Despite efforts to pass themselves off as responsible corporate citizens, tobacco companies are not like other businesses. Because half of all tobacco users get sick or die from tobacco-related disease, tobacco companies devote tremendous resources to getting new customers hooked on their products.
Tobacco companies use a wide range of tactics — legal and illegal — to introduce and sell their deadly products in these markets. To increase the sales of their products, tobacco companies use three main strategies:
- They legitimize themselves as responsible corporate citizens everywhere they operate.
- They interfere with the policy making process.
- They recruit new users and keep existing ones through aggressive marketing strategies.
The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is the first coordinated global effort aimed at reducing tobacco use.
The treaty commits nations to implement scientifically proven measures to reduce tobacco use. Tobacco control advocates in government and civil society must expose and discredit the tobacco industry as an essential element in campaigns to implement the policies outlined in the FCTC.