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Key Points

• India is a country located in South Asia, part of the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia Region.
• It had a population in 2022 of 1.42 billion. Amongst those aged 15+, tobacco use prevalence is 28.6%.
• Smoking prevalence in India is 10.7%. However, the most popular form of tobacco in India is smokeless tobacco, with use prevalence of 21.4%.
• India ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2004, and the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products in 2018.
• The Indian cigarette market is dominated by four companies, which together accounted for 98% of sales in 2022. ITC Limited holds by far the largest market share, at over 73%.
• The tobacco industry has deployed a wide range of tactics in India in recent years, including mobilisation of front groups and third parties; litigation against tobacco control measures such as graphic health warnings; and corporate social responsibility, including in partnership with government.

Since the early 2000s, India has made significant progress in tobacco control, introducing a comprehensive tobacco control law in 2004, reducing the affordability of tobacco products, and introducing graphic health warnings (GHWs) consistent with best practice worldwide.¹² However, major challenges persist. The wide range of tobacco products available in India makes regulation and enforcement particularly complicated. The Indian state is also a major shareholder of ITC Limited, which has by far the largest share of the Indian market. This means that the government has an interest in socio-economic issues – such as ensuring the welfare of farmers and manual labourers working in the Indian tobacco industry, and protection of exports – as well as in public health.³

India remains the world’s second largest consumer, producer and exporter of tobacco.⁴⁵

Tobacco Use in India

In 2022, the population of India was 1.42 billion.⁶ In the 2016-17 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), approximately 29% of the population aged 15+ reported current tobacco use – over 42% of males, and over 14% of females.²⁷ This means that in absolute numbers, there were almost 267 million tobacco users in India aged 15 and over.⁴ In the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), amongst adolescents aged from 13 to 15, 8.5% reported using some form of tobacco – nearly 10% of males, and over 7% of females.²⁸

Amongst India’s smokers, the most popular product was not factory-made cigarettes but bidis: cigarettes rolled by hand in a dried leaf of the tendu tree. 7.7% of Indian adults reported smoking bidis, compared to 4% who smoked cigarettes.⁷

However, the most popular tobacco product in India overall is smokeless tobacco (SLT). More than 21% of Indians aged 15 and over reported being SLT users, compared to less than 11% who smoked, whether cigarettes, bidis, or both.²⁷ SLT use is also significant amongst women and girls: nearly 13% of females aged 15 and over were SLT users, compared to 2% who smoked.²⁷ The majority of female tobacco users in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are SLT users in India and Bangladesh.⁹ However, amongst adolescent tobacco users, smoking is more common than SLT use. Over 7% of adolescents reported current smoking, compared to just over 4% who were SLT users.²⁸

India has the second highest number of oral cancer cases globally, accounting for a third of the total.¹⁰ More than 90% of India’s oral cancer cases are caused by tobacco use and of these, more than half are caused by SLT.¹¹ The poor and less educated are worst affected, with much higher SLT use prevalence amongst these sections of the population.¹¹ There were also over a million deaths attributable to smoking in 2019, accounting for nearly 11% of all mortality in India that year.¹²

A 2020 study put the economic cost of all illness and death attributable to tobacco use between 2017 and 2018 for those over 35 years of age at US$27.5 billion.¹³ Smoking accounted for 74% of this cost; smokeless tobacco 26%.¹³ Direct medical costs alone amounted to 5.3% of all health expenditure.¹³ However, the excise tax revenue from tobacco the previous year was just 12.2% of its economic cost.¹³ In simple terms, the economic burden of tobacco use is more than eight times the value of revenue the Indian government receives in excise from tobacco products.¹³ This economic burden accounts for over 1% of India’s GDP.¹³

Tobacco in India

Market share and leading brands

The Indian cigarette market is dominated by four companies:  ITC Limited, Godfrey Phillips India Limited (GPI), VST Industries Ltd., and Philip Morris International (PMI), which together accounted for 98% of sales in 2022.¹⁴

India banned foreign direct investment in tobacco manufacturing in 2010, which means that the transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) can only access the Indian market via shareholdings and licensing agreements with local producers.¹⁵¹⁶

ITC Limited

ITC Limited (formerly India Tobacco Company Limited), dominates the Indian tobacco market, with a share of over 73% in 2022.¹⁴ Its largest shareholder is British American Tobacco (BAT), which held just under 30% of shares until March 2024.¹⁷¹⁸ The Indian state is also a major shareholder, via various state-owned insurance corporations and investment portfolios.¹⁸ Its products include India’s three bestselling brands of cigarettes: Gold Flake, Wills and Scissors.¹⁹

In a presentation to investors in June 2023, BAT CEO Tadeu Marroco stressed the importance of the company retaining at least a 25% shareholding in ITC, given that this provides BAT with seats on the ITC board and the right to veto company resolutions.²⁰ Marroco also highlighted the potential of the vast Indian market in terms of newer nicotine and tobacco products, particularly oral products such as nicotine pouches.²⁰ In March 2024, BAT reduced its holdings in ITC to 25.5%.²¹For more details see ITC Limited.

Godfrey Phillips India Limited (GPI)

GPI had a market share of almost 10% in 2022, the second largest after ITC.¹⁴ PMI is the second-largest shareholder with a stake of just over 25%.²² Major brands include Four Square, Cavenders and Tipper.¹⁹

VST Industries Ltd

VST, formerly Vazir Sultan Tobacco Company, had a market share of over 9% in 2022, the third largest.¹⁴ With a stake of over 32%, BAT is its largest shareholder.²³ Its major brands include Total, Charms and Charminar.¹⁹

TTCs’ licensing agreements

PMI has a licensing agreement with GPI, under which GPI manufactures and sells the brands Marlboro and Red & White in India, though PMI retains brand ownership internationally.¹⁴¹⁹²⁴ This gives PMI a 5.4% market share from a global ownership perspective.¹⁴ Similarly, ITC manufactures and sells the brands Berkeley and Benson & Hedges in India, though Japan Tobacco International and British American Tobacco are the global owners, respectively.¹⁴¹⁹ Both companies have a market share of less than 2%.¹⁴

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

Smokeless tobacco and bidis

The Indian smokeless tobacco industry is based largely on small scale, rural production, for which accurate data is not available.²⁵ Local manufacturers account for significant segments of the market in several regions of India.²⁵ Similarly, bidi production depends largely on small home-based manufacturing operations and accurate data is not available.²⁵

At the national level, the biggest companies in the chewing tobacco/gutkha (see section “Undermining the gutkha ban”) market are believed to be Dhariwal Industries, Dharampal Satyapal (DS Group) and Som Sugandh Industries, which together accounted for around a quarter of sales in 2010.²⁵ There is also interest from the big cigarette companies in smokeless tobacco; Godfrey Phillips launched its own range of chewing products in 2010.²⁶ A 2021 paper found that 93% of SLT products bought in India were non-compliant with packaging regulations: either they did not have graphic health warnings, or the warnings were too small.²⁷

Tobacco farming

India is the world’s second biggest tobacco producer after China, producing over 766,000 tonnes of leaf in 2020.²⁸ This accounts for 9% of all global production.⁵ Though tobacco production in India has increased significantly in recent decades – from 438,500 tonnes in 1980 – it has fallen slightly from a high of 830,000 tonnes in 2011.²⁹

