Big tobacco

Examining the tobacco industry as a 21st-century driver of public health harm.

The Examination
The Examination

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
The Examination

How industry capture of Filipino officials helped deadlock global tobacco control negotiations

A presidential agenda, pro-industry proposals and a probe — documents reveal Big Tobacco’s influence in the Philippines and on the international stage.

May 6, 2025
The Examination

UK lawmaker seeks to delay heated tobacco ban after industry-funded trip

As public health experts warn of the dangers of heated tobacco products like IQOS, Lord Ed Vaizey argued that they should be excluded from a landmark ban pending further study – after touring Philip Morris International's lab.

June 1, 2025
The Examination

Trump’s cuts jeopardize crucial tobacco trends data in the US and beyond

The sudden shutdown of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health endangers a range of tobacco control programs stateside and surveys around the world.

May 21, 2025
Flavored vaping e-cigarette products

Mass firings hit US tobacco regulators overwhelmed with thousands of new products

The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, which is not taxpayer-funded, oversees an industry whose products kill nearly half a million Americans each year.

February 28, 2025
The Examination

Fruity ‘click’ cigarettes a hit with Latin American teens amid ‘constant’ industry lobbying

Companies release watermelon Marlboros, blueberry-menthol Luckies despite “smoke-free” promises.

November 21, 2024
The Examination

Former FDA lawyers join tobacco industry in ‘epic’ fight against the agency

As legal battles over vapes and menthol cigarettes mount, tobacco companies turn to former agency insiders to press their case.

October 21, 2024
The Examination

Medscape severs ties with tobacco industry after backlash over $3M Philip Morris International deal

The medical education provider had proposed a year’s worth of online content about smoking cessation backed by the tobacco giant, an internal document shows.

April 26, 2024
Man smoking in London

Revealed: Big Tobacco’s campaign to undermine UK generational smoking ban

By making legal threats and lobbying politicians, the tobacco industry worked to undermine a radical new bill to create a “smoke free” generation, documents show.

June 29, 2024
The Examination
investigation

Smoking for the state

In 18 countries, tobacco isn't just big business — it's government business. A global investigation examines how state-ownership of cigarette companies influences public health.