State-owned companies complicate the global fight against tobacco use

Efforts to curb tobacco have been thwarted in part because half the global cigarette industry is controlled by eight countries who are part of those efforts

Governments with a stake in the industry should acknowledge the conflict of interest and make a commitment to manage it

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A cigarette vendor sits behind a pile of empty cartons of foreign and local cigarette brands on a Hanoi street on May 31. Vietnamese smokers can easily buy foreign brands at low prices thanks to persistent cigarette smuggling carried out through Vietnam’s borders with Laos, Cambodia and China. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:15pm, 1 Oct 2020Updated: 1:28am, 2 Oct 2020

Global attempts to fight the tobacco epidemic are spearheaded by the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). In force since 2005, the FCTC seeks to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure by addressing issues such as advertising, promotion, sponsorship and illicit trade.

While the purpose of the FCTC is laudable, the impact is questionable. Between 2000 and 2019, overall global tobacco use declined by less than a quarter of a percentage point per year.

It’s time for policymakers to consider that this poor performance may be down to the fact that nearly 50 per cent of the global cigarette industry is controlled by eight governments who are also signatories to the FCTC – China, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia and Vietnam. This number is heavily skewed by China National Tobacco Corporation, the biggest tobacco company in the world with 44 per cent of the global cigarette market.

However, there are 18 countries in the world where governments own 10 per cent or more of at least one tobacco company. Seventeen of these 18 countries are signatories to the FCTC, with Malawi the only exception.

How is it possible the WHO accommodates these interests? In a newly issued report, I address this question through the lens of business ethics and corporate governance.

Source: Contradictions and Conflicts report