Child labour

Indian bidis feature on the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2022 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.³⁰ While information on child labour in the bidi industry is not widely available, a study published in 2009 found that more than 1.7 million children worked rolling bidis in India.³¹ This disproportionately affects girls, who are often drawn into the industry to support their families. Bidi rollers may work 10 to 14-hour days to produce over 1,000 bidis, in what a BBC report from 2012 described as “slave-like working conditions”.³¹

Tobacco and the economy

India is the world’s second largest exporter of tobacco leaf, after Brazil.⁵ According to UN Comtrade, India exported nearly US$816 million in raw tobacco in 2022, compared to nearly $21 million in imports.³²³³ Export figures for 2021-2022 from the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) – a trust established by the Indian Department of Commerce – were slightly higher, at US$842 million.⁵

India exports tobacco to more than 115 countries around the world, the biggest recipient of which is Belgium, which accounts for around 18% of India’s total tobacco exports. Other major export destinations for Indian tobacco include the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and the United States.⁵

India is also a major net exporter of cigarettes. According to UN Comtrade, it exported over US$100 million in cigarettes in 2022, compared to nearly $26 million in imports.³⁴³⁵

According to IBEF, the tobacco industry in India employs about 36 million people in farming, processing, manufacturing and export activities.⁵

Illicit trade

The Tobacco Institute of India, an industry body established by ITC, GPI and VST in 1992, puts the scale of the illicit tobacco trade at a quarter of the market.³⁶ However, independent studies put that figure much lower, at around 3% to 6%.³⁷ This makes illicit trade in India relatively small by global standards.³⁸ A 2018 study, which found that 2.73% of the empty cigarette packs collected in India were illicit, noted significant differences across the country.³⁹ Areas with greater illicit trade penetration are often targeted by studies funded by the tobacco industry to exaggerate overall levels of illicit trade.⁴⁰

Studies have also cast doubt on industry claims that tobacco tax increases have led to expansion of illicit trade. For example, according to ITC, tax increases during the period 2012 to 2017 resulted in rapid growth of illicit trade, making India the fourth largest illicit market globally.⁴¹ However, a study published in 2020 by experts from the WHO and the Indian government put the illicit cigarette trade at 6% of the market in 2016-17 – an increase of just 0.9% from 2009-10.³⁸

Similarly, a joint report published in 2017 by the accountancy firm KPMG and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) argued that illicit trade – driven in part by higher taxes on cigarettes – was providing funds for terrorism and organized crime.⁴² However, both ITC and GPI are members of FICCI, which has a history of opposing tobacco control measures in India (see Influencing policy: graphic health warnings). Similarly, KPMG has strong ties with the tobacco industry going back decades, and its work on illicit trade has been strongly criticised elsewhere. Critics argue that KPMG’s research has exaggerated the scale of illicit trade and has been used to oppose tobacco control regulations such as plain packaging.

• For more information, please see STOP’s database of Tobacco Industry Allies.

Tobacco and the environment

A 2018 study estimated that in order to produce 100 billion cigarettes, nearly 67,500 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent were emitted in India in 2010 – the equivalent of 14,544 petrol-powered vehicles driven for a year.⁴³⁴⁴ The industry has also been a major cause of deforestation: it is estimated that 680 square kilometres of scrub forest were destroyed and degraded for tobacco curing and the manufacture of cigarettes and other smoking consumables between 1962 and 2002.⁴⁵

A 2022 study estimated that 170,000 tonnes of waste is produced by the packaging of tobacco products annually in India, two-thirds of which correspond to smokeless tobacco (SLT) products.⁴⁶ Analysis of segregated waste revealed that 73,500 tonnes of plastic, 6,100 tonnes of foil and 1,350 tonnes of used filters are discharged annually into the environment.⁴⁶ Cleaning up this waste costs Indian taxpayers roughly US$766 million every year.⁴⁷

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

Roadmap to Tobacco Control

India was the eighth country to ratify the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2004.⁴⁸ It ratified the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products in 2018.⁴⁹⁵⁰

The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), passed in 2003, is the main comprehensive tobacco control law in India. Amongst other provisions, it banned smoking in most public places, prohibited the advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products, and banned sales to anyone under the age of 18.⁵¹ Since then, a number of rules have been introduced to aid implementation of COTPA and provide definitions.¹ In 2007-08, the government launched the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), which aimed to reinforce COTPA and facilitate implementation of the tobacco control strategies contained within the WHO FCTC.⁵²

In 2020, an amendment to COTPA was drafted by the Ministry of Health.⁵³ Aiming to further strengthen the original legislation and boost compliance with WHO FCTC, it will abolish designated smoking areas, prohibit the sale of individual cigarettes (single sticks), and raise the legal age required for purchase of tobacco products from 18 to 21.⁵³⁵⁴ However, as of September 2023, this amendment has yet to become law.

Citing concerns about the health impacts of vaping on young people, the Indian government introduced a ban on electronic cigarettes in 2019. The law prohibits the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of e-cigarettes.¹⁵⁵ Though their use remains rare in India as of 2023, the law closes off a huge potential market for e-cigarette companies.⁵⁶

For more details, please see the following websites:

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

Tobacco Industry Interference in India

Tobacco industry tactics in India include mobilisation of front groups and third parties; litigation against tobacco control measures, such as graphic health warnings; and corporate social responsibility, including in partnership with government.

Delaying rollout of larger graphic health warnings

In October 2014, the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced its intention to increase the area covered by graphic health warnings (GHWs) on tobacco products, from 40% to 85%.⁵⁷ GHWs are a well-established, evidence-based and cost-effective measure of reducing tobacco use.⁵⁸ They may also be particularly effective in India, given both the country’s linguistic diversity and its literacy rate (as of 2018, over a quarter of the population was unable to read or write).⁵⁹⁶⁰

The tobacco industry deployed various tactics in an attempt to block this legislation. These included mobilising third parties and front groups, spreading misleading information, and submitting more than 30 legal challenges in state-level courts throughout India.⁶¹⁶²

Third parties and front groups which mobilised against the legislation included the following:

• The All India Bidi Federation
• The Tobacco Institute of India
• The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
• The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
• The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
• The Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA)
• The Retailers Association of India (RAI)
• The International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA)

These groups wrote letters to and met with policy makers, launched campaigns in the media against the proposal, and filed legal challenges.⁶¹⁶²

For example, FAIFA bought full-page advertisements in leading national newspapers, claiming that larger GHWs would be detrimental to the livelihoods of tobacco farmers and fuel the illicit trade.⁶¹⁶³ FAIFA, CII and FICCI all wrote letters to the Minister of Health, J.P. Nadda, echoing these arguments.⁶⁴⁶⁵ The Tobacco Institute of India filed a legal challenge against the government in the High Court of Karnataka.⁶⁶ Finally, ASSOCHAM addressed a communiqué to the government, stating that the GHWs would endanger the livelihoods of more than 45 million people and lead to a flood of illicit imports.⁶⁷

These industry strategies succeeded in delaying the rollout of the 85% GHWs for a year, from April 2015 until April 2016.⁶⁸ However, the legal challenges continued even after implementation. In 2017, the High Court of Karnataka ruled that India should revert to the pre-2016 40% warnings. This decision was overruled in 2018 by the Indian Supreme Court and the 85% warnings have remained in force ever since.⁶²

The eventual introduction of the 85% GHWs saw India jump from 136^th to third position in the global ranking for size of health warnings on tobacco products.⁶⁹

