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Key Points

• The Philippines is an island nation in Southeast Asia consisting of over 7,000 individual islands. It is part of the World Health Organization’s Western Pacific Region.
• Its population was 115.6 million as of 2022. The previous year, adult tobacco use prevalence was 19.5%.
• The Philippines ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005. It has not signed the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
• PMFTC Inc. – a joint venture between Philip Morris International and the Fortune Tobacco Corporation, the tobacco business of local conglomerate LT Group – has the largest share of the Philippine cigarette market. Japan Tobacco International accounts for most other sales.
• Recent tobacco industry tactics in the Philippines include attempting to influence the committee responsible for overseeing tobacco control in the country; corporate social responsibility, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic; and establishing relationships with public officials, including at the very top of government.

The Philippines has made some progress on tobacco control, especially since the introduction of the reforms known as the Sin Taxes in 2013. These both greatly simplified tax structures and significantly increased excise on tobacco and alcohol products, with a substantial share of the new revenue being channelled into universal healthcare.¹ Tobacco use prevalence, which stood at 29.7% in 2009, had fallen to 23.8% by 2015, and again to 19.5% by 2021.²³ However, rising incomes and subsequent smaller increases in tobacco taxes have made cigarettes more affordable, slowing further progress.⁴ Other challenges include an illicit tobacco market larger than the global average;⁵ the growing popularity of newer nicotine and tobacco products (particularly e-cigarettes) amongst young people;⁶ and ongoing tobacco industry presence on the inter-agency committee responsible for implementing tobacco control regulation in the country.⁷ Philippine domestic law continues to fall short of what is required by the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) across a number of areas.⁸

Tobacco Use in the Philippines

In 2022, the population of the Philippines was 115.6 million.⁹ According to the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), tobacco use prevalence amongst Filipino adults was 19.5%.³ Prevalence is much higher amongst males (nearly 35%) than females (just over 4%).³ Amongst adolescents aged between 13 and 15, 12.5% were using some form of tobacco in 2019.¹⁰ Again, prevalence for males (over 18%) is higher than for females (nearly 7%).¹⁰

In the 2021 GATS, just over 2% of Filipino adults reported current use of e-cigarettes (3.6% males; 0.5% females).³ However, use of e-cigarettes is considerably higher amongst youth. In the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey, the corresponding figure was over 14% – higher than for conventional cigarettes (10%).¹⁰ More than 20% of boys aged between 13 and 15 reported using e-cigarettes, compared to 7.5% of girls.¹⁰ Smokeless tobacco use in the Philippines also appears to be greater amongst the young: in 2019, 3% of young people reported current smokeless tobacco use, compared to 1.5% of adults in 2021.¹⁰³

There were an estimated 95,600 deaths attributable to tobacco use in 2019, accounting for nearly 15% of all mortality in the Philippines that year.¹¹ According to a 2018 study, the economic burden of tobacco use in the Philippines in 2012 was just under PHP₱270 billion (US$15.1 billion according to the purchasing power parity exchange rate) – equivalent to 2.5% of national GDP. This includes both direct costs resulting from tobacco use (e.g., hospitalisations and medication) as well as indirect costs (reduced productivity due to disability and mortality). The same study found that diseases attributable to tobacco use accounted for nearly 5% of total health expenditure.¹²

Tobacco in the Philippines

Market share and leading brands

PMFTC Inc. (PMFTC) dominates the Philippine cigarette market, with a market share of around 61% in 2022.¹³ PMFTC is a joint venture between Philip Morris International (PMI) and the Fortune Tobacco Corporation, the tobacco business of local conglomerate LT Group.¹⁴

Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has a market share of 38%, thanks to its 2017 acquisition of local company Mighty Corporation.¹³¹⁵ Together, PMFTC and JTI account for virtually all of the licit cigarette sales in the country.¹³

PMI’s flagship brand Marlboro is the most popular brand of cigarette, with a share of nearly 33% in 2022. In second place is another PMFTC brand, Fortune International, with a share of nearly 17%. JTI’s Winston is third, with a market share of around 14%. All other brands have market shares of less than 10%.¹⁶

• For more information on the tobacco industry in the Philippines, please see the Tobacco Supply Chain Database.

At nearly 23%, the Philippines has one of the largest market shares for menthol cigarettes in the world.¹⁷¹⁸ Menthol cigarettes have been marketed in the Philippines since at least the 1970s, including in campaigns targeting young women.¹⁹ In more recent times, the menthol market share has increased year on year since 2014. Similarly, though the market for flavour capsule cigarettes is much smaller than for menthol, it has also been growing steadily, with yearly increases since 2015.¹⁷ These products are often more attractive to youth and young adults than conventional cigarettes; menthol in particular is associated with increased smoking initiation.¹⁸

• For more information, please see the page on Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco in LMICs.

Tobacco farming and child labour

Since the early 1960s, tobacco production in the Philippines has remained roughly stable, at between 40,000 and 70,000 tonnes a year. However, between 1981 and 1993 it increased to between 74,000 and 118,000 tonnes. Conversely, between 2006 and 2009 it dipped below 40,000, to a low of 32,000 tonnes in 2008.²⁰

Figure 1: Tobacco production, 1961 to 2021.²⁰ Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization/Our World in Data | CC BY

Research has demonstrated that tobacco growing is not a profitable enterprise for most farmers. Despite this, farmers continue to grow tobacco due to a belief in its profitability and the reliability of the tobacco market; its perceived resilience to bad weather compared to other crops; and, in particular, access to credit.²¹ Filipino farmers interviewed for a study published in 2019 stated that tobacco farming allowed them to take out loans to which they would not have had access had they been growing other crops. Loans were also used to cover non-agricultural expenses such as school fees, buying food, and paying off other loans.²¹

As part of the Sin Tax reforms, 15% of the revenue collected from tobacco taxes is allocated to tobacco-growing communities to promote economically viable alternatives.²² However, this remains a challenge. Farmers have cited lack of capital, difficulties accessing credit, an absence of technical support and a perceived lack of markets for other crops as reasons for not transitioning away from tobacco.²¹

Tobacco is also one of 13 commodities produced in the Philippines which feature on the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2022 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.²³ However, comprehensive and up-to-date information on child labour in Philippine tobacco farming is not available.

Tobacco and the economy

The Philippines is a net importer of raw tobacco, importing about US$243 million of raw tobacco in 2022, compared to exports of around US$184 million.²⁴²⁵ However, the country is a net exporter of cigarettes, with exports in the same year of over US$232 million, compared to about US$22.6 million in imports.²⁶²⁷

Illicit trade

Illicit tobacco was estimated to form around 16% of the market in the Philippines in 2018.⁵ Though this is above the likely global average of 11 to 12%, it has changed little since 1998.⁵²⁸ Though industry-funded studies found significant increases in the Philippine illicit tobacco trade following the introduction of the Sin Taxes in 2013, there is no independent evidence to support this.⁵

Tobacco and the environment

The WHO reports that curing in tobacco agriculture is a leading cause of demand for wood from native forests in the Philippines.²⁹

Farmers cultivating the native batek variety of tobacco in the southern Philippines have been documented as using several toxic agrochemicals to control pests. These include some listed as hazardous by the WHO, such as cypermethrin and methomyl.³⁰

It has been estimated that between 30 and 50 billion cigarette butts are littered every year in the Philippines – 12.5 million on the resort island of Boracay alone.³¹ Boracay was closed for six months in 2018 for environmental rehabilitation, resulting in billions in lost revenues for both government and the private sector.³¹³²

• For more information on the tobacco industry’s environmental impact, please see Tobacco and the Environment and the long read on Plastics, the Environment and the Tobacco Industry.

