investigation

Smoking for the state

In 17 countries and Taiwan, tobacco isn't just big business — it's government business. A global investigation examines how state-ownership of cigarette companies influences public health.

Illustration: Rocco Fazzari

Big tobacco

When governments own tobacco companies, who watches out for your health?

At least 17 countries have a stake in the tobacco industry, making them responsible for a product that is a leading cause of preventable death.

August 28, 2025

Big tobacco

Smoking for the state

How Imperial Brands’ contract kept cigarette prices low in Laos — while secretly enriching a political insider

The deal delivered millions to an in-law of the former president, Bounnhang Vorachit, while blocking tobacco tax hikes for 25 years.

June 17, 2025

Big tobacco

Smoking for the state

Big Tobacco was forced to stop marketing ‘low tar’ cigarettes. In China, sales are booming.

With deceptive health appeals, China Tobacco finds growth amid global slowdown.

August 15, 2024

Big tobacco

Smoking for the state

How Philip Morris International secured a stake in one of the world’s few growing cigarette markets

The tobacco giant and its longtime business associate quietly gained a major foothold in Egypt, as the country sold off its stake in its state tobacco monolith.

May 8, 2024

Why you’d want to make a company more efficient whose primary product kills half its customers is beyond me.

Big tobacco

Smoking for the state

How China became addicted to its tobacco monopoly

For two decades, China Tobacco has undermined a landmark anti-smoking treaty. Millions more deaths are predicted as a result.

September 13, 2023

Illustration of smokers outside China's Great Hall of the People

Big tobacco

Smoking for the state

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Fearless journalism
for a healthier world

Smoking for the state

When governments own tobacco companies, who watches out for your health?

How Imperial Brands’ contract kept cigarette prices low in Laos — while secretly enriching a political insider

Big Tobacco was forced to stop marketing ‘low tar’ cigarettes. In China, sales are booming.

How Philip Morris International secured a stake in one of the world’s few growing cigarette markets

Why you’d want to make a company more efficient whose primary product kills half its customers is beyond me.

How China became addicted to its tobacco monopoly

China Tobacco, by the numbers

China's unwavering tobacco addiction

Cheap cigarettes, misleading marketing and interference by a tobacco monopoly

2.4 trillion

cigarettes sold in China in 2022 – roughly equivalent to the number sold in the next 67 countries combined

Subscribe to our newsletter

Fearless journalismfor a healthier world

Smoking for the state

When governments own tobacco companies, who watches out for your health?

How Imperial Brands’ contract kept cigarette prices low in Laos — while secretly enriching a political insider

Big Tobacco was forced to stop marketing ‘low tar’ cigarettes. In China, sales are booming.

How Philip Morris International secured a stake in one of the world’s few growing cigarette markets

Why you’d want to make a company more efficient whose primary product kills half its customers is beyond me.

How China became addicted to its tobacco monopoly

China Tobacco, by the numbers

China's unwavering tobacco addiction

Cheap cigarettes, misleading marketing and interference by a tobacco monopoly

2.4 trillion

cigarettes sold in China in 2022 – roughly equivalent to the number sold in the next 67 countries combined

Subscribe to our newsletter

Fearless journalism
for a healthier world