Undermining the gutkha ban

Gutkha, one of India’s most popular smokeless tobacco (SLT) products, is a mix of crushed Areca nut (a well-known risk factor for several cancers even when consumed without tobacco), with tobacco, catechu, paraffin, slaked lime and flavourings.⁷⁰⁷¹ Highly addictive and very cheap, gutkha is popular amongst women and young people.⁷²

Since 2012, there have been state-level bans throughout the country in an attempt to reduce its prevalence, but it remains widely available.⁷³⁷⁴ Producers have found ways to circumvent the bans, such as by packaging and selling the constituent ingredients of gutkha separately.⁷⁴⁷⁵

In the state of Tamil Nadu, gutkha remained widely available despite being banned in 2013.⁷⁶⁷⁷ In 2016, officials from India’s Income Tax Department discovered details of a series of suspected bribes worth nearly US$6 million made by leading manufacturer MDM to public officials, allegedly to facilitate the storage, transport and sale of gutkha.⁶¹⁷⁶⁷⁸

Alleged recipients of bribes included a government minister, police officers and senior civil servants.⁷⁹ In November 2022, after four years of investigations in three states, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation filed charges against 21 individuals.⁷⁹⁷⁶

Corporate social responsibility: partnerships with government

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

In the implementation guidelines for Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, the WHO states that these activities fall within its definition of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship – and should therefore not be endorsed by Parties to the treaty.⁸⁰ However, in India, under the Companies Act 2013, all large corporations are required to spend at least 2% of their average net profit in the previous three years on CSR.⁸¹ This helps to legitimise tobacco industry CSR, as companies argue they are only fulfilling their legal duties.³In its sustainability reporting, ITC states that its CSR initiatives fall within the scope of the 2013 legislation.⁸²

ITC has contributed frequently to government programmes and has worked with government institutions.³ For example, in 2017, ITC contributed to a fund set up by the Indian government to attract funding from corporations and private donors for the provision of sanitation and clean drinking water; and to the Clean Ganga Fund, established by the government to rehabilitate the River Ganges.⁸² In his speech to shareholders at the 2017 AGM, the then ITC CEO cited several public-private partnerships with state governments in India on water management projects, stating that they aligned with a national programme which aimed to expand irrigation coverage and improve efficiency of water use.⁸³⁸⁴

This type of public-private CSR was particularly widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, between March and June 2020, the Indian tobacco industry contributed around US$36.7 million in donations to various government funds, both at federal and state level.⁸¹ The industry also partnered with other stakeholders, including NGOs, other private sector actors and even popular Bollywood singers. ITC was the biggest cash and in-kind contributor.⁸¹⁸⁵

Corporate trademarks were widely visible during these CSR activities, and the initiatives were publicised in leading newspapers and by senior politicians.⁸¹⁸⁶⁸⁷

• 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

• Global Adult Tobacco Survey GATS 2 India 2016-17, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India
• Report on Tobacco Industry Interference in India – Case Studies, S. Goel, S. Sekhar Kar, Resource Centre for Tobacco Control
• Interference by Big Tobacco and Affiliates in Tobacco Control in South Asia, Institute of Public Health Bengaluru and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
• Crooked Nine: Nine Ways the Tobacco Industry Undermines Health Policy, Vital Strategies
• National Report: The Environmental Burden of Tobacco Products Wastes in India. Tobacco Use Makes You Ugly, Your Habitat Uglier, SPH AIIMS Jodhpur, ICMR-NICPR, The Union

Tobacco Tactics Resources

• Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
• ITC Limited

TCRG Research

• Advancing whole-of-government approaches to tobacco control: Article 5.3 and the challenge of policy coordination in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India and Uganda. R.A. Barry, S.M. Abdullah, A. Chugh, S. Hirpa, P. Kumar, D. Male, R. Ralston, T. Wagner-Rizvi, J. Collin, Tobacco Control 2022;31:s46-s52.
• Institutional tensions, corporate social responsibility and district-level governance of tobacco industry interference: analysing challenges in local implementation of Article 5.3 measures in Karnataka, India. P. Kumar, R.A. Barry, M.M. Kulkarni, V.G. Kamath, R. Ralston, J. Collin, Tobacco Control 2022;31:s26-s32.
• 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 India Country Profile appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

Key Points

• Bangladesh is a country in South Asia, part of the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia Region.
• It has a population of 171.2 million, with tobacco use prevalence of 43.7%.
• Smoking prevalence is high, at 23.5%. However, smokeless tobacco (SLT) use prevalence is even higher, at 27.5%.
• Bangladesh ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2004. It has not ratified the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
• The Bangladeshi cigarette market is dominated by British American Tobacco Bangladesh, followed by Japan Tobacco International’s local subsidiary United Dhaka Tobacco Company Limited. There are also local cigarette, bidi and SLT producers.
• Recent tobacco industry tactics in Bangladesh include direct lobbying of civil servants, which successfully obtained an exemption to lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic; using diplomats to lobby in its interests; and the mobilisation of third-party organisations against tobacco control.

In 2016, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared her intention to make Bangladesh tobacco free by 2040.⁸⁸ Bangladesh has in recent years increased its compliance with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), created a dedicated tobacco control cell and introduced a health surcharge on all tobacco products.⁸⁸⁸⁹ However, according to a study published in 2022, no measures have been adopted to implement Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC.⁹⁰ Industry interference in public policy – particularly by British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB), in which the state holds a share of over 9% – is an ongoing challenge.⁹⁰⁹¹ The study’s authors argue that progress in minimising such interference is essential if the commitment to a creating a tobacco-free Bangladesh by 2040 is to be met.⁹⁰

Tobacco Use in Bangladesh

In 2022, the population of Bangladesh was 171.2 million.⁹² Among adults aged from 18 to 69, overall tobacco use prevalence was nearly 44% as of 2018 (almost 60% of men and over 28% of women).⁹³

As of 2018, 23.5% of Bangladeshi adults smoked.⁹³ Cigarettes were the most popular product: amongst current tobacco smokers, over 99% reported using cigarettes, compared to 32.5% who reported smoking bidis (cigarettes rolled by hand in a dried leaf of the tendu tree).⁹³ There was a major gender difference, with nearly 47% of men reporting current smoking at the time of the survey, compared to 1% of women.⁹³

At 27.5%, smokeless tobacco (SLT) use is even more common than smoked tobacco.⁹³ This is due in part to the high prevalence of SLT use amongst Bangladeshi women. Over 28% of Bangladeshi women used SLT, compared to nearly 27% of men.⁹³Most female tobacco users in low- and middle-income countries are SLT users in India and Bangladesh.⁹⁴ Popular SLT products include betel quid with zarda, betel quid with sadapata, pan masala with tobacco and gul.⁹³

Amongst adolescents aged from 13 to 17, nearly 10% used tobacco in some form as of 2014, with almost 14% of boys using tobacco compared to 2% of girls.⁹⁵ The rate for cigarette smoking was nearly 8%, with 11% of boys smoking compared to 1.5% of girls.⁹⁵

There were an estimated 106,000 deaths attributable to smoking in 2019, accounting for over 12% of all mortality in Bangladesh that year.⁹⁶ The total annual cost of tobacco use in Bangladesh was estimated at BDT৳305.6 billion (US$3.6 billion) in 2018, which was equivalent to 1.4% of GDP in 2017-18.⁹⁷ Direct healthcare costs accounted for BDT৳83.9 billion, of which 24% was covered by public health expenditure. This is a significant outlay, representing 8.9% of the healthcare budget in 2018-19.⁹⁷ However, most of the costs attributable to tobacco use – both direct and indirect – are borne by tobacco users and their families.⁹⁷ While the economic contribution of the tobacco industry to Bangladeshi GDP was estimated at BDT৳229.11 billion ($US2.7 billion) in 2018, this was still BDT৳76.54 billion (US$911 million) less than the annual costs attributable to tobacco use. Tobacco therefore results in a net loss to the Bangladeshi economy.⁹⁷⁹⁸