Roadmap to Tobacco Control

The Philippines ratified the WHO FCTC in 2005 and the treaty entered into force later that year.³³³⁴ WHO FCTC ratification was a catalyst for strengthening tobacco control laws in the country and reducing industry influence on policy.³⁴ However, the Philippines is not a party to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.³⁵

The Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 (RA 9211) is the country’s main tobacco control law, covering areas such as smoking in public places; tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and sales restrictions. Subsequent legislation built on the 2003 law, introducing further regulation on issues such as designated smoking areas, advertising and the packaging and labelling of tobacco products.³⁶

However, given that RA 9211 was enacted just three months before the Philippines signed the WHO FCTC, Filipino tobacco control advocates have argued that the law was both timed and designed to pre-empt the Convention. This has resulted in tobacco control regulations which, nearly 20 years later, still fall some way short of WHO FCTC requirements.⁷³⁷ Designated smoking areas are still permitted in indoor offices and workplaces; restaurants; and cafés, pubs and bars. Restrictions on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship remain incomplete. And at 50.6% of the retail value of the most popular brand of cigarettes, tobacco taxation is significantly below the 75% threshold recommended by the WHO.⁸

The tobacco industry, led by the Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI), has also used RA 9211 as justification for delaying the introduction of more WHO FCTC-compliant measures (such as graphic health warnings), arguing that such measures contravene existing Philippine law.³⁷³⁸

In August 2020, the joint House Committees on Trade and Industry and on Health approved a bill regulating manufacture, sale and use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs).³⁹ This bill reversed an earlier decision to raise the purchase age from 18 to 21 and restrict flavourings to tobacco and plain menthol. It also shifted responsibility for regulation of these products from the Food and Drug Administration to the Department of Trade and Industry. Eight days after the bill was approved, the first of four stores dedicated to PMI’s flagship HTP IQOS opened for business.⁴⁰

This bill was a precursor to the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act, which eventually became law in July 2022. E-cigarettes in hundreds of different flavours reportedly flooded the Philippine market in the months following the passage of the law.⁴¹ Leading Filipino tobacco control advocates argue that the law has undermined recent gains in tobacco control.⁴⁰

For more details, please see the following websites:

• Legislation by country/Jurisdiction – Philippines, Tobacco Control Laws, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
• Philippines, WHO FCTC Implementation Database, WHO FCTC Secretariat
• Country profile – Philippines, World Health Organization, WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2023

Tobacco Industry Interference in the Philippines

Recent tobacco industry tactics in the Philippines include attempting to influence the committee responsible for overseeing tobacco control in the country; corporate social responsibility, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic; and attempts to influence policy, including by establishing relationships at the very top of government.

Conflict of interest

The Philippines’ main tobacco control law, RA 9211, requires the government to implement a “balanced policy”, given that:

“It is the policy of the State to protect the populace from hazardous products and promote the right to health and instill health consciousness among them. It is also the policy of the State, consistent with the Constitutional ideal to promote the general welfare, to safeguard the interests of the workers and other stakeholders in the tobacco industry.”⁴²

However, the first principle of the implementation guidelines for Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC states that “There is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry’s interests and public health policy interests.”⁴³ Any requirement for “balance” can only therefore hinder progress on tobacco control and undermine public health.

This may be seen in the composition of the Interagency Committee on Tobacco (IAC-T), a multisectoral body established by RA 9211 responsible for overseeing implementation of the legislation.⁴² One seat on the IAC-T is reserved for the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) – a government agency that sits within the Department of Agriculture – which has a mandate to “Promote the balanced and integrated growth and development of the tobacco industry to help make agriculture a solid base for industrialization.”⁴⁴

Another seat is reserved for a representative of the tobacco industry, specifically the Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI), an association whose members over the years have included PMFTC and JTI, among others.^42454647 The PTI has a long history of undermining tobacco control measures, including successfully managing to reduce the size of graphic health warnings on tobacco products, opposing tobacco tax reforms and litigating over tobacco control regulations against public bodies such as the City of Balanga and the Department of Health.⁴⁶⁴⁸⁴⁹

Tobacco control advocates have called repeatedly for the removal of the PTI from the IAC-T, citing conflict of interest and alleging that it uses its position to actively weaken tobacco control policies.⁴⁶⁵⁰⁵¹ The WHO has supported this position, stating that the composition of the Philippine IAC-T “is blatantly in conflict with WHO FCTC Article 5.3”, which requires parties to protect their public health policies against the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.⁵²

Corporate social responsibility

As of 2023, there was still no ban on tobacco industry corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Philippines.⁸ The tobacco industry has taken advantage of this shortcoming to try to enhance its reputation and influence both policy makers and the general public.

From 2017 to 2021, PMI spent nearly US$38 million on CSR in the Philippines. Nearly US$31 million of this total was spent in 2020 and 2021 alone.⁵³ Much of this funding is channelled through the Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation (JVOFI), a development NGO and partner of “Embrace”, PMFTC’s CSR programme.⁵³⁵⁴ During 2020, in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, JVOFI distributed ambulances, ventilators, PCR machines for COVID-19 testing, personal protective equipment, food supplies and rapid test kits throughout the country.⁵⁴

PMI was far from the only tobacco industry player carrying out this kind of work: by mid-April 2020, the LT Group – PMI’s partner in joint venture PMFTC – had spent PHP₱200 million (around US$4 million) on COVID-19 assistance.⁵⁴ The LT Group implements such initiatives in the Philippines via its CSR arm, the Tan Yan Kee Foundation.⁵⁵ Also in April 2020, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) donated 20,000 face masks to hospitals in the province of Batangas, where its manufacturing facilities are located.⁵⁴

An investigation published by the media and business intelligence organisation Eco-Business in 2021 revealed that a number of congressional representatives were involved in the distribution of COVID-19 relief donated by the tobacco industry and its associates.⁴⁰ These donations also coincided with several debates in Congress which addressed regulation for newer nicotine and tobacco products (see section “Roadmap to Tobacco Control”).⁴⁰³⁷

Both PMI and JTI also lobbied the Philippine Ministry of Finance for permission to continue their operations as normal during lockdown, though cigarettes were not considered to be an essential item.⁵⁴ In an April 2020 press release, JTI argued that lockdown restrictions were forcing smokers to buy illicit tobacco; were resulting in lower tax revenues for government; and were harming retailers, especially small and family-run businesses.⁵⁶ Restrictions on the transport and delivery of tobacco products were subsequently lifted.⁵⁷

This shows how industry arguments around the illicit trade were accepted by Filipino policy makers, allowing tobacco companies to operate even during an outbreak of a lethal respiratory disease to which smokers are more vulnerable.⁵⁸

• For more on tobacco industry activity during the pandemic, please see the COVID-19 Tobacco Tactics page and the COVID-19 monitoring database.

Unnecessary interaction with high level officials

Hailing from the Ilocos region, where tobacco is a major cash crop, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has met with PMI at least twice since becoming president in June 2022.⁴¹⁵⁹ The most recent of these meetings was a lunch he and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos hosted for PMI executives – including CEO Jacek Olczak – at the Malacañang Palace in November 2022, the first time a company CEO has been received at the Philippine presidential palace. Also present were PMFTC president Denis Gorkun and LT Group CEO Lucio Tan III.⁴¹

PMFTC’s director for global communications stated that the aim of the meeting was to outline the company’s plan “to expand our economic footprint in the Philippines.”⁴¹ PMI is reportedly investing US$150 million in the expansion of a manufacturing plant in Tanauan, Batangas. The new wing of the factory is to be used for the production of BLENDS, tobacco sticks used exclusively in PMI’s BONDS, a more affordable version of its flagship HTP IQOS.⁴¹

In 2012, the then Senator Marcos was photographed during a Senate debate on the Sin Taxes speaking to a lawyer representing PMFTC.⁶⁰⁶¹

Relevant Links

• The Toll of Tobacco in the Philippines, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2023
• Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2022: The Philippine Report on the Implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, HealthJustice, 2023
• Global Adult Tobacco Survey, Fact Sheet, Philippines 2021, Republic of the Philippines Department of Health, Philippine Statistics Authority, WHO Philippines et al
• Global Youth Tobacco Survey, Fact Sheet, Philippines 2019, Republic of the Philippines Department of Health, Epidemiology Bureau, WHO Western Pacific Region et al
• Tobacco Industry Monitor – Philippines, Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, 2024

Tobacco Tactics Resources

• Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco in LMICs

References

The post Philippines Country Profile appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

Image source: Luis Barrios/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Key Points

• Mexico is a country in North America, covered by the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Americas.
• It has a population of over 127.5 million with current smoking prevalence of 19% amongst the population aged 20 and over.
• Mexico ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2004. It has not joined the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
• The Mexican tobacco market is dominated by the big transnational tobacco companies, particularly Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco.
• Recent tobacco industry tactics in Mexico include the use of third parties; the targeting of youth with marketing for newer nicotine and tobacco products, particularly on social media; and corporate social responsibility, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mexico significantly reduced smoking prevalence between 2002-2009, in the years around ratification of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).⁶²⁶³⁶⁴ However, between 2009 and 2016 there was no further progress. This may be explained by ongoing industry interference, such as on price and tax; the introduction and rapid growth of flavour capsule cigarettes; as well as challenges involved with implementation of Mexico’s main tobacco control law.⁶⁴⁶⁵ In more recent years, Mexico has redoubled its efforts, passing a major amendment to its tobacco control law in 2021 which significantly increased compliance with the WHO FCTC.⁶⁶ Mexico now has some of the most comprehensive tobacco control regulation in the world.⁶⁶⁶⁷

