For years, tobacco companies have been using various methods to whitewash their reputation and hide the harm their products cause, and now they are also hiding their sponsorship of war.
Tobacco giants such as Philip Morris International sponsor sporting events, cultural events and other activities to associate themselves with positive images and values or fund social responsibility programs to give the impression that they care about society. They spend billions of dollars on advertising to make their products attractive, especially to young people.
“There was a story that tobacco companies in Ukraine provided charity in support of the Armed Forces. They provided cigarettes allegedly for the needs of the Armed Forces, but for some reason these cigarettes later appeared on illegal outlets in Kyiv. That is, they were centrally transferred, and they were centrally distributed by the mafia to illegal outlets,” Dmytro Kupyra, executive director of the NGO “Life,” said in an interview with investigative journalist Yevhen Plinsky.
“It’s a real mystery how the export Marlboro made for the Japanese market got to the black market of Ukraine, with some of it being transferred to the military through volunteers, but when you start asking this question in public, you get a response: are you saying that these are volunteers?” added Yevhen Plinsky.
“In order to whitewash its reputation, Philip Morris International donated more than one billion dollars to various public organizations from 2014 to 2016. For example, the company helped elderly people, during the Covid they tried to buy lung ventilators and provide hospitals with good equipment. At the same time, Ukrainian legislation prohibits any sponsorship of government agencies or officials by tobacco companies, but the company circumvents the ban through NGOs, charitable foundations, and thus some leaders of such NGOs received funding from Philip Morris International,” added Serhiy Mytkalyk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Headquarters.
As a reminder, Philip Morris International’s market share in Russia was over 30% in 2019-2023. Philip Morris International is the largest international taxpayer in Russia. In 2022, PMI’s revenue amounted to $7.9 billion and the company paid $4.9 billion. taxes to the Russian budget. These funds are used to maintain and finance the Russian army. After all, the tobacco giant does not want to leave the Russian market and continues to pay billions in taxes to the country’s budget. And in Ukraine, it is trying to hide the extent of its incorporation into the budget of the Russian Federation by creating the impression of “caring for society.”