Tobacco industry rallies against illicit trade – but have we forgotten its complicity?

The battle over the introduction of plain packaging has revealed the unscrupulous tactics used by the tobacco industry to influence and counter. Evidence shows a multi-faceted campaign that includes using industry-funded research to falsely claim that plain packaging will lead to a rise in cigarette smuggling and illicit trade. This is despite the fact that these companies have been complicit in this very trade.