Tobacco Use in Mexico

In 2022, the population of Mexico was over 127.5 million.⁶⁸ According to the 2021 National Health and Nutrition Survey on COVID-19 (ENSANUT), prevalence of current smoking in the Mexican population aged 20 and over was just over 19%. There is significant difference between males and females, with nearly 30% of men reporting current smoking compared to around 9% of women. Prevalence of current smoking amongst Mexican youth aged from 10 to 19 was less than 5%, with 7.5% of males in this age range smoking compared to less than 2% of females.⁶⁹

There were an estimated 48,400 deaths attributable to smoking in 2019, accounting for 6.6% of all mortality in Mexico that year.⁷⁰ A study published in 2021 estimated the total cost of tobacco use to the Mexican economy at US$8.2 billion per year. US$5.1 billion is spent on treating diseases associated with tobacco use – equivalent to 9.3% of the annual health budget. The US$1.9 billion that Mexico receives in revenue from the tobacco industry covers just 38% of the burden of tobacco use.⁷¹

Since 2008, Mexico has prohibited sale, distribution and promotion of any product that resembles a cigarette, which has been applied to e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (see section “Roadmap to Tobacco Control”).⁷²⁷³ Even so, in the 2021 ENSANUT survey, current use of e-cigarette by adults aged 20 and over was 1.6% (2.5% for males; 0.7% for females). Amongst youth aged 10 to 19, prevalence was slightly higher, at 1.8% (2.4% for males; 1.1% for females).⁶⁹ A 2022 survey by the National Commission Against Addictions estimated that five million Mexicans between the ages of 12 and 65 had used e-cigarettes at some point, with 975,000 being current users.⁷⁴

Tobacco in Mexico

Market share and leading brands

In 2022, market research company Euromonitor International estimated the Mexican tobacco market to be worth nearly 89 billion Mexican pesos (US$4.5 billion), mostly accounted for by cigarette sales.⁷⁵ The market is dominated by the big transnational tobacco companies (TTCs), particularly Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT), and to a much lesser extent Japan Tobacco International (JTI). Between them, these three companies accounted for virtually all legal cigarette sales in 2022. PMI is the market leader with just over 60%, followed by BAT with just under 36%. JTI’s share was 4%.¹³

As of 2022, the top six brands in Mexico were all manufactured by either PMI or BAT. By far the most popular cigarette was PMI’s premium brand Marlboro, with a market share of over 48%. This was followed by BAT’s mid-range cigarette Pall Mall, with under 22%. All other brands had a share of less than 10%.⁷⁶

• For more information on the tobacco industry in Mexico, see the Tobacco Supply Chain Database.

The use of flavour capsule cigarettes is particularly high in several Latin American countries, including Mexico, where their share of the market has risen year on year since 2012.⁷⁷ Although they were only introduced in 2011, flavour capsule cigarettes accounted for nearly 28% of the cigarette market in 2022 – amongst the highest proportions in the world.⁶⁴⁷⁸ Research has shown that flavour capsules increase the appeal of cigarettes and stimulate a desire to try them, particularly amongst young people.⁷⁸⁷⁹

• For more information, see Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco in LMICs.

Tobacco farming and child labour

Tobacco growing in Mexico has fallen considerably since 1980, when it produced nearly 94,000 tonnes of leaf, to under 7,000 tonnes in 2010 (see Figure 1). However, in 2010 production started to increase again, rising to over 15,000 tonnes by 2012, since when the figure has remained roughly stable.²⁰

Figure 1: Mexican tobacco production, 1961 to 2020.⁸⁰ Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization/Our World in Data | CC BY

Similarly, in 1980 the harvested area was 42,000 hectares, falling to 4,000 hectares in 2010, but up to 7,000 in 2020.²⁰

A series of exposés in the 1990s revealed widespread use of child labour on Mexico tobacco farms, as well as the use of banned agrochemicals and poor living and working conditions for tobacco pickers. While the industry claims much has changed since then, an investigation by The Guardian in 2018 found children working on seven out of the ten farms the report visited in the state of Nayarit, Mexico’s main tobacco growing region. The farms featured in the investigation were supplying PMI, BAT and Universal Leaf Tobacco.⁸¹

• For information on tobacco industry responses to accusations of complicity in child labour, please see the pages on CSR: Child Labour and the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco-Growing Foundation (ECLT).

Tobacco and the economy

Mexico is a net exporter both of tobacco leaf and cigarettes. According to UN Comtrade, it exported approximately US$7.1 million in raw tobacco in 2022, compared to around US$2.4 million in imports.⁸²⁸³

A 2021 report on the impacts of tobacco tax, published by the Center of Research on Food and Development (CIAD), which bases its calculations on the Secretariat of Economy’s Online Tariff Information System, puts the figure for cigarette exports in 2019 at close to US$180 million, compared to imports of over $10 million.⁸⁴ This corresponds to customs data from Descartes Datamyne, which put cigarette exports for 2020 at over $168 million, compared to imports of US$10.7 million.⁸⁵ However, the Comtrade figure for cigarette exports in 2020 is much lower.⁸⁶ No import data is available on Comtrade for that year.

According to the CIAD report, seventy per cent of Mexican cigarette exports served the Canadian market, 15% the Colombian market, and 11% Central American markets.⁸⁴ Customs data also indicates these are the main export destinations for cigarettes manufactured in Mexico.⁸⁵

The CIAD report also states that the tobacco industry is a relatively small sector of the Mexican economy, employing just 0.1% of the national workforce in 2018.⁸⁴

Illicit trade

In a 2021 study which measured the Mexican illicit tobacco trade using two methodologies, illicit cigarettes accounted for 8.8% of total consumption based on an analysis of discarded packs, and 7.6% based on a survey of smokers. Both results are significantly lower than the figure of 16.6% which is widely publicised by the tobacco industry.⁸⁷ While the figures obtained via both methodologies represent an increase from previous estimates of illicit cigarette consumption – 0.5% in 2009 and 2.7% in 2015 – they are lower than the global average and lower than the figure for other countries in Latin America such as Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.⁸⁸⁸⁹ A previous study also found wide geographical variation across the country: for example, in Hermosillo, Sonora, just 0.3% of total cigarette consumption was illicit, while in León, Guanajato, the figure was as high as 27.5%.⁸⁸

There is also an illegal e-cigarette market. Between January 2021 and June 2022, Mexican authorities seized over 60,000 devices, suspending the activities of nearly 180 retail outlets.⁹⁰

Tobacco and the environment

Mexico produces around 40 billion cigarettes annually. This consumes between 109 and 205 billion litres of water and between 73 and 114 million kilowatts of energy. It also generates CO₂ emissions of between 20,000 and 29,000 tonnes. Around 55 million cigarette butts are discarded every day in Mexico, at an estimated cost of close to US$140 million annually.⁹¹

• For more information, please see the page on Tobacco and the Environment and the long read on Plastics, the Environment and the Tobacco Industry.

Roadmap to Tobacco Control

Mexico was the first country in the Americas to ratify the WHO FCTC in 2004.⁶³ However, it has not joined the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.⁹²

In 2008, The General Law on Tobacco Control came into force, containing most of the provisions established in the WHO FCTC.⁹³ However, it left some significant loopholes. While smoking was completely prohibited indoors in primary and secondary schools, and in federal government facilities, workplaces and other buildings with public access were permitted to provide designated smoking areas. Similarly, the law banned most forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, but made an exception in cases where it was aimed exclusively at adults.⁹⁴ Some stricter regulation was introduced at subnational level. For example, Mexico City passed its own 100% smokefree law in February 2008 and in the following years 14 states followed suit.⁹⁵⁹⁶

In 2021, the Mexican Senate unanimously approved a key amendment to the 2008 General Law, which banned smoking in all enclosed public spaces and workplaces, as well as banning all forms of tobacco advertising.⁶⁶ A further update, which came into force in January 2023, extended smoke-free legislation even to open-air environments where there may be public gatherings, such as parks, beaches and restaurant terraces. It also bans the display of tobacco products in all retail outlets.⁶⁷⁹⁷⁹⁸ With these two measures, Mexico made important progress towards full compliance with the WHO FCTC.⁶⁶

