Donations, access and secrecy: 3 tactics tobacco companies use to influence smoking laws

In April, the United Kingdom passed landmark laws that aim to create a “smokefree generation”. This means anyone born on or after January 1 2009 can never legally be sold tobacco products.

The law is a triumph for public health. And it puts the financial interests of the tobacco industry in the rear window.

Compare this to what happened on May 4, at a Senate inquiry into the illegal tobacco crisis in Australia. Tobacco giant Philip Morris Limited was not only invited to give evidence, but was permitted to do so behind closed doors without any public scrutiny.

Neither the original nor the revised speakers list mentions Philip Morris even appearing at the committee hearing.

Philip Morris was also permitted to give evidence behind closed doors to a New South Wales state parliament inquiry into the illegal tobacco trade in late February.

Having these sessions behind closed doors means Philip Morris could lobby privately for policies that would directly benefit the company, such as cutting tobacco taxes. It also allows Philip Morris to raise matters beyond what was included in its public submission.

Because Philip Morris’s testimonies were given behind closed doors, the media and the public have been unable to gauge the expertise of the witnesses who appeared. Nor can other witnesses and experts interrogate the evidence and policy advice the company presented to committee members.

Participating in regulatory review processes such as parliamentary inquiries isn’t the only way the tobacco industry tries to influence political decision-making. Tobacco companies deploy a number of strategies and interference techniques.

Here are the three most powerful tactics they use in Australia.

1. Political donations

The National Party is the last major Australian political party to accept tobacco industry political donations and membership fees. In 2024-25, the Nationals received A$137,500 from Philip Morris and $88,000 from British American Tobacco.

Labor stopped accepting donations from the tobacco industry in 2004 and the Liberal Party followed in 2013. The Greens have never accepted tobacco industry donations.

Australia has strong laws banning any sort of commercial sponsorship by tobacco and e-cigarette companies. But an exemption is granted for gifts, reimbursements and donations to politicians and political parties during election periods.

National peak health bodies have called for a universal, mandatory end to tobacco industry political donations. This is needed to protect public health from these vested interests.

2. Revolving door of lobbyists

The “revolving door” is when employees and elected representatives move back and forth and between positions in government and industry.

This lobbying tactic aims to gain and share insider knowledge of the policymaking process, develop ties and relationships with influential people, and establish quid pro quo contributions to industry. This could include pushing for policies such as reduced tobacco taxes and liberalised vaping regulations.

A research paper we co-authored found tobacco companies strategically use the revolving door to influence public health policy in Australia.

Almost half (48%) of internal tobacco company lobbyists and 55% of third-party lobbyists working on behalf of tobacco companies had held positions in the Australian government before or after working for the tobacco industry.

Many of these people moved into lobbying positions within one year of working in public office. This is despite the cooling-off periods outlined in the Lobbying Code of Conduct. These require a minimum of 12 months for senior public service and parliamentary employees, and 18 months for ministers and parliamentary secretaries, before taking up lobbying roles.

A 2024 parliamentary inquiry on lobbyist access to Australian Parliament House acknowledged the need for greater transparency. It recommended some improvements to processes and disclosures.

However, it did not endorse other significant recommendations that would have limited tobacco industry influence, such as not allowing former ministers and their staff to lobby their colleagues for the benefit of harmful industries.

3. Consultants and third-party organisations

A key tobacco industry tactic for resisting tobacco control is to recruit supposedly independent experts who are critical of tobacco control measures.

This practice can be extended to engaging seemingly neutral third parties, or creating new front groups or supposed advocacy groups, to push tobacco industry arguments and agendas.

In Australia, Philip Morris was exposed for funding a front group for vape retailers. It spent millions on external lobbyists to undermine vaping policy reforms ahead of a 2020 Senate inquiry.

British American Tobacco also subsequently set up and financed Responsible Vaping Australia – an astroturf campaign. This is where an industry-funded organisation is created to appear to represent the common concerns of everyday citizens. This particular campaign included paid social media advertisements that linked to a petition to allow retailers to sell nicotine vaping products.

Australian consultants linked to the commercial nicotine industry have advised on illicit tobacco solutions and policies both here and internationally.

Protecting public health

Australia is a party to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This includes a provision, known as Article 5.3, that requires public officials to protect public health policies “from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry”.

Despite this requirement, Australia’s political processes remain acutely vulnerable to tobacco industry interference and influence.

All Australian governments need to commit to full transparency and accountability when engaging with the tobacco industry. Offering secret meetings to nameless individuals, under the guise of tobacco company employee safety and protection, is unethical.

This kind of secrecy is also disrespectful to the 24,000 Australians killed every year by the products this industry sells.