‘Revolving door’ for lobbyists weakens tobacco policy

Tobacco companies are using the ‘revolving door’ between government and the tobacco industry to influence public health policy, researchers have found.

Researchers at the Sax Institute have analysed the movements of 56 lobbyists acting on behalf of tobacco companies, 31 of whom had held positions in Australian state or federal governments prior or following the stint in the tobacco industry. Picture: AAP

Tobacco companies are using the “revolving door” between government and the tobacco industry to influence public health policy, with 55 per cent of lobbyists in the sector holding positions in government previously or directly after, researchers have found.

Researchers at the University of Sydney have analysed the movements of 56 lobbyists acting on behalf of tobacco companies, 31 of whom had held positions in Australian state or federal governments prior or following the stint in the tobacco industry.

This included four people who had previously been or went on to become an MP, ten who had held positions as a chief of staff or deputy chief of staff and 11 who had acted as an adviser to an MP.

The study found that 48 per cent had moved into or left government work within one year of working as a lobbyist, and 57 per cent were employed in a government role for over five years pre or post-working as a lobbyist.

“The revolving door is important for tobacco companies as it provides potential opportunities to influence policy making out of public sight,” the report said.

Under the Lobbying Code of Conduct staffers employed in ministers offices are prohibited from engaging in lobbying activities related to any matter in which they had official dealings within 12 months.

The University of Sydney’s The Daffodil Centre research fellow Christina Watts, who led the study, said the influence gained by the tobacco industry through “revolving door tactics” had stalled reform in the sector for decades and undermined public health policy.

“One of the really interesting points from the study was around the length of time it took for the lobbyist to go in and out of government, in many cases within a year,” Dr Watts said.

“Not only does this go against the lobbying code of conduct but also the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, it allows those people to share insider knowledge of the policy process, develop ties with influential people and quid pro quo relationships.”

The study identified tobacco giants Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco as having engaged in “heavy lobbying” of the federal government particularly around regulations on vaping, which the industry argues supports public health objectives by helping smokers to quit.

The findings come after the federal government announced a crackdown on the rampant trade in black market vapes including banning non-prescription and single-use vapes, plain packaging laws and restrictions on colours and flavours ahead of Tuesday’s federal budget.

“The announcement was incredibly significant in tobacco control, marking the most significant controls we’ve seen since plain packaging was introduced in 2012, which was over a decade ago now,” Dr Watts said.

“The question is why does it take so long for these issues to be dealt with? Tobaccos is a serious killer and we’re also seeing a vaping crisis among young people.