Mexico has taken a tough stance on newer nicotine and tobacco products. Since 2008, there has been a ban on any product that resembles a cigarette.^99100101 Regulators have applied this law to e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs), but it has been contested by both retailers and tobacco companies.⁷²⁹⁹ In 2020, the government banned imports of e-cigarettes and HTPs, bringing customs law into line with existing health regulations.¹⁰² Though a decree published by the Secretariat of Economy in July 2021 created an exception for HTPs, this was reversed by a new presidential decree in October of the same year.¹⁰³¹⁰⁴

Finally, on World No Tobacco Day in May 2022, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed a decree imposing a total ban on “circulation and marketing” of e-cigarettes and HTPs. This effectively makes the import and sale of these products illegal in Mexico.⁹⁹¹⁰⁵

For more details, please see the following websites:

• Legislation by country – Mexico, Tobacco Control Laws, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
• Mexico, WHO FCTC implementation database, WHO FCTC Secretariat
• Country Profile – Mexico, World Health Organization, WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2023

Tobacco Industry Interference in Mexico

Tobacco industry tactics in Mexico include the use of third parties; the targeting of youth with marketing for newer nicotine and tobacco products, particularly on social media; and corporate social responsibility, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Use of third parties

Tobacco companies often lobby via industry and trade associations, think tanks, front groups and other third parties, including public relations (PR) companies and professional lobbyists.

In Mexico, the Confederación Patronal de la República Mexicana (COPARMEX) is an employers’ union, which brings together businesses of all sizes and from all sectors.¹⁰⁶ In 2021, Philip Morris International (PMI) listed COPARMEX as one of the business and trade organisations in which it held a leadership role.¹⁰⁷

In May 2022, Mexico held a public consultation on an update to its revised tobacco control law, regarding proposals to completely ban the display of tobacco products at points of sale, and to further restrict designated smoking areas to limited open-air environments.⁹⁷ COPARMEX’s submission to the consultation argued that cost of implementing these measures would be high and adversely impact the owners of small businesses; that the proposals violated the right to free trade; and that they would fuel the growth of the illicit trade.¹⁰⁸

The National Tobacco Industry Council (CONAINTA) – of which PMI, BAT and JTI are all members – also opposed these measures, arguing that they would have a negative impact on the national economy, including on tobacco growing communities; that they violated consumer rights; and that they would endanger jobs and investment.¹⁰⁹ In 2023, the president of CONAINTA warned that there would be a “storm” of legal appeals against the updated tobacco control law.¹¹⁰

Controversial marketing: targeting youth

The tobacco industry has long seen young people as a vital target market; tobacco use generally starts in adolescence. According to the 2016-7 National Survey of Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption, the average age of initiation for daily tobacco consumption in Mexico was less than 20 years old.¹¹¹

Mexican media have documented tobacco companies targeting young people with marketing for newer nicotine and tobacco products via social media. From around 2018, industry hashtags – such as #FuturoSinHumo (“#SmokeFreeFuture”) and #EligeElCambio (“#ChooseChange” – both PMI) and #vypefriends and #govype (both BAT) began to appear on posts by popular Mexican actors, influencers, comedians and others.¹¹²¹¹³ Products such as PMI’s HTP IQOS and BAT’s e-cigarette Vype (since rebranded as Vuse) featured visibly in this content, though often company sponsorship was not made explicit.¹¹²

Even before the General Law on Tobacco Control was amended in late 2021, it prohibited tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship in all but three circumstances: in adult magazines, in adult-only establishments, or in personal correspondence to adults via post. It also specifically prohibited the online marketing of tobacco products.⁹⁴ According to a lawyer at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, “these products must comply with the General Law on Tobacco Control, which clearly establishes a near-total ban on this publicity.”¹¹²

A 2022 study on exposure to e-cigarette advertising and the social acceptability of e-cigarette use in Mexico identified online advertising as one of the channels of exposure most significantly associated with a higher likelihood of perceiving e-cigarettes as socially acceptable.¹¹⁴ According to a researcher at the National Institute of Public Health – one of the authors of the study – the industry’s aim is the “renormalization” of nicotine consumption amongst young people.¹¹²

• See also the page on PMI’s Futuro Sin Humo campaign.

The tobacco industry has also sponsored motorsports in Mexico. In the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix, held in October, the McLaren cars displayed BAT’s Vuse branding – in an apparent violation of the comprehensive ban on e-cigarettes brought in just months beforehand.¹¹⁵ Motorsport sponsorship is a longstanding and well-documented promotional strategy aimed at young people, particularly boys and young men.¹¹⁶

Corporate social responsibility

Tobacco companies often use corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to enhance their public image and corporate reputation.

In 2018, PMI’s local subsidiary Philip Morris México (PMM) set up a partnership with a local start-up, Eco Filter, which uses biotechnology to recycle cigarette butts.¹¹²¹¹⁷ This partnership involves clean-up and collection initiatives which target young people, with events taking place at concerts, parks and universities. Eco Filter also delivers presentations to young people in which it displays PMI logos, and has used the social media hashtag and PMI slogan #FuturoSinHumo.¹¹²¹¹⁸ Eco Filter states that it does not promote PMI’s products or encourage nicotine consumption amongst young people.¹¹²

In 2021, Eco Filter opened a new factory in Guadalajara, Jalisco, with support from PMM.¹¹⁷¹¹⁹ It will process waste from PMM’s manufacturing facility near Guadalajara, as well as cigarette butts from the street.¹²⁰¹²¹

• See also Cigarette Filters.

Both PMI and BAT carried out extensive corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, PMI donated electric beds, vital signs monitors and ventilators to a hospital in Guadalajara. PMI also donated money for personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare professionals, and meals to a public welfare institution.¹²² BAT joined a programme called UNIR y DAR (“UNITE and GIVE”) with other local companies in Nuevo León, where BAT México is headquartered. As part of an initiative called #RespiraNL, these companies made donations for PPE.¹²³ BAT also provided food supplies in Guadalupe, Nuevo León.¹²⁴

There are also CSR initiatives on child labour in Mexico. For example, since 2001 BAT has run a programme called “Florece” (meaning “Blossom” or “Flourish” in English), which provides day centres for the children of workers in the tobacco fields of Nayarit.¹²⁵¹²⁶

• For more on tobacco industry activity during the pandemic, please see the COVID-19 Tobacco Tactics page and the COVID-19 monitoring database.

Relevant Links

• III Índice Regional de Interferencia de la Industria Tabacalera en países de América Latina y el Caribe 2023, Corporate Accountability, Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control
• Mexico – Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2021, Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control
• Interferencia de tabacaleras en México: reporte de índice regional, Salud Justa, 2021
• Mexico: the long road to Tobacco Control, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
• Mexico – Cigarette Tax Scorecard, Tobacconomics
• Tobacco Industry Interference in Mexico, STOP
• México, Organización Panamericana de la Salud

Tobacco Tactics Resources

• E-cigarettes: British American Tobacco
• Futuro Sin Humo
• Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco in LMICs
• PMI’s IQOS: Use, “Switching” and “Quitting”

TCRG Research

• Developing more detailed taxonomies of tobacco industry political activity in low-income and middle-income countries: qualitative evidence from eight countries, B.K. Matthes, K. Lauber, M. Zatoński, L. Robertson, A.B. Gilmore, BMJ Global Health 2021;6:e004096.

For a comprehensive list of all TCRG publications, including research that evaluates the impact of public health policy, go to TCRG publications.

References

The post Mexico Country Profile appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

• “Disposable” products are not new – transnational tobacco companies have sold ‘cig-a-likes’ in the past and some still do
• Transnational companies have all launched new products to catch some of this rapidly growing market
• Company marketing material emphasises consumer convenience
• There are concerns around increasing youth use of e-cigarettes and how much single use products are responsible
• Products contain plastic and lithium batteries are often discarded and there is increasing evidence of environmental harm
• There have been calls to regulate or ban these products in several countries

Background

Since 2019, there has been a rapid growth in the market for ‘disposable’, or single use, e-cigarettes with independent brands dominating the market.¹²⁷¹²⁸ In October 2023, industry analysts ECigIntelligence estimated that these products made up nearly 40% of the global e-cigarette market.¹²⁹¹³⁰

Single use products have been controversial, with concerns around increasing youth use (see Box 1 below) and environmental impact leading to widespread media coverage,^{131132133134135} and warnings from health advocates and policy makers.^136137138139 Some large UK retailers have announced that they will no longer sell single use products.¹⁴⁰¹⁴¹

Despite their sustainability claims,^142143144 three of the ‘big 4’ of transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) launched new single use e-cigarettes in 2022 to compete in this fast-growing market, saying that this was to meet consumer demand and a desire for convenience. However, single use products are not new, or even new to TTCs. Earlier products resembled cigarettes, referred to as ‘cig-a-likes’, or pens. As of early 2023 some of these products were still being marketed alongside the new bar-type products (see below).

