The tobacco industry uses journalism to influence public opinion on tobacco policy and to block new measures, says Nikita Poole. According to her, the media should not participate in this.
The tobacco industry sells products that are highly addictive and often lethal. Despite widespread knowledge of the harm the tobacco industry causes, its lobbying tactics are still successful.
She also uses journalism to influence public opinion on tobacco policy in order to prevent, delay or weaken new measures. It is worrying that the industry is so easily given a platform in our media. The gatekeepers of the media must ask themselves if they want to leave it that way. By giving the tobacco industry a platform, you support it.
Because the Netherlands signed an anti-tobacco treaty of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005, contact between the government and the tobacco industry must be limited and fully transparent in order to prevent the tobacco industry from influencing health policy. Tobacco marketing has also been banned for twenty years. The media is thus one of the last channels for the tobacco industry to reach politicians and the public.
Research
In recently published research (Poole et al., 2023) we show how three important anti-tobacco measures were reported in the ten largest national newspapers in the Netherlands over a period of two years. It concerned an increase in excise duty (1 euro per pack), neutral packaging for tobacco products and a display ban in supermarkets.
When introduced in other countries, these measures received extensive media attention and met with considerable opposition from the tobacco industry. In the Netherlands, the tobacco lobby has succeeded in delaying and weakening these measures through the VVD (Luimes et al., 2020). In this way, achieving a smoke-free generation in 2040 has been jeopardized.
Excise increase
Our research shows that the tobacco industry is using a variety of arguments against the measures, many of which are inconsistent with reality. Take, for example, the argument that an increase in excise duty does not work because people continue to smoke, while we have long known that an increase in excise duty is precisely the most effective anti-tobacco measure.
Another argument that is regularly used is that it should be the free choice of adults whether or not to smoke. That it is a ‘free choice’, however, is not confirmed by scientific knowledge, which shows that smoking is a serious addiction.
In addition, the industry uses so-called front groups – other, more credible bodies to present their arguments. By going public in this roundabout way, the tobacco industry is not only trying to save its reputation, but this tactic also gives the appearance of widespread support.
Worrying
The fact that the tobacco industry’s lobby continues to be so successful in disseminating their arguments in newspapers with a national reach is worrisome. Because research shows that the media have a great deal of influence on the formation of public opinion and policy. With the rise of e-cigarettes and other alternative products, the tobacco industry is seizing an opportunity to improve its image. It positions itself as part of the solution, as an industry that is eager to help solve a huge health problem. This while continuing to sell cigarettes and other smoking products worldwide and continue to oppose policies to reduce smoking.
Fortunately, smoking and the tobacco industry are becoming less and less normal and that is also necessary if we want to achieve a smoke-free generation. We are moving towards a society where tobacco products will be more difficult to obtain and where children will no longer be exposed to tobacco on a daily basis.
By taking a strong stand against the tobacco lobby and not giving it a platform in the media, we promote the idea that it is not a normal industry and that not only what it sells, but what it says can be harmful.
Nikita Poole is a PhD candidate at Maastricht University (CAPHRI) and the IVO Research Institute