Tobacco in Bangladesh

Market share and leading brands

In 2022, market research company Euromonitor International estimated the Bangladeshi tobacco market to be worth nearly BDT৳420 billion – over US$4.5 billion.⁹⁹¹⁰⁰

British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB) dominates the Bangladeshi tobacco market, with a market share of over 84.5% in 2022.¹⁴ Its portfolio includes the three bestselling brands of cigarette in the country: Royal, Derby and Hollywood.¹⁹ The Bangladeshi state holds a stake of more than 9% in BATB, both directly, and through two state-owned assets.⁹¹

BATB’s closest competitor is Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which has a market share of over 9% following its 2018 acquisition of the United Dhaka Tobacco Company Limited (UDTCL), the tobacco business of the Akij Group conglomerate.^14101102 Its leading brands are Sheikh and Navy.¹⁹

Smaller domestic companies include Abul Khair Tobacco Company, Alpha Tobacco Manufacturing Company and Nasir Tobacco Industries Ltd.¹⁰³

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

Smokeless tobacco and bidis

Accurate, up-to-date information on the SLT industry in Bangladesh is scarce. SLT producers are mostly home based and work informally, which makes for a fragmented market.¹⁰⁴¹⁰⁵ However, larger companies include Kaus Chemical Works, which sells Hakimpuri Zarda, one of the most popular zarda products (made of dried and boiled tobacco leaves, lime, areca nut, additives, tannins and spices) in the country; and Baba Al-Tajer Dhaka.^104106107

Similarly, reliable and up-to-date information about bidi production is not available. However, a 2012 investigation found 117 bidi factories spread throughout the country.¹⁰⁸ The leading bidi company in Bangladesh is the Akiz Bidi Company; others include Aziz Bidi, Maya Bidi and Bangla Bidi.¹⁰⁹

Tobacco farming

Large-scale tobacco agriculture began in Bangladesh following independence in 1971, when BATB began growing in the greater Rangpur area.¹¹⁰ Today, tobacco is grown throughout the country, with significant tobacco-growing regions including Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Kushtia, Manikganj, Tangail, Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar.¹¹⁰

Bangladeshi tobacco production was steady at around 40,000 tonnes annually from the late 1970s until 2009, at which point it began to increase rapidly, peaking at just under 130,000 tonnes in 2019.¹¹¹ In 2020 Bangladesh declared nearly 86,000 tonnes, making it the 12^th largest tobacco producer in the world.¹¹¹¹¹²

Child labour

Human rights organisations have documented child labour in tobacco fields in Bangladesh.¹¹³ In 2020, a video report published by Unfairtobacco and Bangladeshi NGO UBINIG showed children missing school in order to help their families with the tobacco harvest.¹¹⁴ Another video report documented the impacts of tobacco farming on Bangladeshi women, including the challenge of combining long hours working on the harvest with domestic tasks; negative health effects, including respiratory problems, fevers, and loss of appetite; as well as poor economic returns.¹¹⁵

In 2016, the Swedish NGO Swedwatch published a report based on research in three leaf cultivation areas which supply BATB.¹¹⁶ It documented widespread child labour and negative impacts on the health and wellbeing of farm labourers, both children and adults.¹¹⁶ It also showed how the use of flawed contracts and uncertain promises contributed to over-indebtedness and trapped many farmers in poverty.¹¹⁶ In response, BAT conducted an internal review which, according to the company, “did not raise any significant concerns and indicated that the report as a whole is not representative of the reality on the ground.”¹¹⁷ A subsequent investigation BAT commissioned to consulting firm DNV GL supported its internal review.¹¹⁸

Bangladeshi bidis feature on the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2022 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.¹¹⁹ It is estimated that at least half of the workforce in the Bangladeshi bidi industry is aged between 4 and 14; average wages are between US$0.77 and US$1.57 per day.¹⁰⁹ A 2012 investigation found that most bidi workers were women and children.¹⁰⁸ According to several workers, managers and people in communities around the bidi factories surveyed, this is because their labour is much cheaper and they are less capable of organising for higher wages or better working conditions.¹⁰⁸

• 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

Bangladesh is a net exporter of tobacco. In 2015, the last year for which data is currently available from UN Comtrade (as of September 2023), Bangladesh exported US$43.5 million in raw tobacco, compared to just over US$8 million in imports.¹²⁰¹²¹ However, it is a net importer of factory-made cigarettes. The same year, it imported over US$3 million in cigarettes, compared to just over US$354,000 in exports.¹²²¹²³

Illicit trade

A World Bank report published in 2019 found that Bangladesh had a low estimated incidence of illicit trade in cigarettes (2%), compared to estimated global rates of 10-12%.¹²⁴ According to the report, annual revenue losses from the illicit cigarette trade are about US$100 million, around 4% of total tobacco revenues.¹²⁴ Bangladesh has strong legal and institutional structures to combat illicit trade, including a cigarette stamp and banderol system to ensure compliance with taxation, robust law enforcement and stiff penalties for smuggling.¹²⁴

Though the illicit bidi trade is likely to be larger than that for cigarettes, revenue loss has so far been low given that bidis were barely taxed at all until recently.¹²⁴ The illicit trade in smokeless tobacco is also likely to be significant, though in the absence of any track and trace system or even tax stamps on SLT products, it is impossible to estimate the illicit share of the SLT market accurately.¹⁰⁴ A 2022 study found that “Almost all ST [smokeless tobacco] products bought in Bangladesh (…) were non-compliant with the local packaging requirements and hence potentially illicit”.¹⁰⁴

Tobacco and the environment

A 2020 study found various forms of contamination due to tobacco growing in Bangladesh, both in the soil and in nearby water sources. The most important parameter found to be significantly higher in tobacco-growing land was the pesticide aldicarb.¹¹² Classified as “extremely hazardous” by the WHO, this chemical is banned in 125 countries, though its use remains widespread.¹²⁵ The same study calculated the environmental cost of tobacco curing (due to carbon emissions) at US$310 per acre used for tobacco cultivation.¹¹²

Another report stated that contamination of water and soil by tobacco farming is endangering the livelihoods of nearly 800,000 people in the Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar districts who depend on the Matamuhuri river for fishing and cultivation of food crops.¹²⁶ Swedwatch also documented deforestation and forest degradation linked to farms in Bandarban and Chakoria which supply BATB.¹¹⁶ It alleged that BATB has contributed to these problems by failing to prevent sourcing of fuel wood from natural forests and by supporting the construction of kilns in forest areas.¹¹⁶

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

Roadmap to Tobacco Control

Bangladesh was the first country to sign the WHO FCTC on 16 June 2003.¹²⁷ It ratified the treaty a year later.¹²⁸ However, it has not signed the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.¹²⁹

The Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act (2005) is the principal law governing tobacco control in Bangladesh. The Act is comprehensive and covers smokefree spaces; tobacco advertising; the sale of tobacco to and by minors; and the packaging and labelling of tobacco products, among other areas.¹ However, the law had some major limitations. For example, it mandated only textual health warnings on smoked tobacco products, which is problematic in Bangladesh given the popularity of smokeless tobacco.¹³⁰ Similarly, although it banned advertising of tobacco products, it did not comprehensively cover sponsorship.¹³⁰

