German tobacco industry’s successful efforts to maintain scientific and political respectability to prevent regulation of secondhand smoke
Open accessAbstract
Objective:To examine the tactics the tobacco industry in Germany used to avoid regulation of secondhand smoke exposure and to maintain the acceptance of public smoking. Methods:Systematic search of tobacco industry documents available on the internet between June 2003 and August 2004. Results:In West Germany, policymakers were, as early as the mid 1970s, well aware of the fact that secondhand smoke endangers non-smokers. One might have assumed that Germany, an international leader in environmental protection, would have led in protecting her citizens against secondhand smoke pollution. The tobacco manufacturers in Germany, however, represented by the national manufacturing organisation “Verband” (Verband der Cigarettenindustrie), contained and neutralised the early debate about the danger of secondhand smoke. This success was achieved by carefully planned collaboration with selected scientists, health professionals and policymakers, along with a sophisticated public relations programme. Conclusions:The strategies of the tobacco industry have been largely successful in inhibiting the regulation of secondhand smoke in Germany. Policymakers, health professionals, the media and the general public should be aware of this industry involvement and should take appropriate steps to close the gap between what is known and what is done about the health effects of secondhand smoke.
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Tobacco companies and their affiliate organisations have had a strong influence in Germany, and the German government openly works with the tobacco industry.
“Tobacco companies and their affiliate organisations have had a strong influence in Germany; it is one of the few developed countries in which the government openly works with the tobacco industry (Bornhauser, J. McCarthy et al. 2006; Grüning, Gilmore et al. 2006).”
From Civil society and the negotiation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (2009) · cites this paper as Bornhauser, J. McCarthy et al. 2006
The paper’s introductory section and Discussion describe the Verband’s strong influence on German policy, including collaboration with policymakers and alliances with the government. Its “What this paper adds” section says Germany was one of the few major countries where the industry remained a legitimate force in public discourse, but it does not establish the narrower comparison that Germany was one of the few developed countries whose government openly worked with the industry. The copy provides no page numbers for these passages. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredGermany has been slow to embrace smokefree policies.
“and has been slow to embrace smokefree policies (Bornhauser, J. McCarthy et al. 2006).”
From Civil society and the negotiation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (2009) · cites this paper as Bornhauser, J. McCarthy et al. 2006
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Cites
Effect of smoke-free workplaces on smoking behaviour: systematic review
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Civil society and the negotiation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
Mamudu, H. M., & Glantz, S. A. (2009) · Global Public Health · doi:10.1080/17441690802095355 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Bornhäuser, A., McCarthy, J., & Glantz, S. A.
- Affiliations
- German Cancer Research Center (DE)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Corresponding author
- Glantz, S A
- ORCID
- Glantz, S A
- Venue
- Tobacco Control
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2006-03-24
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- e1-e1
- ISSN
- 0964-4563 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-3318
- PMC
- PMC2563568
- OpenAlex
- W2103710629
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 9.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Tobacco Control (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum
- National Cancer Institute (R01CA061021, R01CA087472, CA-61021, CA 87472)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmaceutical industry and healthcare
- Keywords
- tobacco industry, passive smoking, smoking bans, industry lobbying, public relations, health policy
- MeSH terms
- Attitude to Health, Germany, Health Policy, Humans, Lobbying, Public Relations, Smoking, Tobacco Smoke Pollution, Tobacco Industry
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