Dear Eduardo,
[Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/opioid-drugs-44-cannabis-2-tobacco-indu... ]
Eduardo, you say: "I've always suspected that the tobacco industry might be, in some way, behind promoting cannabis use and the regulations that allow it."
This is a very interesting observation.
Opioid drugs, cannabis, tobacco, and alcohol. All of these industries use similar tactics to maximise their profits, in particular through glamourising consumption, denying or minimising harms, and spreading misinformation.
All of these industries appeal to those seeking the immediate pharmaceutical effects of these drugs. Using ChatGPT to get a snapshot, I found that:
1.25 billion people use tobacco
230 million use cannabis
60 million use illegal opioids
10 million use prescription opioids
400 million have alcohol use disorders
There is also considerable overlap among these five groups, so they are mutually reinforcing. For example, 30-50% of those who use cannabis also smoke tobacco. And up to 80% of those with alcohol disorders also use tobacco.
For me, this builds a picture of perhaps 1.5 billion vulnerable people worldwide who are exploited by one or more of the five industries.
The common enemy of these industries is public understanding of the dangers of experimenting with these drugs and the devastating long-term effects.
Currently, public understanding remains very limited for each substance. For example, the number of people who could list all the health consequences of smoking is close to 0%. And most cannabis users do not know that cannabis is carcinogenic. I welcome comments on the other substances.
The substance industries want people to continue to be ignorant of risks and fight back against public health efforts.
Coming back to Eduardo's observation, is there any evidence of collusion between the tobacco and cannabis industries, and with the opioid and alcohol industries? They all target vulnerable people for maximum profit.
The work of WHO is, I believe, especially important as WHO is uniquely placed to support member states in their public health efforts. HIFA stands ready to help ensure that governments have access to the reliable information they need to protect their populations from exploitation. We would be very happy to run a project on this topic (hifa.org/projects).
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org