Big Tobacco's “other” philanthropy: Think tanks, policy institutions and religious organizations

Whereas tobacco companies widely publicize their charitable donations to violence prevention, hunger programs and the like, they seldom discuss their contributions to think tanks, public policy institutions, and religious organizations, although many share the same tax-deductible, non-profit status. Drawing from internal industry documents archived online and triangulating them with other materials, this archival study explores how the relationships between Big Tobacco and these organizations have been formed and sustained, and analyzes their implications for public health policy and tobacco control efforts. First, we examine how tobacco companies have appropriated rhetoric from across the political spectrum in order to construct the impression of sharing “common ground” with these organizations, while obfuscating potential conflicts of interest. Next we show how companies have leveraged donations with recipients to promote pro-industry stances on legislation, through assistance with media coverage and recruitment of new allies within the non-profit sector. Through case studies, we demonstrate how these relationships adversely affect tobacco control and other public health issues in the arenas of both public opinion and public policy. We conclude with a consideration of how public health professionals can respond to these issues with competing cross-sector alliances for tobacco control.