Image source: Storm Crypt/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED

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: © Guillaume Piolle/CC BY 3.0

Key Points

• Lebanon is located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is served by the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO).
• It has a population of 5.5 million, with an estimated tobacco use prevalence for those aged 15 and over of 39%.
• Lebanon ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2005. It has not ratified the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
• Lebanon has a state-owned tobacco monopoly, the Regie Libanaise de Tabacs et Tombacs, known as the Regie, which controls the domestic market. Transnational tobacco companies only have access to the Lebanese market through the Regie.
• In recent years, tobacco industry lobbying has prevented the introduction of graphic health warnings; the Regie has sought to influence Lebanon’s delegation to the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the WHO FCTC; and the industry has conducted extensive corporate social responsibility activities, some of which have involved Lebanese state institutions.

Lebanon has some of the highest rates of tobacco use in the world. It is ranked third in the world for cigarette consumption per capita.⁶² A 2019 survey also suggested that waterpipe use prevalence is particularly high, and higher amongst women than men.⁶³ Tobacco products were easily affordable until the start of Lebanon’s economic crisis in 2019.⁶² Though they have become less affordable since then, the decline in affordability has been weaker compared to that for other goods.⁶⁴ At just 9.9% of the retail price, the tax imposed on tobacco products falls well short of the 75% recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).⁶⁵⁶⁶ Though a comprehensive tobacco control law was introduced in 2011, there have been major challenges with implementation and enforcement.⁶⁷

Tobacco Use in Lebanon

In 2022, the population of Lebanon was 5.5 million.⁶⁸ In 2019, the WHO estimated overall tobacco use prevalence to be 39% amongst the population aged 15 and over, based on all national survey data from 1990.⁶⁹ An academic study carried out in 2019 found similar results. Based on a cross-sectional household survey, it found prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults aged between 18 and 69 of just over 35% (49% males; 21.5% females).⁶³ It also found overall waterpipe use prevalence of 39.5%, and at over 46%, prevalence for women was higher than for men (nearly 33%).⁶³ Almost half of current cigarette smokers reported smoking more than 20 cigarettes per day, while most waterpipe users smoked at least three sessions per week.⁶³

In 2017, Lebanon reported tobacco use among boys aged 13-15 of 35% – the highest amongst the 19 EMRO countries which carried out the Global School-based Student Health Survey between 2001 and 2018.⁷⁰ The corresponding figure for Lebanese girls that year was 28%.⁷⁰ A study carried out amongst Lebanese adolescents aged 11 to 18 between 2016 and 2017 found ever use of waterpipe of 34%.⁷¹

There were an estimated 7,810 deaths attributable to smoking in 2019, accounting for over 23% of all mortality in Lebanon for that year.⁷² A study published in 2014 put the economic burden of tobacco use in Lebanon in 2008 at US$326.7 million, or 1.1% of national GDP.⁷³

A 2019 study on e-cigarette use amongst school and university students aged from 17 to 23 found that 14.5% reported ever use, with 8% reporting current use.⁷⁴ However, at the time of writing, data on e-cigarette use amongst Lebanese adults remains scarce.

Tobacco in Lebanon

The Lebanese state tobacco monopoly

The Lebanese tobacco industry is controlled entirely by a state-owned company, the Regie Libanaise des Tabacs et Tombacs (referred to here as “the Regie”).⁷⁵⁷⁶ The Regie has exclusive rights to tobacco manufacturing and distribution, tobacco imports and exports, and to the purchase of locally grown tobacco leaf. It also oversees an anti-smuggling unit.⁷⁷ The Regie distributes local and imported tobacco products to licensed wholesalers, at prices it determines with the Ministry of Finance (MoF).⁷⁷⁷⁸ These wholesalers then sell the tobacco products to retailers across Lebanon.⁷⁷ Though these retailers are also licensed by the Regie, they are not under its direct control and largely depend on the wholesalers for their tobacco supply.⁷⁷ The Regie sets the profit margin and weekly quota of sold tobacco for both wholesalers and retailers.⁷⁷

Overseen by the MoF, the Regie’s performance has a direct impact on the public treasury.⁷⁷ Not only does this provide the Regie with significant access to policy makers, it also creates conflict with other government departments (such as Health), as the MoF may oppose measures which damage the Regie’s profitability.⁷⁷⁶⁷

