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Global Health Governance and the Commercial Sector: A Documentary Analysis of Tobacco Company Strategies to Influence the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

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Weishaar, Heide, Collin, Jeff, Smith, Katherine, Grüning, Thilo, Mandal, Sema, Gilmore, Anna·2012·PLoS Medicine
DOI 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001249PMC PMC3383743
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: In successfully negotiating the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the World Health Organization (WHO) has led a significant innovation in global health governance, helping to transform international tobacco control. This article provides the first comprehensive review of the diverse campaign initiated by transnational tobacco corporations (TTCs) to try to undermine the proposed convention. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The article is primarily based on an analysis of internal tobacco industry documents made public through litigation, triangulated with data from official documentation relating to the FCTC process and websites of relevant organisations. It is also informed by a comprehensive review of previous studies concerning tobacco industry efforts to influence the FCTC. The findings demonstrate that the industry's strategic response to the proposed WHO convention was two-fold. First, arguments and frames were developed to challenge the FCTC, including: claiming there would be damaging economic consequences; depicting tobacco control as an agenda promoted by high-income countries; alleging the treaty conflicted with trade agreements, "good governance," and national sovereignty; questioning WHO's mandate; claiming the FCTC would set a precedent for issues beyond tobacco; and presenting corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an alternative. Second, multiple tactics were employed to promote and increase the impact of these arguments, including: directly targeting FCTC delegations and relevant political actors, enlisting diverse allies (e.g., mass media outlets and scientists), and using stakeholder consultation to delay decisions and secure industry participation. CONCLUSIONS: TTCs' efforts to undermine the FCTC were comprehensive, demonstrating the global application of tactics that TTCs have previously been found to have employed nationally and further included arguments against the FCTC as a key initiative in global health governance. Awareness of these strategies can help guard against industry efforts to disrupt the implementation of the FCTC and support the development of future, comparable initiatives in global health.

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  • The notion that tobacco is a net plus for the economy is perpetuated by the tobacco industry and often embraced by decision-makers and society.

    “This notion is perpetuated by the tobacco industry and often embraced by decision-makers and society, particularly when coupled with insufficient evidence on the economic advantages of good health.9”

    From Advancing progress on tobacco control in low-income and middle-income countries through economic analysis (2024) · cites this paper as [9]

    The Results section documents tobacco-industry arguments that tobacco control would cause economic harm, despite a World Bank finding that such fears were largely unfounded. The Discussion says industry arguments may resonate with other influential actors, but it does not establish that decision-makers and society often embrace the notion that tobacco is a net economic plus, or link that embrace to insufficient evidence on the economic advantages of good health. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Authors
Weishaar, H., Collin, J., Smith, K., Grüning, T., Mandal, S., & Gilmore, A.
Affiliations
  • University of Edinburgh (GB)
  • University of Bath (GB)
Corresponding author
Weishaar, Heide
ORCID
Venue
PLoS Medicine
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2012-06-26
Volume
9
Issue
6
Pages
e1001249
ISSN
  • 1549-1277 (ISSN-L)
  • 1549-1676
DOI
10.1371/journal.pmed.1001249
PMC
PMC3383743
OpenAlex
W2145853888
Cited by
68
References
0
Citations by year
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FWCI
1.31
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion)
  • Strathprints: The University of Strathclyde institutional repository (University of Strathclyde) (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • European Respiratory Society
  • Cancer Research UK
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Cancer Institute (R01CA160695)
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
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Political Influence and Corporate Strategies
Keywords
tobacco industry, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, global health governance, industry lobbying, tobacco control, corporate social responsibility, World Health Organization, international treaty negotiation, industry documents
MeSH terms
Commerce, Documentation, Humans, Public Health, World Health Organization, Tobacco Industry

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