In at least six countries, the groups will urge governments to recover annual health care and environmental costs linked to tobacco use.
The action plan coincides with the Global Week of Action to Make Big Tobacco Pay, which runs June 1–5.
“No matter where we live or what we look like, everyone deserves to lead a healthy life. But the tobacco industry sells dangerous and deadly products at huge profits. Meanwhile, we all pay — with our lives, our taxes, and our environment,” said Daniel Dorado, tobacco campaign director at Corporate Accountability and organizer of the Make Big Tobacco Pay coalition (and a winner of this year’s prestigious World No Tobacco Day Award).
Many people know that tobacco use kills approximately 8 million people each year and is a risk factor for many life-altering diseases including heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.
But few people realize that the tobacco industry also costs society over USD $1.4 trillion every year to treat these preventable diseases and to clean up the industry’s toxic pollution. Cigarette butts, which are made of plastic, are the most littered item in the world; e-cigarette waste continues to grow; and both products release toxic chemicals into our water and soil.
Meanwhile, tobacco corporations bring in nearly USD $1 trillion in revenue from addicting people to products they know are dangerous and deadly. That’s more than Google, Meta, and Apple combined.
“Tobacco corporations cheat us financially — whether we use their products or not. The industry can only be profitable because it has foisted the costs of its business onto the people and our governments,” said Jaime Arcila, senior researcher at Corporate Accountability.
“Fortunately, we have a powerful tool to make Big Tobacco pay for its harms: the global tobacco treaty,” he added.
183 nations worldwide have ratified the legally-binding World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). Signatories are committed to holding the tobacco industry legally and financially liable for its harms (Article 19) and preventing industry interference in health policy-making (Article 5.3).
Advocates emphasized that Article 19 provides many ways to achieve liability beyond large-scale litigation, as many countries lack judicial systems that are adequate to hold transnational corporations liable.
During the Week of Action, advocates will be calling on their governments to advance liability measures at both the national and international level. The week kicks off with an online launch on June 1 followed by in-person and virtual actions in Mexico, Brazil, the United States, the Philippines, Nigeria, and Ghana. Partner organizations are also circulating a petition to Make Big Tobacco Pay, which already has nearly 40,000 signatures worldwide.
Corporate Accountability also announced the creation of the Yul Dorado Make Big Tobacco Pay Award to recognize visionary leadership in advancing health justice and tobacco industry accountability. Beginning next year, the award will honor outstanding efforts by governments, civil society, and advocates who are helping advance the global movement to make Big Tobacco pay for the harms it causes.
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