Market share and leading brands

As of 2022, the Regie had a share of over 55% of the tobacco market, up from 45% in 2017.¹³ The leading transnational tobacco company (TTC) in Lebanon was Philip Morris International (PMI), with a market share of nearly 15%, followed by Japan Tobacco International (JTI) on over 11%, Imperial Brands on almost 10%, and British American Tobacco (BAT) on 6.5%.¹³

Transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) only have access to the Lebanese market via the Regie. In return for purchasing Lebanese tobacco leaf, the Regie imports manufactured tobacco products to sell on the Lebanese market and buys Virginia tobacco leaf for the manufacture of local brand cigarettes.⁷⁷ Since 2016, international brands have also been made in Lebanon at Regie manufacturing facilities, as per agreements with the Big Four TTCs.^79808182

The Regie brand Cedars is by far the most popular brand of cigarettes in Lebanon, with a market share of 55% in 2022.⁸³ PMI’s Marlboro is in second place with a share of around 14%.⁸³ JTI’s Winston is third (8%), followed by BAT’s Kent and Imperial Brands’ Gitanes (both around 5%).⁸³ All other brands have a market share of 3% or less.⁸³

Tobacco farming and child labour

In 2020, tobacco was being cultivated on 1.32% of Lebanon’s agricultural land.⁸⁴ In 2021, tobacco production was just over 10,000 tonnes, down slightly from a high of 12,800 tonnes in 2001.⁸⁵ This makes Lebanon the fifth-largest tobacco producer amongst the 14 EMRO countries for which data is available.⁸⁶

Lebanese tobacco leaf is purchased exclusively by the Regie via a price support programme, under which the Regie purchases from farmers at a given yearly price and quantity which is determined by the MoF.⁷⁷ According to Hamade (2014), the price paid is well over the average paid to farmers in other sectors in Lebanon; essentially, it is a subsidy which reinforces farmers’ dependence on tobacco growing and disincentivises any transition towards other crops.⁷⁵⁷⁷

Lebanese tobacco featured on the 2022 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor produced by the U.S. Department of Labor.⁸⁷ Tobacco production is very labour intensive and involves all or most members of the household, which includes women and children.⁷⁵ On top of enduring poor wages and working conditions, female workers are also at risk of sexual violence in tobacco-growing communities.⁸⁸

• 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

Lebanon is a net importer of raw tobacco. According to Comtrade data, in 2022, it imported over US$40.5 million in raw tobacco, compared to under US$16.4 million in exports.⁸⁹⁹⁰

Lebanon is also a net importer of cigarettes. In 2022, Lebanese cigarette imports were nearly US$16.5 million, compared to less than US$1 million in exports.⁹¹⁹²

It is also a net importer of waterpipe tobacco. Its imports were worth US$17.3 million in 2022, compared to exports of under US$70,000.⁹³⁹⁴

Illicit trade

Industry documents suggest that illicit trade was used by the TTCs as a means of building market share and furthering regional expansion during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990).⁹⁵ With governance weak and legal cigarette production in decline, the TTCs flooded the Lebanese market with cheap contraband products.⁹⁵ Though the government made direct appeals to these companies, requesting that they stop supplying distributors involved in this illicit trade, it had little effect.⁹⁵ The documents also show that the TTCs sought to use the issue of illicit trade as leverage in negotiations on establishing manufacturing presence in the country.⁹⁵

Today, reliable data on the scale of the illicit trade in Lebanon are not available. An industry-funded report by the consultancy Oxford Economics (OE) indicated that by the first quarter of 2019 the illicit trade accounted for 28.1% of the market in tobacco products.⁹⁶⁹⁷ However, this data may not be reliable given OE’s long relationship with the tobacco industry. Not only was this particular study funded by PMI, BAT and JTI, but also prepared according to terms of reference agreed with all three companies.⁹⁷ These terms of reference are not disclosed, while the methodology used is highly susceptible to industry interference.⁹⁸

Exaggerating the scale of illicit trade is a well-documented tactic which has been used by the tobacco industry all over the world as a means of opposing tobacco control regulations. See Illicit Tobacco Trade for further details.