The Act was amended in 2013 and implementation rules were introduced in 2015, increasing compliance with the WHO FCTC. However, the industry was given a 12-month transition period to fully comply.¹³⁰ Even then, industry interference – principally by British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB) – has succeeded in delaying full implementation of the Amendment.¹³⁰ For example, though the Amendment mandated graphic health warnings (GHWs) on the upper half of all tobacco packaging, as of May 2022 – over seven years since the implementation rules were first published in the country’s official gazette – GHWs were still printed on the lower half of tobacco products.¹³⁰ Though this is considered a complete measure by the WHO, it means that the GHWs may be less visible to many Bangladeshi consumers. This is because tobacco products are often sold by mobile sellers out of steel trays which cover the lower half of the products.¹³⁰

Other major loopholes remain. Designated smoking areas are still permitted in certain public places; there are no restrictions on the sale of individual cigarettes (single sticks), small packets of cigarettes, or tobacco products via the internet; and there are no restrictions on use, advertising, promotion and sponsorship, or packaging and labelling of e-cigarettes.¹

However, as of June 2022, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) was preparing a new amendment to the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, which contains a number of global best practices.¹³¹ If passed, it would eliminate designated smoking areas; ban corporate social responsibility (CSR) by tobacco companies; ban the sale of single sticks; ban the display of tobacco products at points of sale; and increase the size of graphic health warnings (GHWs) on tobacco products from 50% to 90%.¹³¹ It also aims to ban the sale of e-cigarettes.¹³¹

In 2015, the Bangladeshi government began to levy a 1% Health Development Surcharge (HDS) on all tobacco products, which brings in around US$71 million a year, designed to support key government health initiatives including tobacco control.¹³² However, this funding has not always been easily accessible to the MoHFW. As of March 2021, the National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC), which sits within the MoHFW, was working on a long-term tobacco control programme which would have smoother access to HDS funding.¹³²

For more details, please see the following websites:

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

Tobacco Industry Interference in Bangladesh

Recent tobacco industry tactics in Bangladesh include direct lobbying of civil servants, which successfully obtained an exemption to lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic; using diplomats to lobby in its interests; and the mobilisation of third-party organisations against tobacco control.

Influencing policy: conflicts of interest

According to a study published in 2022, no measures have been adopted to implement Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC in Bangladesh.⁹⁰ The tobacco industry continues to influence policymaking, particularly BATB, in which the government holds a share of over 9%.⁹⁰⁹¹

This incident also demonstrates how much the tobacco industry (particularly BATB) is connected with government in Bangladesh.⁹⁰ The Secretary at the MoI, who granted the lockdown exemptions to BATB and UDTCL, simultaneously had a seat on the BATB board as a non-executive director.⁹⁰ This arrangement between the MoI and BATB appears to date back to at least 2010.¹³⁸

Several other senior civil servants also sit as independent or non-executive members on the BATB board, including a secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office.^139140141138

A study published in 2022 stressed that the presence of senior government officials on the BATB board leads both to individual and institutional conflicts of interest.⁹⁰ However, a former Secretary at the MoI has denied this, stating that tobacco control is not discussed at BATB board meetings.¹⁴²

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

Influencing policy: lobbying by diplomats

There have also been cases of lobbying of Bangladeshi authorities by foreign diplomats on behalf of the two main transnational tobacco companies operating in the country. In 2017, the British High Commissioner in Bangladesh intervened on behalf of BATB in a tax dispute between BATB and the NBR. Similarly, in 2021, the Japanese Ambassador sent a letter to the Bangladeshi Finance Minister criticising tax reforms which had impacted JTI, as well as restrictions on the marketing and sale of certain JTI products. The letter also complained of “anti-competitive” behaviour, alluding to BATB’s domination of the Bangladeshi tobacco market.

• For more information, please see the pages on UK Diplomats Lobbying for BAT: Bangladesh and Japanese Diplomats Lobbying for JTI.

Use of third parties

In June 2022, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) published another draft amendment to the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act (2005) – Bangladesh’s main tobacco control law – and asked for input from relevant stakeholders (see section Roadmap to Tobacco Control).¹⁴³

In response, the MoHFW received letters criticising the amendment from various trade associations, including the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) and the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), both of which have tobacco industry links.¹⁴⁴¹⁴⁵

In July 2022, a “policy dialogue” event – widely reported in the press – was held at a five-star hotel in Dhaka by the Intellectual Property Association of Bangladesh (IPAB). Speakers argued the amendment would reduce tax revenue, increase illicit trade and threaten livelihoods, reportedly describing it as “unrealistic”, “unimplementable” and “counterproductive”.¹⁴⁶ On its website, IPAB lists BATB among its corporate members, from which it acknowledges receiving “extensive support”, and two members of IPAB’s executive committee also hold senior positions at BATB.^147148149150

Another participant at the event was the executive director of FICCI, which lists BATB, Philip Morris Bangladesh and United Dhaka Tobacco Company Ltd (UDTCL) as member organisations.^146151152153 FICCI also includes tobacco industry executives on its board of directors, including the managing director of UDTCL, author of the letter to the Ministry of Industries requesting an exemption from COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 (see Influencing policy: conflicts of interest).¹³⁵¹⁵⁴

A 2018 investigation by the public health NGO PROGGA concluded that BATB’s infiltration of influential business and trade organisations constituted a major barrier to greater tobacco control in Bangladesh.¹⁵⁵

• For more information on business organisations in Bangladesh and neighbouring countries see Trade Associations.

Relevant Links

• Live: Tobacco Industry Interference on Amendment of Tobacco Control Law 2022, Center for Research and Advocacy to Fight Tobacco
• National STEPS Survey for Non-communicable Diseases Risk Factors in Bangladesh 2018, National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM)
• The economic cost of tobacco use in Bangladesh: A health cost approach, Bangladesh Cancer Society

Tobacco Tactics Resources

• South East Asian Region
• Trade Associations
• Greenwashing

TCRG Research

• Tobacco industry interference to undermine the development and implementation of graphic health warnings in Bangladesh, M.H. Shahriar, M.M. Hasan, M.S. Alam, B.K. Matthes, A.B. Gilmore, A.B.M. Zubair, Tobacco Control, 2023, doi: 10.1136/tc-2022-057538
• Achieving a tobacco-free Bangladesh by 2040: a qualitative analysis of the tobacco advertising environment and prohibitions in Bangladesh, A. Tselengidis, S. Adams, B. Freeman, S.M. Alam, P.A.S. Astuti, J. Cranwell, BMJ Open 2023;13:e069620, doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069620
• Advancing whole-of-government approaches to tobacco control: Article 5.3 and the challenge of policy coordination in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India and Uganda, R. Barry, S.M. Abdullah, A. Chugh, S. Hirpa, P. Kumar, D. Male, R. Ralston, T. Wagner-Rizvi, J. Collin, Tobacco Control, 2022;31:s46-s52
• 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.
• Estimating the magnitude of illicit cigarette trade in Bangladesh: protocol for a mixed-methods study, S. Abjullah, R. Huque, L. Bauld, H. Ross, A. Gilmore, R.M. John, K. Siddiqi, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(13), 4791

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 Bangladesh Country Profile appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

The language used by advocates and researchers may vary widely, which can be confusing for those working within the tobacco control field, and more confusing for the public and non-specialists. There is a concern that the use of certain terms could help to promote the interests of the tobacco industry. Therefore, it is important that we carefully consider the terms we use, and how we apply them.¹⁵⁶

TobaccoTactics investigates and exposes the strategies of the industry and the tactics it uses to undermine public health, including through the promotion of its products. In some cases, we need to use the language and terminology that the companies use. We aim to make it clear when this is the case.