Box 1: Increasing youth use of e-cigarettes in UK
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) reported survey data showing that in 2023, 69% of young e-cigarette users were using “disposable” products, compared to 7% in 2020, and an increase from 52% the previous year.¹⁴⁵¹⁴⁶ Over the same period youth use of all e-cigarettes more than doubled.¹⁴⁵¹⁴⁶
ASH Scotland noted that, according to the 200-21 Scottish government census, use of e-cigarettes in Scotland had more than doubled in five years.¹⁴⁷¹⁴⁸

Calls for bans and taxes

There have been calls to ban single use e-cigarettes in a number of countries, including the UK,^{149150151152153} Ireland,¹⁵⁴¹⁵⁵ Estonia,¹⁵⁶ Germany,¹⁵⁷ France,¹⁵⁸ and Switzerland.¹⁵⁹

Bans announced

After running a consultation on youth vaping,¹⁶⁰¹⁶¹ the UK government, in January 2024, announced a proposal to ban single-use e-cigarettes – “a key driver behind the alarming rise in youth vaping” – alongside other measures to prevent the sale of e-cigarettes to children.¹⁶²¹⁶³ ASH had proposed a specific tax on single use products in preference to a ban. In March 2024, the UK government instead announced plans to increase taxes on all e-cigarettes not included in the ban, according to level of nicotine.^135164165

• for details of the broader UK ‘Smoke free generation’ legislation see Tobacco Industry Interference with Endgame Policies

The Scottish Government announced in January 2023 that it intended to ban single use products,¹⁶⁶ and commissioned a review into their environmental impact.¹⁶⁷ New regulations were announced in February 2024, under existing environmental protection legislation.^{168 169170}

Bans have also been announced in Belgium,¹⁷¹ France,¹⁷² Poland,¹⁷³ Australia,¹⁷⁴¹⁷⁵ and New Zealand.¹⁷⁶¹⁷⁷

Challenges enforcing regulations

In the UK any e-cigarette product on sale must be notified to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which is responsible for checking the data submitted by manufacturers and importers.¹⁷⁸¹⁷⁹ If this information meets the required checks products are listed on the MHRA website and can be legally sold on the UK market.¹⁸⁰ While the MHRA can investigate reports of non-compliance, local Trading Standards officials (in multiple separate local authorities) are responsible for checking that products on sale match the information supplied to the MHRA.¹⁷⁸¹⁸¹ This is increasingly challenging as huge numbers of new products are added to the database: on 30 March 2023, a search of the MHRA product database for ‘disposable’ e-cigarettes produced over 10, 000 entries for products listed since January 2021, with over 1000 new entries in two months, an average of around 200 per week.¹⁸⁰ By July this figure has risen to nearly 12,000.¹⁸⁰

In the US some companies  argued that the use of synthetic nicotine in single use e-cigarettes means that they are not ‘tobacco’ products and therefore fell outside the remit of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).¹⁸² Proposals to tighten regulation were welcomed by US e-cigarette market leader JUUL Labs (which at the time was part-owned by Altria):

“illegally marketed and illicit products and products designed to evade federal and state oversight undermine harm reduction and a responsible e-vapor category.”¹⁸²¹⁸³

In April 2022 a law came into force specifying that the FDA could regulate products with nicotine from any source, closing this loophole.¹⁸⁴ In June 2023, at an investor conference, BAT CEO Taddeu Marroco described the enforcement of the regulations for synthetic nicotine as “very weak”.¹⁸⁵

Fast growing market

The value of the global market for single use products has been estimated to be between US$5 and $6billion in 2022.¹²⁷¹³⁵ This figure has been projected to triple in the next 10 years, according to analysis published in the tobacco industry publication Tobacco Reporter.¹²⁷

Market size

In 2022, market research company Euromonitor International estimated the total value of the market for all e-cigarettes and related products to be nearly US$19 billion.¹⁸⁶

Single use products made up 6% of global e-cigarette sales in 2021, a share which more than doubled by 2022 to 15%.¹⁸⁶

Euromonitor has estimated that the US market more than halved from nearly US$1 billion in 2021 to less than half a billion in 2022.¹⁸⁶ The US and China, where regulatory restrictions have increased,¹⁸⁷¹⁸⁸ were the only markets in decline. The value of the UK market in 2022, compared to 2021, was more than 10 times greater and worth twice as much as the whole of the US market.¹⁸⁶

Of the single use markets that Euromonitor records, the UK market grew the most in monetary value. Other markets, all in Europe, had also grown markedly in proportion to their 2021 value:  France, Switzerland, Slovakia and Austria had grown around ten times; the German and Greek markets had grown over 60 times.¹⁸⁶ This made the German market the fourth largest globally after the UK, USA and Russia.¹⁸⁶ The Egyptian market was not recorded in 2021 but in 2022 was estimated to be worth over US$44 million.¹⁸⁶ The Egyptian market was also growing.¹⁸⁶

Company and brand shares

Globally in 2022, the two leading single use brands were manufactured by Shenzhen Imiracle Technology: Elf Bar and Lost Mary.¹⁸⁹ (ElfBar is now known as EBDesign in the US owing to a patent dispute with a US company.)¹⁹⁰

In terms of TTC global market share, in 2022, BAT’s Vuse and Imperial’s Blue held much smaller shares.  NJoy (purchased by Altria in 2023 after it withdrew investment from JUUL Labs) held a negligible share.¹⁹¹¹⁸⁹

In the UK the two Shenzhen Imiracle Technology brands dominated. In the other fast-growing European markets BAT’s VUSE held larger shares than other brands.¹⁸⁹

Puff vs Bidi Stick

In 2021, two brands held a sizeable share of the global single use market: Kaival Brands’ Bidi Stick and EVO Brands’s Puff.¹⁹² As of 2023, EVO’s products had not received market authorisation in the US and the company was facing enforcement action by the FDA.^192193194

In June 2022, Philip Morris International (PMI) reached an agreement with Kaival to manufacture, distribute and market bidi stick and forthcoming “disposable” products outside the US (see below for details).¹⁹⁵¹⁹⁶ No sales outside the US have as yet been recorded by Euromonitor but products have been reported on sale (see below).

Users switching devices?

An academic research study has suggested that users of reusable e-cigarettes may be switching to single use products.¹³³¹⁹⁷ A retailer magazine reported Nielsen data suggesting that disposables have negatively affected UK sales of rechargeable devices from JTI, Imperial and JUUL and BAT’s 10 Motives (although this brand also includes single use products).¹⁹⁸

Old products – new variations

Image 1: Disposable e-cigarettes (Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) ¹⁹⁹

Cig-a-likes and pen shapes

The single use devices first marketed by TTCs were generally small cig-a-likes which resemble cigarettes, often with a white body and imitation filter. The nicotine containing liquid is held in a small container or cartridge which is not refillable, and the device contains a battery which is not rechargeable.²⁰⁰

Pen-shaped e-cigarettes resemble a pen or laser pointer and are often larger than cig-a-likes, with more battery capacity.²⁰¹ Many of these devices are refillable, although TTCs have also sold single use versions (see image 1).¹⁹⁹

• Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has been selling pen-shaped “disposable” e-cigarettes in the US since acquiring the Logic brand in 2015.²⁰²²⁰³
• BAT sells a single use cig-a-like in the UK under its subsidiary brand Ten Motives.²⁰⁴ Euromonitor began recording sales of this brand in 2021.¹⁹² By February 2022 the Ten Motives website was also selling BAT’s new bar-type disposable product ²⁰⁵
• Imperial Brands also had a single use e-cigarette shaped like a pen on sale in the US.²⁰⁶ Most of Imperial’s rechargeable products, sold under the myblu brand, received a marketing denial order from the FDA in April 2022, meaning they cannot be legally sold in the US.²⁰⁷ As of February 2023 the FDA had not made a decision on Imperial’s disposables and cig-a-like rechargeables.
• Prior to 2020, PMI focussed on developing and promoting its heated tobacco product IQOS and displayed little interest in e-cigarettes. Its rechargeable VEEV ONE – previously IQOS VEEV, and originally launched in 2020 as Mesh – is now available in some markets.