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

Roadmap to Tobacco Control

Lebanon ratified the WHO FCTC in 2005.⁹⁹ It has yet to ratify the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.¹⁰⁰

In August 2011, Lebanon passed Law No. 174, its first ever tobacco control law.⁶⁷ This was the result of years of advocacy led by the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP) (a government organisation within the Ministry of Public Health), alongside academics, tobacco control advocates, civil society organisations, local and international NGOs, and policy makers.⁶⁷ Law No. 174 banned smoking in all indoor public spaces; banned tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and introduced larger text warnings on tobacco products, with the potential to add graphic health warnings at a later date.⁶⁷

However, enforcement remains a challenge, particularly regarding the provision for smokefree spaces. This measure was properly enforced for just three months, thanks in part to strong lobbying from restaurants and other establishments offering waterpipe.⁶⁷ There has also been a lack of political will to enforce the law.⁶⁷ In late 2012, the then Minister of the Interior implied that the police would be flexible about enforcing the law during the holiday period.¹⁰¹ The Ministry of Tourism also stopped enforcing the law, alleging a negative impact on Lebanon’s tourist industry and stating that it did not have the resources necessary to monitor implementation.⁶⁷¹⁰²

For more details, please see the following websites:

• Legislation by country – Lebanon, Tobacco Control Laws, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
• Lebanon, WHO FCTC Implementation Database, WHO FCTC Secretariat
• Country profile – Lebanon, World Health Organization, WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2021

Tobacco Industry Interference in Lebanon

Tobacco industry tactics in Lebanon include lobbying, which has prevented the introduction of graphic health warnings; attempting to influence Lebanon’s delegation to the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the WHO FCTC; and corporate social responsibility.

Portraying tobacco as a symbol of resistance

Part of the revenue the Regie collects from imported tobacco products is used to cover the subsidies given to tobacco growers in rural areas, particularly in the south of the country.⁷⁷⁶⁷ Given that this area was previously occupied by Israel, keeping farmers on this land is seen by the state as an important geopolitical objective.⁶⁷ Indeed, both Nassif Seklaoui, Chairman and General Manager of the Regie, and the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, have explicitly linked tobacco growing to the struggle of the Lebanese people and their resistance to foreign occupation.¹⁰³ Such strategies aim to instil the belief that tobacco is a strategic industry and a source of national pride. As the opening statement of a Regie pamphlet from 2011 reads, “The tobacco crop has become a symbol of resilience, resistance and people’s attachment to the Nation’s land.”⁷⁵

Influencing policy: health warnings

Law 174 significantly increased the size of the textual health warnings on tobacco products in Lebanon, from 15% to 40% of the principal surface areas.⁶⁷¹⁰⁴ A further decree in 2012 defined the text of the warnings, though implementation was delayed, reportedly due the Regie lobbying the Minister of Finance.¹⁰⁵¹⁰⁶ Since then, the larger text warnings have been widely implemented – though the measure still falls short of the 50% or more coverage recommended by the WHO FCTC.¹⁰⁷¹⁰⁸

Law 174 did also allow for the introduction of graphic health warnings (GHWs) at a later date, subject to the signing of an implementation decree by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance.¹⁰⁷ According to Lebanese tobacco control advocates, of all provisions in Law 174, this was the hardest to obtain, due to fierce opposition from the tobacco industry, including the Regie.¹⁰⁶ During discussions on Law 174 in 2011, some members of the Lebanese parliament objected to the inclusion of GHWs, echoing industry positions on the issue.¹⁰⁶ Though the implementation decree for GHWs was elaborated in 2011 and updated in 2016, it has still not been approved, reportedly due to industry interference and lobbying.¹⁰⁷ As of 2021, GHWs had yet to be implemented.¹⁰⁹

Interacting with the Lebanese delegation to the COP

In 2018, the Regie hosted a meeting attended by six government officials at its headquarters, ahead of the Eighth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP8) to the WHO FCTC. In the Regie’s own words, the meeting aimed to define a position that “addresses the threats that the items on COP8 agenda for next October pose to tobacco sector”.¹¹⁰ There was also a presentation laying out the Regie’s positions on decisions made at the previous COP, as well as the proposals to be discussed at COP8.¹¹⁰

Delivering this presentation, Mariam Hariri, the Regie’s Head of General Management, stated:

“We cannot look at tobacco sector only from the perspective of health damage; we must rather look at it with a comprehensive and impartial view. We must take into consideration the economic benefits it offers and the specificity of Lebanon.”¹¹⁰

This meeting contravened the implementation guidelines for Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, which urge parties to limit interactions with the tobacco industry to those strictly necessary for effective regulation of the industry and its products.¹¹¹

The Regie has also lobbied foreign diplomats. In May 2022, the German ambassador to Beirut visited Regie headquarters in Hadath. He was briefed on “the Regie’s achievements in agricultural, industrial, and commercial fields, among others, as well as about the societal role that it had played during the recent years.”¹¹²

• For more on the relationship between diplomats and the tobacco industry, please see Diplomats Lobbying for Tobacco Companies.

