About the tobacco industry

For more than 100 years, the tobacco industry has lured young people into becoming addicted to nicotine. There is now a tug-of-war between public health and the tobacco industry's profit interests. With this series, we want to help show who the tobacco industry is behind the mask, how they infiltrate society and what the consequences are.

The tobacco industry has many methods to attract new consumers and maintain its profits. The methods are not new – they have been used before to increase cigarette use. In this thematic series you can read about how the methods are used today, to increase the use of snus and e-cigarettes.

Decisions about tobacco policy should be made based on the best interests of society and public health. According to Article 5:3 of the FCTC, the tobacco industry should be kept outside public health policy. Despite this, the tobacco industry's lobbying activities are successful both in Sweden and internationally. The industry's interests risk influencing political decisions in the tobacco area.

The tobacco industry works to maintain a high level of nicotine addiction in the population, worldwide. They reuse and develop methods that have worked for over a hundred years. They design their marketing to attract young people, disseminate research that benefits their interests, change their products to circumvent legislation, and more.

Tobacco is grown mainly in low-income countries by farmers living in poverty. The situation for tobacco farmers is much the same around the world. Many are trapped in debt traps with buyers. The nicotine and pesticides cause serious health problems. Child labor is a widespread problem.

Tobacco's serious environmental and climate impacts are an obstacle to the world reaching the UN's global sustainability goals by 2030. The tobacco industry contributes to global warming by emitting at least 84 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents each year.

Anyone who wants to invest sustainably must opt ​​out of the tobacco industry. Tobacco companies may make it look like they are working on sustainability, but then it is not about the main product, which threatens both human health and the environment. Tobacco production does not become sustainable because packaging or transportation are improved. Tobacco and nicotine still remain harmful.