This page lists the current terms used on TobaccoTactics to refer to products – old and new. It gives some background and context, and outlines some of the current issues around specific terms. It aims to simplify a complex topic, but it is not an exhaustive list. More detail can be found on specific pages, which are linked in the text.

Note that other outputs from TCRG, or other partners that we work with, may use different terms or definitions as they have different needs and audiences.

Conventional tobacco products

TobaccoTactics uses the term ‘conventional tobacco products’ generally to apply to those products representing the historically main investment focus of transnational tobacco companies (TTCs).

These products form the bulk of TTC sales and profits. TobaccoTactics does not cover them in depth. We focus on industry tactics and show how product innovation helps companies circumvent or undermine regulation, or mislead the public, for example:

• Innovations in in cigarette filters used to imply benefits to health.¹⁵⁷
• New accessories and products to undermine flavour and menthol bans.
• Manipulation of cigarette additives to increase their addictiveness.

TobaccoTactics does look in detail at snus, a form of smokeless tobacco  enclosed in small paper sachets known as pouches, and a similar product without tobacco leaf called a nicotine pouch.

We also detail industry involvement in the smuggling of conventional products and other activity relating to the illicit tobacco trade.

Newer nicotine and tobacco products

As the harms from conventional products have become better understood, and tobacco control measures have been put in place, the cigarette market – from which tobacco companies make most of their profits – has started to shrink. To secure the industry’s longer-term future, TTCs have invested in, developed and marketed newer nicotine and tobacco products (or ‘newer products’).¹⁵⁸

Previously, TobaccoTactics referred to these products collectively as ‘Next Generation Products’ (NGPs). This term has been used by all the large transnational tobacco companies: Philip Morris International (PMI, used until 2012),¹⁵⁹ British American Tobacco (BAT),¹⁶⁰¹⁶¹ Japan Tobacco International (JTI, and JT Group),¹⁶²¹⁶³ and Imperial Brands.¹⁶⁴¹⁶⁵

Individual tobacco companies have also described these products using terms such as ‘alternative’ and ‘novel’ products, as well as adopting risk-based terminology.¹⁶⁶

As of 2022 the broad collective term used by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is ‘Novel and emerging tobacco and nicotine products’.¹⁶⁷¹⁶⁸ Some tobacco control researchers take a longer, historical view and refer to these as ‘non-conventional’ products.¹⁶⁹

TTCs have also promoted some tobacco products previously only used in particular regions or countries, to new customers in the global market. One prominent example is Swedish style snus (see below).

E-cigarettes

E-cigarette, or electronic cigarette,  is a commonly used term. Tobacco companies still use this word, but in their PR and marketing they favour the terms vapour/vapor and vaping.^170171172 This has the effect of distancing these products from conventional tobacco.¹⁷³

The term Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) is used by the tobacco control community and policy makers, including the WHO. TobaccoTactics adds this term where it is useful. The WHO uses the term e-cigarette alongside ENDS.¹⁷⁴ E-shisha (waterpipe) is included in the definition of ENDS. Tobacco companies do not generally use the term ENDS.

The term Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENNDS) is also sometimes used, but rarely on TobaccoTactics. ENNDS are not a primary interest of TTCs. (Note that ENNDS are sold in some countries where nicotine e-cigarettes are banned, including Japan. See below for more on product regulation)

Heated tobacco products (HTPs)

This term is widely used by tobacco control, policy makers and the tobacco industry.

Tobacco companies have at times referred to these products as ‘Heat-not-Burn’ (HnB) products, or ‘non-combustible’ products.¹⁷⁵ These terms are contested.^176177178

Other terms have been used by industry, including ‘tobacco heating systems/products/devices’¹⁷⁵¹⁷⁹ and ‘tobacco vapor product’.¹⁸⁰

There are some issues with TTCs associating or conflating HTPs with e-cigarettes: JTI, for example refers to its hybrid HTP on a webpage about its ‘vaping products,¹⁸¹ while PMI has conflated its e-cigarette Veev with its heated tobacco product IQOS.¹⁸²

Products for placing inside the mouth (oral products)

Some oral products contain tobacco leaf. Some oral products do not contain tobacco leaf but still contain nicotine. This nicotine can be derived from tobacco leaf, or synthesised in a laboratory:

• Smokeless tobacco includes chewing tobacco, snuff and Swedish style snus pouches.  Smokeless tobacco is not new but newer products have been developed recently and older products have been marketed and introduced more widely.
• Snus-style nicotine pouches do not contain tobacco leaf. All TTCs now own these products.
• Oral nicotine products include gums and lozenges, in which some tobacco companies have interests. May be referred to as ‘dissolvables’.¹⁸³
• Some oral products are classed as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) only after a process of medical approval. NRT is usually a pharmaceutical company product – some tobacco companies own pharmaceutical companies.

For a timeline of TTC investments in newer products, and current flagship brands, see the main page on Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products (previously called Next Generation Products).
TTCs have also invested in various cannabis products.

Adoption of risk-based terms

Tobacco companies have moved towards using harm or risk-based terms to describe their products. These terms have changed over time. In January 2022, the terms used on the public facing websites of the three largest TTC’s were identical:

• PMI –  “Reduced-Risk Products” (RRP), which was widely used until later that year.¹⁸⁴ It also uses “Modified Risk Tobacco Product” (MRTP) for its HTP IQOS, aligned with the US FDA regulatory term.¹⁸⁵ PMI increasingly uses the term “Smoke-Free Products”.¹⁸⁶¹⁸⁷
• BAT – “Reduced-Risk Products” (RRPs)¹⁷⁹
• JTI – “Reduced-Risk Products” (RRPs)¹⁸¹
• IMB – “Potentially Reduced Harm Products” (although it was still also using the term “Next Generation Products”, and NGP).¹⁸⁸¹⁸⁹

The primary motivation of TTCs is to create new markets for their addictive products, and develop a new customer base for the future.¹⁵⁸ Read more about how TTCs use the concept, and terminology, of tobacco harm reduction to further their commercial goals.

Product regulation

Some information about product regulation can be found on specific pages.

For detailed, up to date information at country level, see the searchable database on the Tobacco Control Laws website, published by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK).

The Policy Scan Project, by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (at Johns Hopkins University) tracks and reports regulatory approaches to newer products around the world.

For countries that are parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) progress towards implementation of relevant articles, including newer products, is detailed in the FCTC implementation database.¹⁹⁰

Relevant Links

WHO Health Topics: Tobacco

US Food and Drug Administration: Products, Ingredients and Components

UK Government Tobacco Products Glossary

Tobacco Control Research Group statement on novel nicotine and tobacco products

TobaccoTactics Resources

Companies & Products category

Tobacco Industry: Definitions

Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products

Harm Reduction

Tobacco Supply Chain

References

The post Tobacco Industry Product Terminology appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

Image 1: General snus (Source: Swedish Match)

Background

Snus is available loose, or portioned in pouches resembling tiny tea bags (Image 1), and consumed by placing a pinch, or the pouch, or between the gum and upper lip for a period of time.¹⁹³ Ingredients include tobacco, sodium carbonate, moisturisers, and flavourings.¹⁹³

Unlike other smokeless tobacco, snus has a relatively high nicotine delivery and absorption, and relatively lower levels of harmful substances.¹⁹⁴ The lower levels of toxins are generally attributed to how it is manufactured and stored.¹⁹⁵

The so-called ‘Swedish Experience’ attributes Sweden’s low smoking prevalence, and resulting low occurrence of smoking related diseases, to high rates of snus use among Swedish men.

