RESEARCH PAPER

Moving East: how the transnational tobacco industry gained entry to the emerging markets of the former Soviet Union—part I: establishing cigarette imports

A B Gilmore, M McKee

European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition (ECOHOST), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Anna B Gilmore
European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK; anna.gilmore{at}lshtm.ac.uk

Objectives: To identify British American Tobacco’s (BAT) reasons for targeting the former Soviet Union following its collapse in 1991 and the initial strategies BAT used to enter the region.

Design: Analysis of tobacco industry documents held at the Guildford BAT archive.

Results: Desire to expand to new markets was based in part on the decline in old markets. The large population, proximity to China, scope to expand sales to women and, in Central Asia, a young population with high growth rates made the former Soviet Union particularly attractive. High consumption rates and unfilled demand caused by previous shortages offered potential for rapid returns on investment. A series of steps were taken to penetrate the markets with the initial focus on establishing imports. The documents suggest that BAT encouraged the use of aid money and barter trade to fund imports and directed the smuggling of cigarettes which graduated from an opportunistic strategy to a highly organised operation. In establishing a market presence, promotion of BAT’s brands and corporate image were paramount, and used synonymously to promote both the cigarettes and the company. The tobacco industry targeted young people and women. It used the allure of western products to promote its brands and brand stretching and corporate imagery to pre-empt future marketing restrictions.

Conclusions: BAT used the chaotic conditions in the immediate post-transition period in the former Soviet Union to exploit legislative loopholes and ensure illegal cigarette imports. Governments of countries targeted by the tobacco industry need to be aware of industry tactics and develop adequate tobacco control policies in order to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable populations. Marketing restrictions that focus on advertising without restricting the use of brand or company promotions will have a limited impact.

Abbreviations: BAT, British American Tobacco; CEE, Central and Eastern Europe; CIS, Commonwealth of Independent Sates; FSU, former Soviet Union; NIS, Newly Independent States; TTCs, transnational tobacco companies

Keywords: tobacco industry documents; former Soviet Union; smuggling; market entry

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Stickley, A., Carlson, P. (2009). The social and economic determinants of smoking in Moscow, Russia. Scand J Public Health 37: 632-639 [Abstract]  
• Hurt, R. D., Ebbert, J. O., Muggli, M. E., Lockhart, N. J., Robertson, C. R. (2009). Open Doorway to Truth: Legacy of the Minnesota Tobacco Trial. Mayo Clin Proc. 84: 446-456 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Rogacheva, A., Laatikainen, T., Patja, K., Paavola, M., Tossavainen, K., Vartiainen, E. (2008). Smoking and related factors of the social environment among adolescents in the Republic of Karelia, Russia in 1995 and 2004. Eur J Public Health 18: 630-636 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Nakkash, R, Lee, K (2008). Smuggling as the "key to a combined market": British American Tobacco in Lebanon. Tobacco Control 17: 324-331 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• LeGresley, E, Lee, K, Muggli, M E, Patel, P, Collin, J, Hurt, R D (2008). British American Tobacco and the "insidious impact of illicit trade" in cigarettes across Africa. Tobacco Control 17: 339-346 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Danishevski, K, Gilmore, A, McKee, M (2008). Public attitudes towards smoking and tobacco control policy in Russia. Tobacco Control 17: 276-283 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Leinsalu, M., Tekkel, M., Kunst, A. E. (2007). Social determinants of ever initiating smoking differ from those of quitting: a cross-sectional study in Estonia. Eur J Public Health 17: 572-578 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Gilmore, A., Collin, J., Townsend, J. (2007). Transnational Tobacco Company Influence on Tax Policy During Privatization of a State Monopoly: British American Tobacco and Uzbekistan. AJPH 97: 2001-2009 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Perlman, F., Bobak, M., Gilmore, A., McKee, M. (2007). Trends in the prevalence of smoking in Russia during the transition to a market economy. Tobacco Control 16: 299-305 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Gilmore, A. B, McKee, M., Collin, J. (2007). The invisible hand: how British American Tobacco precluded competition in Uzbekistan. Tobacco Control 16: 239-247 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• LeGresley, E. M., Muggli, M. E., Hurt, R. D. (2006). Movie Moguls: British American Tobacco's covert strategy to promote cigarettes in Eastern Europe. Eur J Public Health 16: 505-508 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bobak, M, Gilmore, A, McKee, M, Rose, R, Marmot, M (2006). Changes in smoking prevalence in Russia, 1996-2004.. Tobacco Control 15: 131-135 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hafez, N, Ling, P M (2005). How Philip Morris built Marlboro into a global brand for young adults: implications for international tobacco control. Tobacco Control 14: 262-271 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bansal, R, John, S, Ling, P M (2005). Cigarette advertising in Mumbai, India: targeting different socioeconomic groups, women, and youth. Tobacco Control 14: 201-206 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• McKee, M., Fister, K. (2004). Post-communist transition and health in Europe. BMJ 329: 1355-1356 [Full Text]  
• Lee, K, Gilmore, A B, Collin, J (2004). Breaking and re-entering: British American Tobacco in China 1979-2000. Tobacco Control 13: ii88-ii95 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• MacKenzie, R, Collin, J, Sopharo, C, Sopheap, Y (2004). "Almost a role model of what we would like to do everywhere": British American Tobacco in Cambodia. Tobacco Control 13: ii112-ii117 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Gilmore, A B, McKee, M (2004). Moving East: how the transnational tobacco industry gained entry to the emerging markets of the former Soviet Union--part II: an overview of priorities and tactics used to establish a manufacturing presence. Tobacco Control 13: 151-160 [Abstract] [Full Text]