Information sheet: Manipulation and marketing strategies used by tobacco and nicotine industries to promote their products

Overview

Tobacco, nicotine and related products are often manipulated to attract and retain users, including through deception, for commercial gain, at the expense of public health. Deliberate strategies used by the tobacco and nicotine industries include engineering the content and design of their products to enhance attractiveness and nicotine addictiveness. Misleading product descriptions are used to glamourize harmful products and conceal their dangers, with users often not fully aware of what they are consuming. Tobacco and nicotine industries also employ a wide range of other strategies, including misleading marketing narratives and manipulating science to downplay risk, political lobbying and deceptive corporate branding.

Understanding how tobacco and nicotine industries manipulate their products and market them is essential to counter misinformation. This information sheet ‘Manipulation and marketing strategies used by tobacco and nicotine industries to promote their products’ is intended for a wide range of audiences, including governments. It uncovers various industries’ strategies and calls for strong regulations that protect public health, especially that of vulnerable populations such as children and young people, from the industries’ commercial interests.