• For details see Swedish Experience

However a 2020 review by Norway’s Institute of Public Health identified a potential underestimation of health impacts.¹⁹⁶¹⁹⁷ A pooled analysis from Sweden, published in 2021, identified an association between snus use among men and increased mortality.¹⁹⁸

Snus is commonly used along with cigarettes.^199200201 Dual use does not effectively safeguard health.²⁰²

Research indicates that snus use probably increases the risk of:

• type 2 diabetes,²⁰³
• oral lesions,²⁰⁴²⁰⁵
• osophogeal cancer,²⁰⁴¹⁹⁶ and
• preterm birth.^196206207208

Evidence conflicts on the link between snus use and:

• pancreatic cancer,²⁰⁴²⁰⁹
• cardio vascular disease, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.^196210211212

Cigarette companies investing in snus

From 2002, large transnational tobacco companies increasingly invested in snus, and more recently, nicotine pouches which do not contain tobacco leaf.

Philip Morris International (PMI) gained significant interests in both products when it acquired Swedish Match in 2022. 

• For more information on these investments, see Cigarette Companies Investing in Snus.

Tobacco companies have also conducted, commissioned and funded research on these products.^{213214215216217218}

Swedish Match developed its own quality standard for snus, called Gothiatek.²¹⁹²²⁰

Product regulation

The European ban on snus sales has been repeatedly legally challenged by the industry, and a strong lobby from Sweden.

• For more information see Snus: EU Ban on Snus Sales

As of 2022 snus continues to be banned from sale across Europe outside of Sweden. A 2013 TCRG study found there was relatively little control on promotions and illegal snus sales via the Internet.²²¹

• For detailed, up to date information on regulation at country level, see the searchable database on the Tobacco Control Laws website, published by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK).
• The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) webpage on Smokeless Tobacco Products links to detailed information on US regulations.
• For countries that are parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) progress towards implementation of relevant articles, including newer products, is detailed in the FCTC implementation database.²²²

Use in Sport

There are concerns that snus may be becoming more popular among some groups of young people, particularly men, outside Sweden.²⁰⁰ Use of snus by footballers who play internationally,²²³²²⁴ has led to both concerns around their own health,²²⁵²²⁶ and the possible impact of increasing attractiveness to youth.²²³²²⁷

Note that in some cases snus may be confused with nicotine pouches, which do not contain tobacco leaf, especially in countries which do not have a tradition of snus use.

TobaccoTactics Resources

• Cigarette Companies Investing in Snus
• Snus: EU Ban on Snus Sales
• Snus: Marketing to Youth
• Pro-snus bloggers: Tim Haigh, Lars-Erik Rutqvist
• A list of pages in the category Snus
• Smokeless Tobacco
• Nicotine Pouches
• Harm Reduction
• Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products

TCRG Research

• Transnational Tobacco Company Interests in Smokeless Tobacco in Europe: Analysis of Internal Industry Documents and Contemporary Industry Materials, S. Peeters, A.B. Gilmore, PLoS Medicine, 2013; 10(9):1001506
• How online sales and promotion of snus contravenes current European Union legislation, S. Peeters, A.B. Gilmore, Tobacco Control, 2013; 22:266-273

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 Snus appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

Since the early 2000s TTCs have developed interests in e-cigarettes (also known as electronic delivery systems, or ENDS), heated tobacco products (HTPs), snus and nicotine pouches.  Companies have referred to these types of product as ‘next generation products’ (NGPs) although terminology changes over time.

• See the product terminology page for more details, including terms favoured by the industry.

Background

All of the ‘big four’ TTCs (BAT, JTI, Imperial Brands, and Philip Morris International) have invested in a certain type of smokeless tobacco, called Swedish-style snus.²²⁸ Snus is a key product of Swedish Match, which does not sell cigarettes. Philip Morris International acquired Swedish Match in 2022 (see below).

This page gives an overview of the global snus market, and looks at the snus products owned by TTCs. It also links to further information on their developing interests in nicotine pouches, snus type products that do not contain tobacco leaf.

The tobacco industry often uses the ‘Swedish Experience’ to support its harm reduction narrative: that Sweden experiences low rates of smoking and tobacco-related disease because snus is available in the country. However, TCRG researchers have argued that this is the result of effective tobacco control regulation, rather than being necessarily attributable to the wider availability of snus.²²⁸

This page does not cover the potential health benefits/risks of snus.

The Global Snus Market

Data from Euromonitor International shows that the global market for snus steadily increased in size by about 40% between 2008 and 2019.²²⁹

Sweden remained by far the biggest single market, accounting for nearly 70% of the global market in 2019 and around 80% of the European market.²²⁹ Over the last decade sales have grown in Sweden, Norway, and particularly in the US.  Sales volumes in Norway and the US are now about a fifth of those in Sweden. Use has also been noted in other countries including Brazil and South Africa.¹⁹³

However, the rate of increase appears to have been slowing in all countries.²²⁹ Tobacco companies have been increasing interest in non-leaf nicotine pouches (see below).

Regulation of Snus

In European Union (EU) countries other than Sweden, the sale of (tobacco derived) snus is illegal under the Tobacco Products Directive. TTCs have unsuccessfully tried to lift the EU sales ban on snus since 2008.²³⁰²³¹

• For more information: Snus: EU Ban on Snus Sales.

It is likely that post-Brexit, those tobacco companies with an interest in snus, as well as EU based retailers, will push for the UK government to reverse the snus ban.

A detailed summary of regulation of snus and nicotine pouches (as of April 2020) in Europe, the US, Australia and New Zealand can be found in a Policy Brief produced by The European Centre for International Political Economy.²³²

For information on tobacco regulation generally, see the Tobacco Control Laws website, published by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK).

Cigarette Company Investments in Snus

From 2002, TTCs started buying up small Swedish snus manufacturers and developing and marketing their own snus products. After 2008, snus investments slowed down and tobacco companies focused on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) instead. Since 2018, TTCs have shown renewed interest in snus-type products, in particular nicotine pouches.²³³

Japan Tobacco International

In 2002, Gallaher, now part of Japan Tobacco International (JTI), became the first TTC to add snus to its product portfolio in Europe by acquiring Swedish snus manufacturer Gustavus.²³⁴ Initially, JTI sold three brands of snus in Sweden only: LD in the value segment; mid-priced Gustavus; and premium Camel snus, which it launched in 2009.²³⁵ In 2013, JTI’s parent company, Japan Tobacco briefly trialled ZeroStyle snus in Osaka, Japan, but with little apparent success.²³⁶

Since 2017, JTI has been selling snus in Norway and Sweden through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Nordic Snus.²³⁷ It sells two brands: LD and Nordic Spirit, the latter being nicotine pouches.²³⁸²³⁹

British American Tobacco

In May 2005 British American Tobacco (BAT) commenced trial markets of snus in South Africa and Sweden, followed by trials in Norway and Canada, plus a “limited consumer test” in Japan.²⁴⁰

Then in July 2008 it acquired Swedish snus manufacturer Fiedler & Lundgren.²²⁸ Initially, BAT sold snus under cigarette brands Lucky Strike, Peter Stuyvesant, and du Maurier, and snus brands Granit, Mocca, and Knekt snus, in South Africa, Canada and Scandinavia. But in March 2011 BAT announced that it had “scaled back” its snus trial markets “to review our BAT’s approach to developing new reduced risk product categories”, and in addition, cancelled a test market planned for 2011.²⁴¹

From 2012, the company sold snus in Sweden and Norway only. In 2017 BAT’s snus activity picked up again. Following its acquisition of Reynolds American Inc (RAI) in the United States (US), the company now owns Camel snus in the US. In December 2017, RAI submitted Modified Risk Tobacco Product Applications (MRTPA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Camel snus (see below). In Europe in the same year, BAT acquired Swedish snus company Winnington AB, adding Epok snus to its portfolio.²⁴²²⁴³

In 2019, BAT introduced nicotine pouches to its portfolio, marketing them as Lyft in the UK and Velo in the US.^244245246 It promoted sales across Europe, Africa and in Pakistan. For more information see Nicotine Pouches.

