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Mehegan J, Gallagher A, Elmitwalli S, Edwards R, Gilmore A. Analysis of Philip Morris International's 'aspirational' target for its 2025 cigarette shipments. Tob Control 2024:tc-2023-058511. [PMID: 38782585 DOI: 10.1136/tc-2023-058511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Philip Morris International (PMI) claims to be transforming and has committed to a 'smoke-free' future. In 2020, it announced an 'aspirational' target for reduced cigarette shipments by 2025. METHODS PMI cigarette shipment data are taken from PMI quarterly financial reports 2008-2023. Trends in these data before and after the 2020 announcement are analysed using linear regression, and auto regressive integrated moving average and error, trend, seasonal time-series models to assess if PMI's 2025 target would be met on pre-existing trends, and if the trend changed after the announcement. These trends are also compared with the global retail market for cigarettes, using sales data from Euromonitor. RESULTS Findings were consistent across all three models. PMI's shipment target of 550 billion cigarette sticks by 2025 would readily have been met given pre-existing shipment trends. Following the 2020 announcement, the decline in PMI cigarette shipments stalled markedly with a statistically significant change in trend (p<0.001). The current and projected trend to 2025 is consistent with no further decline in cigarette volumes, meaning PMI is unlikely to hit its target. This mirrors a global pattern in which declines in cigarette sales have stalled since 2020. CONCLUSIONS PMI's 2025 target was not 'aspirational' but highly conservative-it would have been met based on pre-existing trends in declining cigarette shipments. Yet PMI will nonetheless fail to meet that target providing evidence it is not transforming. Stalling of the decline of PMI and global cigarette sales raises significant concerns about progress in global tobacco control.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Mehegan
- Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | | | | | | | - Anna Gilmore
- Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK
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Haklar I, Stephens J, Bowden J, Trigg J. Vaping industry participation standards in health organizations: an exploratory policy content analysis. Health Promot Int 2023; 38:daad146. [PMID: 37943847 PMCID: PMC10636788 DOI: 10.1093/heapro/daad146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The vaping industry has been found to employ similar tactics to tobacco industry actors to seek credibility and distort the scientific evidence base around the health harms of nicotine vaping products. As vaping industry interests undermine vaping control efforts, safeguards are necessary to protect against this influence. We aimed to examine health organizations' policies on vaping industry participation in their activities in Australia. A descriptive approach integrating policy analysis and key informant surveys was used to obtain vaping industry participation information from health research stakeholders. Descriptive statistics on organization type, policy document type, policy document industry focus (tobacco or vaping) and respondent role and responsibility were collected. We used framework analysis to identify themes describing organizational allowances, constraints, and rationale for vaping industry research participation. Relevant health organizations were identified within Australia for policy searching (n = 156), which identified 47 unique policy documents. After contacting 267 key stakeholders from eligible organizations, 31 survey responses were analysed. Research organizations and universities were highly represented in both the policy and survey data. Most health research stakeholders recognized that vaping industry interests counteract public health priorities and opposed vaping industry participation. However, many organizations lacked clear, vaping industry-specific participation policies. To protect the integrity of the emerging evidence base around vaping harms which inform vaping policy, health organizations require strong, comprehensive policies to resist vaping industry participation in research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Haklar
- College of Medicine & Public Health, Flinders University, Kaurna (Bedford Park), South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Jacqueline Stephens
- College of Medicine & Public Health, Flinders University, Kaurna (Bedford Park), South Australia 5042, Australia
- Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Kaurna (Bedford Park), South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Jacqueline Bowden
- College of Medicine & Public Health, Flinders University, Kaurna (Bedford Park), South Australia 5042, Australia
- National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction, Flinders University, Kaurna (Bedford Park), South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Joshua Trigg
- College of Medicine & Public Health, Flinders University, Kaurna (Bedford Park), South Australia 5042, Australia
- Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Kaurna (Bedford Park), South Australia 5042, Australia
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Goel S, Yadav A, Kontsevaya A, Bhatt G. Editorial: Tobacco industry accountability - Current practices, emerging issues and challenges. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1220268. [PMID: 37637816 PMCID: PMC10457126 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1220268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sonu Goel
- Department of Community Medicine, School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India
- Public Health Master's Program, School of Medicine and Health Research Institute (HRI), University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