See E-cigarettes: The Basics for information on other product types

New bar-type products

In mid-2022 BAT and PMI launched new single use products within two months of each other.

In 2022 BAT referred to Vuse Go as its “first disposable – modern disposable – product”.²⁰⁸ In February 2023 it reported that it was on sale in 24 countries.²⁰⁹

• For more details see E-cigarettes: British American Tobacco

In July 2022, PMI launched VEEBA, initially in Canada. Kaival Brands stated that its subsidiary Bidi Vapor’s IP, patents and development methods were used for VEEBA as part of their agreement with Philip Morris.^127210211212 VEEBA was officially launched in the UK in March 2023.²¹³ In mid-2023, PMI rebranded VEEBA as VEEV NOW.¹⁹⁶²¹⁴

• For more details see E-cigarettes: Philip Morris International

Imperial Brands followed, launching its single use Blu Bar in the UK in November 2022.²¹⁵

• For more details see E-cigarettes: Imperial Brands

These newer products are all bar-type rather than cig-a-likes or pen-shaped.

Nicotine salts

Like many other e-cigarettes, Vuse Go,²¹⁶ VEEBA²¹⁷ and Blu Bar,²¹⁸ all use nicotine salts. These are created when ‘freebase’ nicotine is dissolved in acid, which can make a higher dose of nicotine easier to inhale and less irritating to the throat.^219220221 This can also increase the speed and level of nicotine delivery to the user,²²¹ which  has been linked to increased initiation, dependence and frequency of use among youth.^220222223224 A study in the Netherlands, published in 2022, found that single use products more often contained nicotine salts than refills.²²¹

Market motivation

In February 2023, BAT reported that the growth of the single use market had negatively impacted its e-cigarette market share in a number of countries.²⁰⁹ It also stated that sales of single use products may, to some extent, replace other BAT products already on the market.²⁰⁹

BAT’s Vuse Go launched first in the UK in May, which the company described as its “fastest concept to market delivery to date.”²²⁵²²⁶ This appears to be a response to a falling e-cigarette market share in France, Germany and the UK.  After launching Vuse Go In France and Germany BAT was able to maintain the highest markets share, and in the UK its market share stabilised.²⁰⁹

In a presentation to investors in June 2022, finance and transformation director described BAT’s intention to launch new products every year:²²⁷

“We have just opened up a new hub in China to be closer with suppliers, so we are able to develop a stronger pipeline and making sure that, for every single of these categories, we have a rhythm of reaching at every single year with novelties in the market.”²²⁷

Imperial Brands, in a conference for investors and analysts, stated: “what we are observing is not that the market is switching from pod systems into disposables. The disposable growth goes on top of the pod-based systems”.²²⁸

At that time Imperial said “we are clearly going to watch whether that is an opportunity that we see, long term, being part of the proposition”.²²⁸

In February 2022, PMI stated that “profit per user” was  estimated to be similar for “disposable e-vapor” as for nicotine pouches.²²⁹ Exactly one year later in another presentation to investors PMI noted that ”disposable e-vapor” was a “category where loyalty is low and things are moving very, very, very fast” and that a lack of consumer loyalty could “weaken the model to generate profit”.²³⁰ PMI stated that it intended to develop disposable products in “the profitable manner with the highest standard of ethic [sic] and responsibility”.²³⁰

In June 2023, after PMI rebranded its single use e-cigarette VEEBA as VEEV NOW,  PMI’s chief financial officer Emmanuel Babeau stated in a presentation to investors that:

“…with VEEV NOW and VEEV ONE, we have really 2 great products on disposable and closed system (…) let’s go for the market where vaping is a significant market; where there is the hope for minimum regulation today or coming soon.”²³¹

BAT acting against competitors

Lobbying against rivals in the US

BAT, as Reynolds American, used a ‘citizen’s petition’ to lobby the FDA to have its rival’s products removed from sale, citing use by young people.^232233234 US advocacy group the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) called BAT’s actions “shameless hypocrisy”, pointing out that BAT/Reynold’s e-cigarette Vuse was the second most popular brand among youth after Puff Bar in the US.²³⁵ CTFK also noted that BAT/Reynolds was “seeking to overturn the FDA’s decision denying marketing authorization for two menthol-flavored Vuse products – a decision the FDA made precisely because of the risk these products pose to youth.”²³⁵

Testing products in the UK

According to the trade publication Better Retailing,  letters sent to wholesalers showed that from 2021 BAT had been commissioning its own lab tests on single use products produced its UK competitors.²³⁶ Better Retailing quoted BAT’s letter urging retailers stop selling any “non-compliant products”.²³⁶ It also wrote to the MHRA, and local authority Trading Standards teams throughout the UK.²³⁶²³⁷

BAT said:

“Where we discover apparent compliance issues, we consider it can be constructive to share this independently certified evidence with our trade partners, regulators and enforcement agencies”.²³⁶

The Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBTVA) released a statement on 21 March, saying that, while it accepted that there were issues with compliance in some products, it was:

“becoming increasingly concerned that the tobacco industry and its affiliates are using this minority non-compliance to build a narrative that the independent vape industry cannot be trusted.”²³⁸²³⁹

The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), which at the time had tobacco company members, also put out a statement, but it did not refer to tobacco companies.²⁴⁰

In April 2023, the UK government announced that it would be launching a new “illicit vapes enforcement squad” to enforce regulations, led by Trading Standards with product tests conducted by an accredited independent laboratory.²⁴¹²⁴²

In March 2024, BAT’s chief executive told the Financial Times that it welcomed the new tax on single-use products, saying “we love regulation”.²⁴³ Later that month, he told the BBC that a ban would not work and would result in an increase in illicit trade.²⁴⁴

Image 2: Slide for presentation at Consumer Analysts Group of New York conference, February 2023 (Source: imperialbrandsplc.com)²⁴⁵

Promoted for convenience

When talking about single use products on their websites, and in corporate presentations, tobacco companies all refer to convenience for the consumer.

On its website, BAT promotes the product as “designed for on the go moments”,²⁴⁶ In material directed towards investors it has referred to “the modern disposable segment with its convenient and flexible format.”²⁴⁷ This fits with BAT’s promotion of its various products, including cigarettes, for different “moments” in the day.

In February 2022, at a consumer analysts conference in New York (CAGNY) PMI stated to potential investors that:

“Responsibly marketed disposables provide a convenient and simple entry point to adult smokers switching for the first time, and a hassle-free option for smoke-free poly-users.”²²⁹

When PMI presented its financial results in July, it used the same statement, but the term “legal-age smokers” was used instead of “poly users”.²⁴⁸ See also the section on dual and poly use on the page about IQOS heated tobacco products.

In a presentation to potential investors in early 2023, Imperial Brands referred to the “new convenient format” of its disposable blu bar (see image 2).²⁴⁵

Fast moving consumer goods marketed for convenience or ‘On the go’ use are frequently littered, potentially increasing environmental harm.²⁴⁹²⁵⁰

Environmental impact

The manufacturing of single use e-cigarettes, like that of other newer products, involves a range of processes that are significantly more environmentally intensive compared to the process for producing combustible cigarettes. These can include the production of plastics, the extraction of metals like lithium for electronic components, and the chemical production of nicotine-containing liquids.²⁵¹ For more information see Tobacco and the Environment.

Single use e-cigarettes are classed as electronic waste and should be disposed of following the correct procedures to avoid fire hazard, and the release of toxic chemicals into the environment. ²⁵² However, most are improperly discarded in household waste or the environment.^135253254  This leads to e-liquid chemicals such as nicotine salts, microplastics from the plastic casing, and flammable lithium-ion batteries and associated chemicals (heavy metals, lead, mercury) in waterways and soil, and consumed by wildlife.²⁵⁵²⁵⁶

According to the not-for-profit Material Focus, each single use device battery contains on average 0.15g of lithium, making for an estimated 10 tonnes of this “critical” raw material being discarded  globally per year, equivalent to the batteries in around 1,200 electric vehicles.^135252253254 They also contained copper, roughly the equivalent needed for 1.6 million home electric vehicle chargers.¹³⁵ If they were not discarded after a single use, the lithium-ion batteries could be recharged or recycled into new batteries.^252253254

Despite a legal obligation, in the UK and EU, for producers of any electronics to provide recycling schemes for these products,¹³⁵ properly disposing of e-cigarettes is a difficult process, particularly for users without their own transport.²⁵⁷ TTCs have promoted their individual recycling schemes on their websites.^{218252253258259} However, an investigation by UK newspaper The Financial Times, found that supermarket staff in London were not aware of recycling schemes for these products.¹³⁵

UK retailers face potential fines for not providing a ‘take back’ service for used e-cigarettes.²⁶⁰ Retail magazine Better Retailing reported in April 2023 that the large tobacco companies did not appear to be supporting UK retailers with the recycling of their products.²⁶¹

Relevant Links

• The environmental impact of disposable vapes, research briefing to the UK Parliament, 28 November 2022

Product regulation 
The Policy Scan Project, by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (at Johns Hopkins University) tracks and reports regulatory approaches to nicotine pouches around the world.  For information on tobacco regulation more broadly, see the Tobacco Control Laws website, published by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK).

