The tobacco industry between profit maximisation, lobbying and the rule of law

In this masterclass, Wanda de Kanter analyses the tobacco industry as a textbook example of structural tension between profit maximisation and the protection of the right to health. She argues that tobacco use cannot primarily be understood as an individual choice, but as the result of a deliberate and long-term addiction model designed by the industry, with nicotine addiction at its core.

Central attention is given to the influence of the tobacco lobby on policy and regulation. De Kanter shows that as long as the tobacco industry exerts direct and indirect influence on policymaking, the most effective tobacco control measures are structurally delayed or weakened. This particularly concerns measures that have been scientifically demonstrated to be effective, such as structural and substantial price increases, a far-reaching reduction in the number of points of sale and a generation-based sales ban. These interventions directly affect the industry’s revenue model and therefore meet with strong lobbying efforts.

The masterclass discusses the methods of the tobacco lobby, with particular attention to undermining scientific evidence, influencing political and administrative decision-making, and legally framing regulation as disproportionate or incompatible with economic freedoms. In doing so, it reveals how industry representatives, operating as respectable and professional actors, help to normalise practices that demonstrably result in large-scale and preventable harm to public health.

Specific attention is paid to the international obligations arising from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, in particular Article 5.3, which requires states to protect their policies against interference by the tobacco industry. De Kanter argues that effective enforcement of this lobbying ban is necessary, but in itself insufficient.

In addition, she emphasises the importance of litigation as an essential instrument within tobacco control policy. She reflects on several legal cases that have been brought, including the first criminal case against the tobacco industry worldwide, and shows how strategic litigation can contribute to norm-setting, transparency and public accountability of an industry that structurally causes harm.

Finally, she places these developments in a broader legal and ethical context of duty of care, liability, and the role of law and governance in limiting economic activity that fundamentally conflicts with public health interests.