Tobacco industry – a false allied against corona virus

Abstract

In times when the Corona virus pandemic is a huge source of trouble for public health and a Gordian knot for global economy, there is an economic sector which struggles to present itself if not a saviour in the crisis at least a panacea, a solution of this difficult situation - tobacco industry. By the means of transparent and innocent diversionary tactics, exposed by some media sources, it appears that smokers are less exposed to Covid-19 than non-smokers. This was an incredible turnaround, since everybody knows from decades that cigarettes are ruining the health of people all over the world. If we take into consideration that tobacco kiosks managed to present in front of local authorities as being of first necessity (not the library or the restaurants) and so to remain open during the confinement we can understand better how persuasively the lobbyists of this sector are and how efficient is their work. In this paper we will analyse how tobacco industry evolved during years and what could be the consequences of their actions during pandemic. JEL: I 18; L 11; L 66.