TobaccoTactics Resources

• E-cigarettes
• E-cigarettes: The Basics
• Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products: Tobacco Company Brands
• Tobacco Industry Product Terminology
• Harm Reduction
• Tobacco and the Environment

TCRG Research

For a comprehensive list of all TCRG publications, including TCRG research that evaluates the impact of public health policy, go to the Bath TCRG’s list of publications.

References

The post E-cigarettes: Tobacco Company Interests in Single Use Products appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

In February 2022 the UK Advertising Standards Agency upheld a complaint made against VPZ for its promotion of “cessation” services in its stores, instructing it to remove medicinal claims from its marketing material.²⁶⁵ See below for details.

Background

VPZ is the trading name for CCHG Ltd, which was founded in 2012 by brothers Callum and Connor Henderson, who are listed on UK Companies House as having significant control of the company.^266267268

Headquartered in Edinburgh, VPZ was previously known as Vaporized, until the company rebranded at the start of 2019.²⁶⁹²⁷⁰

Relationship with the Tobacco Industry

Loan from Philip Morris Ltd

In September 2018, Convex Capital Ltd stated that it had helped VPZ secure a loan of UK£12.5 million (around US$15 million) from Philip Morris International.²⁶³²⁷¹ The funds allowed VPZ to fulfil one of its “main strategic objectives… to accelerate [its] store opening programme.”²⁷²

In February 2020, VPZ told The Grocer that “as the UK’s leading vaping retailer, our alignment [with PML] has supported our growth ambitions and offered a number of synergies as we aim to help even more Brits realise the transformative benefits of switching from smoking to the reduced-risk alternatives available.”²⁶³ A PML spokesperson told The Grocer that there are no plans to acquire VPZ “at this time.”²⁶³

VPZ has stated that the loan was repaid and that it no longer has a financial relationship with PMI.²⁷³

Markets PMI’s HTP alongside E-cigarettes

IQOS, a heated tobacco product produced by PMI, has been promoted on VPZ’s website.²⁷⁴

The Grocer also reported that VPZ has a distribution deal with JUUL Labs to sell their products.²⁶³ Altria holds a 35% stake in Juul Labs.

Three VPZ directors previously worked for Fontem Ventures, a subsidiary of Imperial Brands (previously Imperial Tobacco).

Directors

As of October 2022, the following were listed as directors: ²⁶⁶

• Douglas Mutter, Manufacturing and Compliance Director. He also deals with public affairs for the CCHG group. He worked for Fontem Ventures from 2012-2015.²⁷⁵ Mutter is also a Director of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).
• William Rooney. He worked for Fontem Ventures from 2014.²⁷⁶
• Ian Henderson, Finance Director. He worked at Fontem Ventures in 2015.²⁷⁷
• Callum Henderson²⁶⁶
• Mohamed Tahir²⁶⁶

Memberships and Partnerships

• VPZ are founding members of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).²⁷⁸
• VPZ is an official partner of Vaping Awareness Month “VApril”.²⁶⁹

Activities

Smoking “cessation” services in VPZ stores

VPZ began rolling out what it describes as “vape clinic” services in July 2021 to help users switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes sold by the retailer. In 2022, the service was advertised as being available in 20 stores across the UK.²⁷⁹

Douglas Mutter, quoted in The Scotsman, said: “our new concept is an investment to fill the void left by the loss of local NHS stop smoking services.”²⁸⁰ However, consultations are with a VPZ employee rather than a trained healthcare professional.

VPZ’s website stated that:

“our specialist consultants will dedicate time to sit down with you and look at all of the options available from e-cigarette starter kits to heat-not-burn products, ultimately finding the right device for your needs.”²⁸¹²⁸²

In August 2022, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Scotland complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about the use of the term ‘clinic’ by VPZ and the claims about its cessation service.²⁸³ In February 2023 the ASA upheld the complaint, stating that VPZ’s promotion was covered by marketing restrictions for e-cigarettes:²⁶⁵

The ASA concluded that “the ad contained medicinal claims for smoking cessation which were prohibited by the CAP [Committee of Advertising Practice] Code” and that “the ad must not appear again in its current form.”²⁶⁵

From late 2021, the terms and conditions on the web page included a reference to PMI’s IQOS heated tobacco product, and its ‘Try Before You Buy service.²⁸²²⁸⁴ There is no reliable evidence that heated tobacco products help people stop smoking cigarettes.²⁸⁵

Ban smoking campaign

VPZ launched a campaign on 10 March 2022 to coincide with National No Smoking Day, calling for a “complete ban on smoking”. The retailer enlisted the services of former Tottenham and Liverpool player Neil “Razor” Ruddock to act as the campaign ambassador. As part of its anti-smoking campaign, VPZ argued that “vaping is fundamental to reaching this target” and highlighted its “vape clinic” services.²⁸⁶

In addition, VPZ brought petitions to both the British and Scottish governments calling for an outright ban on the sale of cigarettes and smoking.²⁸⁷²⁸⁸

In its petition to the Scottish government, VPZ referenced its consultation on restrictions around promotion and advertising of e-cigarettes, and argued that it “strongly believes that there should be advertising to promote and educate on the public health opportunity of vaping and welcomes engagement and dialogue on helping to shape a strategy”.²⁸⁸

Worked with NHS Trusts

In 2019, it was reported that VPZ had struck a deal with The Ladywell Unit at University Hospital Lewisham, one of the UK’s largest mental health hospitals, to provide free e-cigarettes to those trying to quit smoking. Every smoking patient was offered a £20 Hexa starting kit until the first 100 were used. The deal, reportedly the first of its kind, came under heavy criticism.²⁸⁹

Professor Martin McKee from the London School of Hygiene and Tropic Medicine told The Telegraph: “This is an extraordinary time for the NHS to engage in a project like this, in light of what we are seeing in the United States, and the risks of vaping.”²⁸⁹

The Telegraph also quoted Douglas Mutter, who said: “We will also work closely with them to monitor the impact of the project and aim to roll-out the scheme throughout the UK as we work towards transforming the health of the nation.”²⁸⁹

Campaigned for stores to be reclassified as “essential” during Covid pandemic

In February 2021, during the third national lockdown, VPZ launched an, ultimately unsuccessful, campaign for e-cigarette stores to be granted essential status.²⁹⁰ UKVIA conducted a similar campaign.²⁹¹

Offered vouchers to frontline workers

In July 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, VPZ offered £100,000 in vouchers to NHS staff,  other emergency workers and members of the armed forces to claim a free e-cigarette as a “thank you” to frontline workers.²⁹²

The scheme was criticised by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) as a “marketing stunt” and a way to get around a ban on tobacco advertising. Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said: “VPZ has been lent millions by Philip Morris. We’ll be reporting this to the authorities.” In response, a Philip Morris spokesperson said “the vouchers referred to cannot be redeemed for Philip Morris products because we took no part in the VPZ promotion. Any allegation of our involvement is incorrect.”²⁹³

Spoke at Tobacco Industry sponsored fringe event in Scotland

Douglas Mutter spoke at a fringe event at the 2019 Scottish National Party autumn conference, called “Where next for vaping in Scotland?” Mutter said that he was concerned about the “disinformation” about vaping, which he likened to that “about vaccination”. Scottish MSPs attended this event.²⁹⁴

Relevant Link

• VPZ website

TobaccoTactics Resources

• E-cigarettes: Philip Morris International
• Heated Tobacco Products: Philip Morris International
• UK Vaping Industry Association

TCRG Research

For a comprehensive list of all TCRG publications, including TCRG research that evaluates the impact of public health policy, go to the Bath TCRG’s list of publications.

