Interview: “This industry goes where the wind blows”

Interview with Professor Jacques Cornuz, former CEO of Unisanté, on greenwashing by the tobacco industry.

Why does the tobacco industry resort to greenwashing?

Prof. Jacques Cornuz (JC): Greenwashing consists of highlighting activities related to environmental preservation in order to mask realities that run counter to climate issues. Today, many brands are following this trend to give themselves a good image. I am not at all surprised that the tobacco industry is also engaging in it. Promoting a product by buying a conscience at a very low price is a classic tactic of the tobacco industry. When it comes to environmental issues, the industry goes with the flow. In the future, it could very well jump on the “Me Too” movement or the movement promoting inclusivity, for example.

What do you think of the “Lara Green” campaign run last year by Swiss Cigarette?

JC: There’s nothing new here. The Lara Green campaign fits perfectly into the tobacco industry’s logic of supposed risk reduction. There are many examples of this throughout history. After the war, when an American report first stated that tobacco caused cancer, they invented the filter. Then they marketed so-called “light” cigarettes, which were supposedly less addictive. At one point, they launched a “natural” tobacco, which was in fact just as harmful as the others. About ten years ago, when the law banning smoking in public places came into force, they brought out portable ashtrays. With Lara Green, once again, the blame for the harmful effects of tobacco is being placed on smokers. Once again, we have a campaign that promotes the industry’s messages and targets young people in particular. This is no coincidence, given that the majority of smokers start smoking before the age of 18-20.

With these actions, the tobacco industry is hiding the significant environmental impact of its polluting production chain, attempting to normalize smoking, and avoiding restrictive regulations. The solution is to quit smoking, which is what most smokers want to do.

Can we still be fooled by these manipulations?

JC: No. The main reason people continue to smoke is the physical addiction caused by tobacco in all its forms. Also, if the industry still has a bright future ahead of it, it is because it opposes any effective measures in the fight against smoking, such as the introduction of plain packaging, the use of shocking slogans and images on packaging, the refusal to impose sufficient taxation, or the ban on advertising to minors, as we have recently seen. Nevertheless, this industry is ultimately doomed to disappear. There are fewer and fewer people within the tobacco industry who are competent to sell its products, communicate, and defend its interests. And then, honestly, smoking is really old-fashioned.