Corporate social responsibility

In 2016, the Regie launched its sustainable development plan, entitled “Development Vision for a Brighter Tomorrow”. Its stated aim was “promoting economic development, environment protection, fighting illicit trade & child labor, and improving the living of workers & farmers and the communities where we operate.”¹⁰³ The plan was launched at a ceremony which was supported by the speaker in the Lebanese parliament, and attended by notable figures from business, politics, finance and the trade union movement.¹⁰³ These included senior civil servants from government departments including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and Lebanese customs.¹⁰³

Since then, the Regie has conducted extensive CSR activities, including some directed at or involving Lebanese state institutions. For example, it donated US$2.6 million to the Lebanese Army in 2021.⁷⁷ It also engaged in CSR during the COVID-19 pandemic, donating US$1 million to the Lebanese government to support repatriating Lebanese students abroad and to buy ventilators for COVID-19 patients.¹¹³

The Regie has also organised “women empowerment training sessions” for the daughters of tobacco farmers in different areas of Lebanon. These sessions had the support of local authorities; for example, some were held in municipal buildings or involved the participation of local councillors.¹¹⁴¹¹⁵

The Regie has also carried out CSR in partnership with TTCs. In 2017, in an initiative financed by PMI Lebanon, the Regie offered scholarships to 136 children of tobacco farmers in the north of the country – the fourth consecutive year it had done so.¹¹⁶

• 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

• AUB tobacco researchers and Lebanese activists press conference on economic impacts of Law 174: The tobacco control law is good for the economy and public health, American University of Beirut
• Prevalence of cigarette and waterpipe tobacco smoking among adults in three Eastern Mediterranean countries: a cross-sectional household survey, R. Nakkash, Y. Khader, A. Chalak, R. Abla, N. M. E. Abu-Rmeileh, A. Mostafa, M. Jawad, J. H. Lee and R. G. Salloum, BMJ open, 2022, 12(3), e055201
• The passage of tobacco control law 174 in Lebanon: reflections on the problem, policies and politics, R.T. Nakkash, L. Torossian, T. El Hajj, J. Khalil and R.A. Afifi, Health Policy and Planning, 2018, Volume 33, Issue 5, pp. 633–644
• K2P COVID-19 Series: Prompting Government Action for Tobacco Control in Lebanon during COVID-19 Pandemic, R. Saleh, R. Nakkash, A. Harb and F. El-Jardali, 2020, Knowledge to Policy (K2P) Center, Beirut, Lebanon
• The Economics of Tobacco in Lebanon: An Estimation of the Social Costs of Tobacco Consumption, Salti, J. Chaaban and N. Naamani, Substance Use & Misuse, 2014, 49:6, 735-742

Tobacco Tactics Resources

• Eastern Mediterranean Region
• Oxford Economics
• Tobacco Farming

TCRG Research

• The Lebanese Regie state-owned tobacco monopoly: lessons to inform monopoly-focused endgame strategies, H. Alaouie, J.R. Branston and M.J. Bloomfield, 2022, BMC Public Health, 22, 1632.
• 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.
• Tobacco industry commissioned reports on illicit tobacco trade in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: how accurate are they? Sandberg, A.W.A. Gallagher and R. Alebshehy, 2020, Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 26(11):1320–1322.