References

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The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) is a US-based organisation which was set up by, and receives funding from, the Consumer Choice Center (CCC), which in turn accepts funding from the tobacco industry. An investigation by the Daily Beast stated that WVA had also accepted funding from British American Tobacco (BAT).²⁹⁵ WVA launched in May 2020 and lobbies against the regulation of e-cigarettes and campaigns for their use as a smoking cessation tool.

On its website, the organisation states that it “amplifies the voice of passionate vapers around the world” and that over 50,000 “vapers… are fighting with us”. However, WVA does not provide evidence to support this claim.²⁹⁶²⁹⁷

Relationship with the Tobacco Industry

The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) was initially presented as an independent partner organisation of CCC, which had provided an unspecified amount of “seed funding”.²⁹⁸ WVA later acknowledged it had been established by, and receives funding from, CCC.²⁹⁹ In May 2021, CCC filed a ‘fictitious name certificate’, with the State of Virginia for WVA, which allows CCC to trade under the name of WVA.²⁹⁵ CCC and WVA have also co-written several policy papers, which are published on CCC’s website.

Between December 2019 and April 2022, WVA’s website was maintained by Red Flag Consulting, a lobbying firm which has CCC, as well as BAT, as clients. It has subsequently been maintained by CCC.^300301302 According to an investigation by the Daily Beast, internal sources and leaked emails and documents showed that BAT “played a central and hands-on role in orchestrating, directing, and funding WVA”. The investigation also stated that WVA was “the embodiment” of the tobacco industry’s strategy of crafting astroturfing campaigns.²⁹⁵ Documents obtained by the Daily Beast indicated that WVA “acknowledged internally that it was presenting a false outward image” and that it was engineering “seemingly organic letters” in the Netherlands. The letters were from ‘supporters’ who wanted e-cigarette regulations rolled back, which were then sent to members of the Dutch and European Parliaments.²⁹⁵

A statement on CCC’s website dismissed the accusations, referring to “anonymous claims from disgruntled former subcontractors”.³⁰³ In response to the reports, a BAT spokesperson said it supports organizations that “contribute to the debate on issues that are important to our consumers, in particular tobacco harm reduction.”³⁰⁴

In an article published in 2023, The Times reported that executives at BAT had previously received regular briefings on WVA’s campaign efforts. A source told the newspaper that senior employees at Red Flag Consulting would report back to BAT executives to give updates on how the “campaigns [were] doing [and] trying to quantify if it was having an impact on EU legislators”. The source also said BAT viewed WVA as a “campaigning vehicle” which they used because “nobody’s going to listen to a tobacco company” arguing against regulations for products it sold.³⁰⁵ Red Flag stated in July 2022 that WVA was no longer a client.³⁰⁶

Staff

Many of WVA’s staff members formerly worked for Students for Liberty (SFL), an American libertarian organisation linked to billionaires Charles and David Koch, and CCC’s parent organisation.³⁰⁷³⁰⁸

• Michael Landl, Director. He is listed as a supporter of Rights4Vapers, a Canadian pro e-cigarette lobbying organisation, which is also a member of WVA.³⁰⁹³¹⁰ Several Rights4Vapers senior staff members have tobacco industry links.³⁰⁴
• Julia Kril, Communications Manager. Formerly worked for SFL.³¹¹
• Mariam Gogolishvhili, Campaign Manager. Formerly worked for SFL.³¹²
• Lika Janelidze, Project Manager. Formerly worked for SFL.³¹³

Advisory Board Members

• Professor Bernd Mayer, Scientific Advisor. He advocated for e-cigarettes to be used as a smoking cessation tool at a press event organised by BAT.³¹⁴ He also spoke at CCC’s “Nicotine is Not Your Enemy Soirée” event, which took place during the 8^th Conference of the Parties to the FCTC.³¹⁵
• Brian Marlow, Executive Director of the Australian Taxpayers Alliance (ATA) and Director of Legalise Vaping Australia (LVA). LVA is an offshoot of ATA and MyChoice Australia.³¹⁶ The Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association (ATHRA) is a “key industry supporter” of LVA. ATHRA received a US$8000 donation from Philip Morris International-funded Knowledge-Action-Change.³¹⁷³¹⁸ As of March 2023 this funding was not reported by ATHRA on its funding page.³¹⁹
• Kurt Leo, Co-founder of Vaping Saved My Life (South Africa).
• Carmine Canino, President of Associazione Nazionale per i Vapers Uniti (Italy).
• Andrew Urushadze, Former Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia.

Lobbying against tobacco and e-cigarette restrictions

COP 9

Investigations by Le Monde and The Investigative Desk showed that WVA was actively lobbying against the regulation of e-cigarettes before and during time of the meeting of the 9th Conference of the Parties (COP 9) in November 2021, and that a public relations company associated with BAT, Red Flag Consulting, was involved in organising the campaign.³²⁰ Videos on the WVA YouTube channel depicted the organisation’s activities before and during COP 9, including its “Back Vaping Beat Smoking” branded campaign van, and its presence in Geneva although COP was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.³²¹ In 2023, The Times reported that WVA had toured Europe in this van, handing out free branded merchandise, and urged users to write to MPs.³⁰⁵³²²

COP 10

Ahead of COP 10, initially scheduled to be held in Panama in November 2023 but postponed to February 2024, WVA published an article arguing that “the WHO has neglected evidence” for the use of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid because “it has already taken a side in the vaping debate”. It also argued that prohibition would lead to “irreversible illicit trade”.³²³

WVA subsequently published an article which referred to supposed “scandals” around COP10 relating to the use of public funds.³²⁴

WVA also criticised the “exclusion of consumers from the decision-making process”.³²⁵ The WVA director stated that restricting access to nicotine products would “ drive people back to more harmful smoking habits and potentially to the black market”.³²⁵

Campaigning against e-cigarette regulation

Europe

WVA has lobbied against e-cigarette flavour bans in several European countries, including Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland.³²⁶³²⁷ In May 2022, they delivered an open letter to the Swedish parliament and placed an art installation in front of the European Parliament which stated: “Flavours help smokers quit”.³²⁸

WVA’s website hosts a petition to European Parliamentarians but does not state how many people have signed it, when the petition started or when it will be delivered. The petition states: “NO to flavour bans, NO to lower nicotine levels, NO to treating vaping like smoking, NO to higher taxation, YES to freedom of choice and health”.³²⁹

In 2022, WVA’s website invited people to take action to “make vaping part of Europe’s plan to beat cancer” but did not list any members or contributors.³³⁰

In August 2022, the European Commission registered a European Citizens Initiative (ECI) which called for a “tobacco-free generation by 2030”. The ECI, which was organised by the Spanish NGO nofumadores.org, called for “ending the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to citizens born since 2010.”³³¹ In response, WVA’s director Landl said the ECI showed “widespread misinformation”, that the rules would “generate a massive black market” and that it is “morally wrong to deny harm reduction to younger generations.”³³²

The same month, WVA, along with We Vape called on the UK Government to influence the World Health Organizations (WHO) in favour of tobacco harm reduction and e-cigarettes.³³³ It planned a “Back Vaping Beat Smoking” campaign for October 2022, including a trip to the European Parliament. ³³⁴

In 2023, WVA responded to a UK government consultation on tackling youth vaping.³³⁵ The submission opposed potential restrictions on e-cigarette flavours and a proposed ban on single use e-cigarettes. It also argued that the inclusion of heated tobacco products in any such ban would lead to smuggling.³³⁵³⁰⁵

South Africa

In February 2022, a video on its YouTube channel argued that proposed regulations in South Africa “would severely restrict vaping in the country and what impact they can have on consumers and on public health”.³³⁶ South Africa is a growing market for e-cigarettes, including BAT’s products.

Australia

In July 2022, WVA co-signed a letter to Mark McGowan, the Premier of Western Australia, opposing the closure of e-cigarette stores in the region. In Australia, e-cigarettes containing nicotine can only be purchased from pharmacies with a prescription.³³⁷ The letter states: “we do not represent industries; we are only concerned about access to a life-saving alternative to smoking for adult consumers,” adding, without providing accompanying evidence, “this will push many vapers back to smoking or the black market, placing them in an abhorrent situation.”³³⁸

Opposed tobacco endgame  

WVA has lobbied against proposed tobacco control policies in the UK, including a generational endgame policy and a potential ban on single use (disposable) e-cigarettes.³³⁹³⁴⁰ For details see Tobacco Industry Interference with Endgame Policies. 

Relevant Link

• World Vapers Alliance website

TobaccoTactics Resources

• Consumer Choice Center
• Lobby groups

References