BACKGROUND: So-called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity by the tobacco industry (TI) is a widely used tool to influence policymakers, normalize smoking, promote vaping, greenwashing to distract from tobacco harms and undermining public health initiatives. This study aims to analyse how TI’s level of CSR affects the country’s ability to resist TI interference as indicated in the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index (GTI) which is a Civil Society Organisations (CSO) report covering 90 countries, tracking Article 5.3 implementation. The Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) publishes the GTI with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
METHODS: GTI data was analysed to identify patterns of TI interference. Countries with the lowest (indicating minimal interference) and highest (indicating significant interference) GTI scores were identified. The intensity and frequency of TI CSR activities in these countries were examined. The World Health Organization’s Global Health Observatory (2022) provided additional insights into the status of TI CSR bans in these countries.
RESULTS: The amount of tobacco CSR is hardly 20% of the weight of GTI scores and yet a country with high CSR is likely to be one of the worst scoring countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Switzerland, Japan, Indonesia, and Georgia. The converse is true suggesting that CSR has a very high impact on the country’s ability to implement other parts of Article 5.3 such as avoiding unnecessary interactions between governments and the TI and its participation in policy development.
CONCLUSIONS: TI’s CSR activities influence countries’ abilities to resist industry interference and fully implement Article 5.3. Banning or strictly regulating TI CSR activities is essential for strengthening public health policies and safeguarding them from industry manipulation.