- Faculty of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | - Amit Yadav
- Department of Tobacco and NCD Control, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), South-East Asia Office, New Delhi, India
| | - Anna Kontsevaya
- National Research Center for Preventive Medicine, Moscow, Russia
| | - Garima Bhatt
- Department of Tobacco and NCD Control, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), South-East Asia Office, New Delhi, India
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Ulucanlar S, Lauber K, Fabbri A, Hawkins B, Mialon M, Hancock L, Tangcharoensathien V, Gilmore AB. Corporate Political Activity: Taxonomies and Model of Corporate Influence on Public Policy. Int J Health Policy Manag 2023; 12:7292. [PMID: 37579378 PMCID: PMC10462073 DOI: 10.34172/ijhpm.2023.7292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) kill 41 million people a year. The products and services of unhealthy commodity industries (UCIs) such as tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed foods and beverages and gambling are responsible for much of this health burden. While effective public health policies are available to address this, UCIs have consistently sought to stop governments and global organisations adopting such policies through what is known as corporate political activity (CPA). We aimed to contribute to the study of CPA and development of effective counter-measures by formulating a model and evidence-informed taxonomies of UCI political activity. METHODS We used five complementary methods: critical interpretive synthesis of the conceptual CPA literature; brief interviews; expert co-author knowledge; stakeholder workshops; testing against the literature. RESULTS We found 11 original conceptualisations of CPA; four had been used by other researchers and reported in 24 additional review papers. Combining an interpretive synthesis of all these papers and feedback from users, we developed two taxonomies - one on framing strategies and one on action strategies. The former identified three frames (policy actors, problem, and solutions) and the latter six strategies (access and influence policy-making, use the law, manufacture support for industry, shape evidence to manufacture doubt, displace, and usurp public health, manage reputations to industry's advantage). We also offer an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of UCI strategies and a model that situates industry CPA in the wider social, political, and economic context. CONCLUSION Our work confirms the similarity of CPA across UCIs and demonstrates its extensive and multi-faceted nature, the disproportionate power of corporations in policy spaces and the unacceptable conflicts of interest that characterise their engagement with policy-making. We suggest that industry CPA is recognised as a corruption of democracy, not an element of participatory democracy. Our taxonomies and model provide a starting point for developing effective solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selda Ulucanlar
- Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG), Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Kathrin Lauber
- School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Alice Fabbri
- Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG), Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Ben Hawkins
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Melissa Mialon
- Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Linda Hancock
- Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | | | - Anna B. Gilmore
- Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG), Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK
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Rajani NB, Hoelscher J, Laverty AA, Filippidis FT. A multi-country analysis of transnational tobacco companies' market share. Tob Induc Dis 2023; 21:03. [PMID: 36721861 PMCID: PMC9853956 DOI: 10.18332/tid/157090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The international tobacco market is dominated by five transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) which continue to interfere with measures to reduce tobacco consumption. The aim of this study is to better understand the current international tobacco industry market structure by providing an overview of the market share of these five companies globally. METHODS A longitudinal multi-country study design was used to understand market share trends across 90 different countries from 2011 to 2020. Descriptive analyses were conducted based on market share and market size data obtained from Euromonitor Passport. Market share (%), maximal market share (%) and cumulative market share (%) were calculated. Maps and boxplots are used to present the descriptive analyses. Median cumulative TTC market share and interquartile ranges for each year were calculated and stratified by country income level. RESULTS The average maximal market share of one company in a country was 50% (IQR: 40.0-63.5) in 2020 compared to 51.5% in 2011 (IQR: 41.3-69.0). One of the five TTCs had the highest market share in 77 out of the 90 countries. Philip Morris International was the main market player in 38 countries, followed by British American Tobacco (24), Japan Tobacco International (8), Imperial Brands (6), and lastly China National Tobacco Corporation was only dominant in China. The percentage of cigarettes manufactured by one of the five TTCs remained relatively stable between 2011 (86.4%) and 2020 (85.2%). Average cumulative TTC market shares increased between 2011 and 2020 in both low- and middle-, and high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS The international tobacco market is concentrated with a small number of large players, and this has not changed substantially between 2011 and 2020. The impact of this on the ability of the tobacco industry to resist policy changes is unknown but presents a cause for concern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikita B. Rajani
- Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jule Hoelscher
- Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony A. Laverty
- Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Filippos T. Filippidis
- Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
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Fitzpatrick I, Dance S, Silver K, Violini M, Hird TR. Tobacco industry messaging around harm: Narrative framing in PMI and BAT press releases and annual reports 2011 to 2021. Front Public Health 2022; 10:958354. [PMID: 36330126 PMCID: PMC9623273 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.958354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Influencing public perception is a key way in which all transnational corporations (TNCs) maintain market dominance and political power. Transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) have a long history of leveraging narratives to serve commercial ambitions. The global reach of these companies' narratives has been highlighted as a challenge in combatting public health problems caused by tobacco. The corporate power of TTCs is carefully curated, and their narratives play an important role in the setting of governance dynamics at local, national and transnational levels. This qualitative work explores and compares the language used by British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International (PMI) around harm, harm reduction and terms used to refer to newer nicotine and tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. We systematically examine framings used by these two TTCs through company reports published between 2011 and 2021. Qualitative coding was carried out by four coders, according to a protocol developed specifically for this work. We firstly identified the presence of pre-selected keywords and then assigned chunks of text containing those key words to one or more associated frames drawn from Boydstun's policy frames codebook (2013). Qualitative coding identified the most common frames from Boydstun's codebook and thematic analysis highlighted three overarching themes. The most common frames assigned were "capacity and resources", "health and safety" and "economic" frames. The overarching themes were individualization, normalization, and regulation. These themes capture how both BAT and PMI use particular framings to downplay the role of TTCs in the perpetuation of population- and individual-level harms related to tobacco use. They seek to normalize their role in public discussions of health policy, to cast themselves as instrumental in the redress of tobacco-related inequalities and shift responsibility for the continuation of tobacco-product use onto individual consumers. These tactics are problematic for the effective and impartial development and implementation of local, national and international tobacco control agendas.
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van Schalkwyk MC, Hawkins B, Petticrew M. The politics and fantasy of the gambling education discourse: An analysis of gambling industry-funded youth education programmes in the United Kingdom. SSM Popul Health 2022; 18:101122. [PMID: 35637741 PMCID: PMC9142715 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The provision of commercialised gambling products and services has changed radically in recent decades. Gambling is now provided in many places by multi-national corporations, with important implications for public health and policymaking. The United Kingdom is one of the most liberalised gambling markets globally, however there are few empirical analyses of gambling policy from a public health perspective. This study aims to provide a critical analysis of a core element of UK gambling policy, the provision of industry-funded youth gambling education programmes. Methods Adopting a commercial determinants of health lens, a discourse theoretical analysis was conducted using the logics of critical explanation. The data comprised resources provided by three gambling industry-funded charities (GambleAware, GamCare and the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust) and their partners. Results The resources present a gambling education discourse that serves to reproduce the 'responsible gambling' agenda, while problematising children and young people. While the resources appear to offer educational content and opportunities for debate, the dominant focus is on teaching about personal responsibility and on the normalisation of gambling and gaming and their industries, while constraining the concept of agency. The resources encourage young people to act as individuals to control their impulses, and to correct what are portrayed as faulty cognitions with the aim of becoming responsible consumers. Our findings demonstrate how the gambling education discourse aligns with wider industry interests, serving to deflect from the harmful nature of the products and services they market while shifting responsibility for harm onto children, youth and their families. Conclusions Despite being delivered in the name of public health, the resources construct a discourse favourable to corporate interests. Educators, parents, policymakers, and others need to be empowered to address the conflicts of interest that exist in the delivery of gambling industry-funded resources. The promotion of such industry-favoured interventions should not be allowed to undermine efforts to implement regulations to prevent gambling harms.
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Affiliation(s)
- May C.I. van Schalkwyk
- Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK,Corresponding author. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SH, UK.
| | | | - Mark Petticrew
- Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK,SPECTRUM Consortium (Shaping Public Health Policies to Reduce Inequalities and Harm), UK
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