against Piracy and Illegality (FNCP), the Brazilian Institute for Ethics in Competition (ETCO), and the Brazilian Association for Combating Counterfeiting (ABCF). Smuggling has emerged as a critical topic in the agenda of the antipiracy coalition, and is associated with certain spaces, actors, and dynamics that define its key circuits, both territorially and socially: land borders (especially with Paraguay) traversed by commercial circuits that feed popular markets. By contemplating the actors, performances, instruments, and variables chosen to compose the figures of smuggling, it is possible to appreciate the agenda that is being put forward and the effects on the government and management of those circuits.

Referência

RABOSSI, Fernando. Smuggling realities: On numbers, borders, and performances. Journal of Ethnographic Theory, Estados Unidos, v. 8, n. 1-2, p. 265-281, 2018. Disponível em: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/698218. Acesso em: 7 ago. 2023.

 

The two faces of the tobacco industry during the COVID-19 pandemic

Artigo no qual os pesquisadores retratam as interferências das indústrias de tabaco Philip Morris e British American Tobacco. Ao mesmo tempo em que as empresas realizam ações de Responsabilidade social Corporativa (RSC), também entram em litígios e interferências midiáticas, alegando que o produto fumageiro é essencial, por conta da economia e para evitar o aumento do comércio ilícito. Contudo, as indústrias de tabaco também negligenciam seus custos aos cofres públicos quanto aos malefícios ocasionados pelo tabaco.

Referência

ZATONSKI, Mateusz; Gilmore, Anna; HIRD, Thomas. The two faces of the tobacco industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tobacco Control, Inglaterra, 10 maio 2020. Disponível em: https://blogs.bmj.com/tc/2020/05/10/the-two-faces-of-the-tobacco-industry-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ Acesso em: 27 maio de 2020.

 

Scientists develop ‘safe’ e-cigarette with freshtobacco

Notícia que informa sobre a criação de um cigarro eletrônico "seguro". Além da divulgação do novo produto pela British American Tobacco, cientistas alegam que este cigarro é 95% mais seguro.

Referência

REILLY, Nichollas.Scientists develop ‘safe’ e-cigarette with freshtobacco. Metro, Inglaterra, 7 mar. 2016.Disponível em: http://metro.co.uk/2016/03/07/scientists-develop-safe-e-cigarette-with-fresh-tobacco-5738961/ Acesso em: 30 mar. 2016.

 

The vector of the tobacco epidemic: tobacco industry practices in low and middle-income countries.

A extensão de estratégias usadas pela indústria do tabaco, naquele tempo e agora, de influenciar os processos políticos e legislativos, inclui conspirar com lobistas para promover decisões de interesse próprio acima das que servem ao bem comum. Evidências existentes sugerem, por exemplo, que em diversos países a indústria do tabaco tentou subestimar a posição do país na negociação da Convenção Quadro do Controle do Tabagismo (OMS) e continua tentando impedir a implementação do tratado.

Referência

LEE, Sungkyu; LING, Pamela; GLANTZ, Santon. The vector of the tobacco epidemic: tobacco industry practices in low and middle-income countries. Cancer Causes and Control, v. 23 (Suppl. 1), p. 117-29, 2012. Disponível em: http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/143/art%253A10.1007%252Fs10552-012-9914-0.pdf?auth66=1421839866_2a6fe175af32127960d4cd7359393e17&ext=.pdf Acesso em: 21 jan. 2015.

 

[Report regarding details of project]

Documento que demonstra o envolvimento da British American Tobacco em uma série de encontros de engajamento com stakeholders como parte de uma campanha orquestrada para se reposicionarem como empresas fumageiras responsáveis.

Referência

[REPORT regarding details of project].British American Tobacco, Inglaterra, 15 nov. 1999. Disponível em: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/eyb04a99/pdf Acesso em: 22 mai. 2015.

 

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