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 Lebanon Country Profile appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

Links to British American Tobacco (BAT)

All Party Parliamentary Groups

In 2015, Kwarteng was on the All-Party Parliamentary Corporate Governance Group. One of the funders to the APPG was BAT, which donated £5,000.¹¹⁸

Hospitality

In 2018, BAT paid for a dinner for Kwarteng. ¹¹⁹ At the time Kwarteng was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.¹¹⁷

Financial Reporting Council

In late 2021, DBEIS issued a press release stating that the “Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng” had “announced that Jan du Plessis is the government’s preferred candidate to become the new Chair of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which promotes transparency and integrity in business.”¹²⁰

In a letter to Kwarteng, the Tobacco Control Research Group drew the Minister’s attention “to the fact that Mr. du Plessis had a nearly twenty-year career within the tobacco industry.” The letter continued: “Given the remit of his proposed role, we believe that you should urgently consider in your deliberations that during the time of Mr. du Plessis’ chairmanship of BAT, the company was accused of numerous unethical and illegal activities that could suggest he is unfit to hold this role.”¹²¹

In response, the DBEIS responded that “The Department is satisfied that it has properly considered all factors before nominating Sir Jan as its preferred candidate.”¹²²

Dealings with Philip Morris International

Vectura

In 2021, Philip Morris International (PMI) acquired the inhaler maker, Vectura. In the months before the takeover, Kwarteng as Business Secretary, and his counterpart Sajid Javid as Health Secretary, were under pressure to block the takeover.

In July, Kwarteng reportedly sent PMI a note in writing that “while government has no role in the strategic direction or management of private sector companies, the proposed transaction has raised concerns with various stakeholders and my officials will be monitoring the situation”.¹²³

Also that month, Kwarteng was contacted by British health charities, including Cancer Research UK, Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation Partnership, and Action on Smoking and Health, noting that “There is a real prospect that PMI will use this acquisition to legitimise tobacco industry participation in health debates within the UK. This must not be allowed to happen”.¹²⁴

The following month, in August 2021, European respiratory organisations wrote to both Kwarteng and Javid urging “UK regulators to use their authority to intervene in the deal, in the interest of protecting public health and public confidence in essential medical supply chains”.¹²⁵

Later in August, eighteen American medical, patient and health organizations, also wrote to Kwarteng and Health Secretary Sajid Javid urging them to “use your leadership authority to prevent the sale of Vectura to the tobacco conglomerate Philip Morris International (PMI). It is clear that PMI’s acquisition of Vectura is not in the best interests of the public, lung disease patients or even the medical drug and device industry.”¹²⁶

In October 2021, The Times newspaper reported that “concerns have increased” that PMI would use its £1 billion takeover of Vectura to “legitimise the tobacco industry’s participation in public health”. PMI’s CEO, Jack Olczak had written to Kwarteng, seeking a meeting to “talk more about our plans for PMI and Vectura’s operation in the UK”. As of January 2022, the BEIS had not disclosed its online its ministerial meetings for that time period.¹²⁷

Ultimately the takeover took place without Government intervention.¹²⁸

TobaccoTactics Resources

Vectura

References

The post Kwasi Kwarteng appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

In November 2020, Oettinger started working for communication consultancy Kekst CNC¹³⁰, which lists Phillip Morris International as one of its clients.¹³¹

Oettinger’s case is an example of the Revolving Door tactic.

In February 2021 the European Ombudsman opened a case regarding Oettinger’s new role, calling for the Commission to review its commitment to FCTC guidelines on tobacco industry interference in light of the upcoming Tobacco Products Directive Revision.¹³²

The Commission stressed that Oettinger’s role with Kekst CNC was approved under the condition that he would refrain from direct or indirect lobbying activities.¹³³

Tobacco Tactics Resources

• Kekst CNC

References

The post Guenther Oettinger appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

Background

The agency is owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies and was formed in January 2001, with the merger of Shandwick International and Weber Public Relations Worldwide.¹³⁵

It is the world’s second largest PR agency and earned $865 million in fee income in 2019, up three per cent on the previous year.¹³⁶

Weber Shandwick’s headquarters are in New York and the agency employs 4,865 staff globally.¹³⁷ It has offices in 79 cities worldwide, with a network extending to 129 cities on six continents.¹³⁸

It says that truth is one of its values. The agency states: “No fake news here, without truth there’s no trust. Without trust, there’s no audience willing to engage.”¹³⁹ The agency boasts that it is known “for seamless cooperation in pursuit of our clients’ needs. Our specialty firms allow us to provide a complete marketing services offering, from culture marketing to public affairs, advertising, and market research.” Weber Shandwick’s companies include:

