Editorial: Tobacco industry accountability - current practices, emerging issues and challenges

The long and intricate history of the tobacco industry (hereafter TI) is marked by periods of expansion and disintegration, changing legal frameworks, and evolving public perception of tobacco use and its detrimental effects on health (1). The global TI is dominated by the five largest tobacco businesses, i.e., Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International, and China National Tobacco Company (2). These are also known to historically work together in concealing scientific evidence on the adverse effects of tobacco consumption, telling lies under oath before the US Congress, and manipulating and destroying evidence (3). Since the mid-20th century, the evidence against tobacco products has been mounting, linking tobacco use (smoked as well as smokeless forms) to various cancers and other health problems (4). There is evidence that smoking leads to many cancers, not just lung cancer (5). In response, tobacco companies launched aggressive marketing campaigns to reassure the general population about the safety of their products and undermine the credibility of scientific research on the harms of smoking (1). In the 1990’s, public pressure and lawsuits led to a series of major legal settlements and the implementation of tighter regulations on tobacco advertising and sales (6). To circumvent this new regulatory environment, numerous tobacco firms expanded their product portfolios to include smokeless tobacco and other items containing nicotine (7). More recently, the industry has also moved its focus onto creating and marketing substitutes, notably, heated tobacco products and electronic cigarettes, misleading consumers with the term “harm reduction,” or “less harmful,” or “safer” used for such products (8, 9). While TI has long been criticized and subject to legal action due to its part in promoting and making money from a harmful and addictive product, TI has employed several tactics to counter the legal and public health regulations put in its way by governments in different countries (9).