Matthew Chapman

The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, which is not taxpayer-funded, oversees an industry whose products kill nearly half a million Americans each year.

The government previously weakened Velo warning labels after British American Tobacco threatened to pull investment from a factory in Nairobi, an Examination investigation found.

Advocates are skeptical that the announcement is sincere after The Examination revealed previous investment threats by the tobacco giant.

By making legal threats and lobbying politicians, the tobacco industry worked to undermine a radical new bill to create a “smoke free” generation, documents show.

The medical education provider had proposed a year’s worth of online content about smoking cessation backed by the tobacco giant, an internal document shows.

The new labels are being proposed after The Examination revealed that British American Tobacco had successfully lobbied for minimal health warnings on its products.

England’s tobacco control programme lead, Martin Dockrell, told the controversial e-cigarette company how it could best enter the British market, internal company files show.

Leaked documents show how lobbying successfully relaxed regulations around Velo nicotine pouches. Experts fear the products will addict a new generation.

Other countries are also considering bans on tobacco product sales, similar to a pioneering law now axed in a deal by New Zealand’s right-wing coalition.

The tobacco giant is accused of violating French public health law in its marketing strategy for IQOS heated tobacco products. 

Twenty years on, the landmark Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has changed tobacco policy across the world — but still faces fierce industry resistance.