• Bomoda, a data science and business intelligence firm
• Cappuccino, a digital marketing and technology agency
• Flipside, a mobile and digital agency
• KRC Research, a public opinion research consultancy
• Powell Tate, a strategic communications firm
• Resolute Digital, a digital marketing and technology agency
• Revive Health, a marketing communications firm specialising in the health sector
• That Lot, a social creative agency
• United Minds, a management consultancy
• Prime Weber Shandwick, composed of communications agency Prime and United Minds¹⁴⁰

Links with the Tobacco Industry Over the Decades

Prior to the merger with the Weber Group, the Shandwick Group had links with the tobacco industry stretching back to the late 1970s.¹⁴¹ In 2000, Shandwick was sacked by its client the American Cancer Society after it discovered the PR agency was also representing RJ Reynolds.¹⁴²

Shandwick’s regional hub in the Ukraine has also worked for RJ Reynolds and was the “first agency to use sponsored television as a method of brand awareness development” according to a presentation made to BAT in June 2000. The report added: “As a result RJ Reynolds brand Camel enjoyed over 240 hours of television brand exposure at less than $25 per minute with the result that in just six months sales climbed 12 Nielson points against their biggest competitor Marlboro. All this at a time when tobacco advertising on television was banned and Marlboro’s advertising budget was 4 times larger.”¹⁴³

Shandwick International, in a letter to RJ Reynolds in October 2000, recommended that the tobacco firm “reframe the debate” and consider doing research to show the amount collected in taxes from tobacco sales and how those taxes are used for health and education. It also suggested finding out “how much taxes would be raised in various jurisdictions to compensate for the loss of all tobacco revenues.”¹⁴⁴

The Bozell Sawyer Miller Group, which merged with Weber Shandwick in 2001,¹⁴⁵ also had a track record in promoting the interests of big tobacco. In 1997 it drew up a communications plan for tobacco firms to deal with the legal settlement that was being negotiated with US authorities to settle a series of lawsuits. The plan stated the “need to reposition the settlement as an historic opportunity for a comprehensive solution to outstanding tobacco issues.” It should make clear that any such deal “can’t be done without industry compliance and the industry getting something in return.”

The plan suggested that an “exit strategy” would be created as a result of “making it clear that this is a “deal” that in order to get the things people want, the industry has to get restrictions on lawsuits in return.”¹⁴⁶

Weber Shandwick’s ties to tobacco

Weber Shandwick’s history of working for tobacco companies is revealed in Tobacco legacy documents publicly disclosed as a result of a series of US court cases in the 1990s.

The agency has worked on communications campaigns for the likes of Brown & Williamson,¹⁴⁷ and British American Tobacco.

In a presentation to BAT in March 2001, Weber Shandwick outlined the long term aim of positioning BAT “as a responsible and responsive company.” The agency stressed the need to find “an independent neutral, credible facilitator to persuade stakeholders to engage with BAT.”¹⁴⁸

Its tobacco clients have also included Lorillard, for whom the agency ran anti-smoking campaigns aimed at teenagers,¹⁴⁹ and it has worked for Philip Morris in trying to persuade American women who “distrust and dislike” the company to become “open to listening to Philip Morris’ point of view.”¹⁵⁰

In 2001 Weber Shandwick came up with a communications strategy for the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation in a bid to promote the firm as open and responsible. This included arranging for Nicholas Brookes, Chief Executive of Brown & Williamson, to give a speech at the National Press Club in Washington DC on the topic of “being a responsible company in a controversial industry.” Weber Shandwick also handled the PR for the launch of a new filtered Pall Mall cigarette.¹⁵¹

At the same time it was working for major tobacco firms, the agency was also being paid by the State of Minnesota to run an important anti-smoking campaign aimed at young people. A tractor trailer was sent on a tour around the state with tobacco company documents – obtained through legal actions against the industry – exposing the marketing of cigarettes. The tactic proved effective in getting the attention of teenagers, and the six-week tour reached around one million kids, according to Ted Johnson, a manager on the account. The campaign also copied a tobacco industry tactic in getting artists to take part in a live tour to back a music CD. Johnson said: “Whenever in doubt about tactics, we ask ‘What would Big Tobacco do?”¹⁵²

Links to UK government

Weber Shandwick has connections to cabinet ministers in the UK government.

Priti Patel, appointed Home Secretary in July 2019, worked for the agency from 2000 to 2003 and was a key member of the team working on the BAT account.