BAT distinguishes Epok, Lyft and Velo from traditional snus and has allocated them to a new product category, which it calls “modern oral products”.²⁴⁴

Imperial Brands

Imperial Tobacco (now Imperial Brands , the second largest cigarette company in Europe, entered the snus market in September 2005 when it acquired a 43% share in Swedish Skruf snus, taking full control of the company in 2008.²²⁸²⁴⁷ Imperial has sold Skruf, its main premium brand, in Sweden and Norway, and Knox, its value brand, in Sweden only.

At Imperial Tobacco’s 2010 Investor Day, Marcus Diemer, General Manager for Central Europe North, credited snus as a “sizeable, and highly profitable business, and less vulnerable to growing regulatory pressures”.²⁴⁸

In May 2018 Imperial Brands, launched a tobacco-free version of Skruf, called Skruf Super White, in Sweden and Norway.²⁴⁹ This product appears to have been rebranded ZoneX for the UK market in August 2019.²⁵⁰²⁵¹ For more information see Nicotine Pouches.

In its 2021 strategy review, the company announced it would stop expanding its oral nicotine market, while continuing to invest in its existing markets in Europe.²⁵²

Philip Morris International

Of all TTCs, Philip Morris International (PMI) has had the least invested in the snus product category.

In 2006 the company briefly sold 1847 by Phillip Morris on the Swedish market following the company’s acquisition of snus manufacturer Rocker Productions.²⁵³ In 2009 it sold Rocker Productions to Swedish Match as part of a deal that saw PMI and Swedish Match set up a joint venture, SMPM International, to “globalise snus”.²⁵⁴ However, the joint venture was not a success and was dissolved in 2015. This also ended PMI’s brief early involvement in snus.

However, in February 2021, PMI said it was planning develop a nicotine pouch product.²⁵⁵²⁵⁶ In May 2021, PMI acquired Danish snus manufacturer AG Snus, which also produces nicotine pouches.^257258259 PMI did not appear to announce this publicly and in July 2021, the AG Snus website did not refer to PMI.^260261259

In 2022, PMI acquired Swedish Match,²⁶² giving the TTC access to the largest snus markets, in Europe and the US.

Altria

In 2019, Altria announced that it was acquiring an 80% share in nicotine pouch on!, from Swiss tobacco company Burger Sohne.²⁶³²⁶⁴

Altria & BAT interests in Lexaria Bioscience

Altria and BAT have connections with Canadian company Lexaria Bioscience,  relating to its drug and nicotine delivery technology ‘DehydraTECH’.²⁶⁵ For details see Nicotine Pouches.

Company Shares

According to Euromonitor International in 2010 Swedish Match, the only listed snus manufacturer without cigarette interests, held a share of over four fifths of the market in Western Europe, with most of that share in Sweden and Norway.²⁶⁶ TTC (BAT and Imperial) entry into snus saw the company’s market share fall in Sweden and to a lesser extent in Norway.²⁶⁶ By 2019, Swedish Match had under three fifths of the  market and a slightly smaller share in Sweden and Norway. Genuine competition between snus and cigarettes on the Scandinavian markets has thus slowly been reduced and is now negligible since PMI’s takeover of Swedish Match. The share of small independent snus manufacturers has always been, and remains, relatively insignificant.²⁶⁶

Despite these TTC snus investments, smokeless tobacco use is not well established in Europe, other than in Norway and Sweden. This partly reflects the fact that the sale of tobacco-derived snus is prohibited in EU member states other than Sweden.

In the US, BAT holds by far the greatest share of the market, over 80%.²⁶⁶ This picture may change now that PMI owns Swedish Match.

Promotion of Snus-type Products for Harm Reduction

From 2012, TTC alternative investments shifted to e-cigarette and HTPs. As with snus, TTCs looked to the these categories to ensure their long-term future, should regulation further constrain the cigarette market or reduce its pricing power, and to reassure investors that TTCs have potential for revenue growth.²²⁸ However, from 2019, interest in snus-type products grew again as tobacco companies became more interested in their potential role in their ‘harm reduction’ or ‘reduced risk’ strategies.

FDA Authorises Swedish Match to Advertise Snus as Less Harmful in the US

In October 2019, Swedish Match was the first company to have its application approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to advertise eight of its snus products (sold under the ” General” brand) as less harmful.²⁶⁷ Swedish Match had submitted the original application in August 2014.²⁶⁸ This is the first tobacco and nicotine product that the FDA has authorised as less harmful. Specifically, the approved health warning on the snus can state “Using General Snus instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.”²⁶⁷ The FDA does not consider the products as ‘safe’ and they will continue to carry the generic health warnings required for smokeless tobacco.²⁶⁷ The approval to advertise as reduced risk has a time limit of five years, after which Swedish Match will have to put in an application requesting renewal.

It is likely that the FDA’s decision on snus will affect TTCs’ strategy on NGPs and snus, in the US and perhaps globally. Industry analysist Bonnie Herzog, at investment bank Wells Fargo, was quoted as saying that it was “a huge positive” and “game changer”:²⁶⁹

“We view this as very good news for the broader tobacco/nicotine industry as it demonstrates the FDA’s commitment to a ‘continuum of risk’ strategy and provides viable pathway/process for manufacturers”.²⁶⁹

She also argued that “less harmful” products should be taxed “less onerously” than other tobacco products.²⁶⁹

BAT (Reynolds) Application for Modified Risk Status in the US

As of March 2021, the only other TTC that had an FDA modified risk application pending for its snus products was BAT (Reynolds). BAT submitted 6 Camel snus products for review on 18 December 2017.²⁷⁰²⁷¹BAT withdrew the application in October 2022.²⁷²

TobaccoTactics Resources

• Snus: EU Ban on Snus Sales
• Snus: Marketing to Youth
• Nicotine Pouches
• EU Tobacco Products Directive Revision
• Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products
• Harm Reduction

TCRG Research

• S. Peeters, A. Gilmore Transnational tobacco company interests in smokeless tobacco in Europe: Analysis of internal industry documents and contemporary industry materials, PLoS Medicine, 2013,10(9):1001506
• S. Peeters, A. Gilmore, Understanding the emergence of the tobacco industry’s use of the term tobacco harm reduction in order to inform public health policy,  Tobacco Control, 2015,24(2):182-189
• S. Peeters, A. Gilmore, How online sales and promotion of snus contravenes current European Union legislation, Tobacco Control, 2013; 22:266-273

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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