Ed Taylor, who is the managing director of the agency’s corporate affairs practice, is a former special adviser to Health Secretary Matt Hancock.¹⁵³

Revolving door

Several agency staff have subsequently gone to work for BAT, and vice versa.

One example of a BAT employee moving to Weber Shandwick is Jacobo de Aranzadi Higueras, who is now working as a consultant for Accenture. He was an External Affairs Executive for BAT between June 2017 and June 2018, before leaving to take up a role as Senior Associate, Public Affairs, at Weber Shandwick.¹⁵⁴

Markus Lindblad, former Chief Operating Officer at Weber Shandwick in Sweden, left the agency in 2012 and a few months later started work at BAT as Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Sweden.¹⁵⁵

Abandoning the past?

In May 2019, Kate Lowry, Weber Shandwick’s director of global corporate communications, declared: “Weber Shandwick will not work on any e-cigarette products and has not worked on any in the past.” She added: “We also will not work for the tobacco industry or tobacco products as has been our long-standing policy.”¹⁵⁶

It is not clear how long Weber Shandwick has taken this stance. It appears that the agency was working for BAT as recently as 2011. Miral Mourad, the agency’s Group Director in Egypt between September 2010 and July 2011, worked for clients including BAT, according to her LinkedIn profile.¹⁵⁷

Although the company claims it has never worked on e-cigarette products, Weber Shandwick has worked for vaping retailer Kix¹⁵⁸¹⁵⁹ as well as a company called E Cigarette World.¹⁶⁰.

Weber Shandwick has yet to sign up to the #QuitBigTobacco pledge and refuse to work for tobacco or tobacco-related clients. More than 250 agencies, including the world’s top ranked PR agency Edelman, and brands have signed the pledge, which is a campaign run by public health consultancy Vital Strategies.¹⁶¹

Weber Shandwick’s parent company, Intergroup, regards any crackdown against tobacco products as a potential threat. In the part of its 2019 annual report detailing areas of risk for the company, it states: “Legislators, agencies and other governmental units may also continue to initiate proposals to ban the advertising of specific products, such as alcohol, tobacco or marijuana products, and to impose taxes on or deny deductions for advertising, which, if successful, may hinder our ability to accomplish our clients’ goals and have an adverse effect on advertising expenditures and, consequently, on our revenues.”

The annual report also warns: “we could suffer reputational risk as a result of governmental or legal action or from undertaking work that may be challenged by consumer groups or considered controversial.”¹⁶²

Weber Shandwick’s senior management:

• Jack Leslie, Chairman
• Andy Polansky, Executive Chairman
• Gail Heimann, President and Chief Executive Officer
• Kate Bullinger, President, United Minds
• Sung Chang, Chief Impact Officer
• Joe Danek, Chief Financial Officer, North America
• Joy Farber Kolo, President, North America
• Sara Gavin, Chief Client Officer
• Josh Gilbert, Executive Creative Director, Global Practices
• Abby Gold, Chief Employee Experience Officer
• Judith Harrison, Senior Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion
• Susan Howe, Chief Growth Officer
• Pam Jenkins, President, Global Public Affairs; and President, Weber Shandwick South
• Baxter Jolly, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific
• Jean Lee Swagert, Chief Human Resources Officer, North America
• Paul Massey, President, Powell Tate and Global Lead, Social Impact
• Cameron Murray, Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Talent, EMEA & APAC
• Deb Nichols, Chief Financial Officer
• Lee Noonan, Chief Technology Officer
• Brian Offutt, Chief Workforce Innovation & Operations Officer
• Chris Perry, Chief Innovation Officer
• Laura Schoen, Chair, Latin America, and President, Global Healthcare Practice
• Tim Scott, Chief Financial Officer, Asia Pacific
• Micho Spring, Chair, Global Corporate Practice and President, New England
• Jill Tannenbaum, Chief Communications & Marketing Officer¹⁶³

Weber Shandwick’s major clients:

• ALDI
• Amazon
• Anheuser-Busch InBev
• Chevrolet
• ExxonMobil
• General Motors
• GMC
• GlaxoSmithKline
• IBM
• Mars
• Mattel
• Milk Processor Education Program
• Nestlé
• Novartis
• Roche
• Royal Caribbean Cruises
• Unilever
• Verizon¹⁶⁴

References

The post Weber Shandwick appeared first on TobaccoTactics.