“Lungwashing” stubs out tobacco harm
If a picture is worth 1000 words, can it also tell 1000 lies?
New AUT research exposes the steps a major tobacco company takes to look like it cares about your health.
Flick through a recent integrated report of Philip Morris International (PMI) and you will see a swathe of photos, images and infographics that suggest their company takes seriously its commitment to sustainability, the welfare of tobacco farmers, and the wellbeing of consumers. From photos of farm workers wearing protective clothing in the field, to brightly-coloured graphs showing a drop in cigarette sales, PMI appears to be a safe, responsible, and trustworthy corporate citizen.
AUT Business School’s Dr Sabrina Chong (Department of Accounting) and her colleague Irshad Ali are experts in analysing how companies use imagery to enhance their reputation and hide the gap between their corporate walk and talk.
In late 2022, the researchers conducted a two-hour, online interview with senior staff in the Switzerland-based headquarters of PMI – specifically, the Head of Sustainability Materiality and Reporting, who was directly responsible for report preparation, and the Manager of Sustainability Communication. Sabrina says the conversations illuminated the strategic selection and placement of images and data in PMI’s integrated reports to help mask the harm its products cause. She dubs this practice ‘lungwashing’.
“They told us they intentionally and carefully selected and placed images and data in the integrated reports to steer attention toward positive narratives and emotionally resonant visuals, to help counteract the stigma associated with the harm caused by their products.”
Sabrina describes how PMI uses lungwashing to present its smoke-free products (eg, vapes) as less harmful than cigarettes and positioning itself as helping smokers break their nicotine addiction. It is, she says, the tobacco company equivalent of ‘greenwashing’ – when companies overstate their sustainability practices to enhance their environmentally friendly reputation.
She says their analysis of a decade of PMI reports (2013-2024) shows how important it is for consumers to be ‘visually literate’, so they can recognise when a company is embellishing its performance. This ability to critique is especially important for vulnerable NZ communities including Māori, Pacific, and young people.
“Because they are in the public domain, sustainability and integrated reports are considered factual and trustworthy, but the images and graphics can be used to distract from serious problems or to make a company appear more responsible than it really is. Understanding how images can influence perception gives New Zealanders the tools to interpret big claims with a healthy dose of skepticism. As sustainability and integrated reporting become more common, being visually literate is just as important as being financially or digitally literate.”
The researchers offer a few tips to help consumers identify when positive, appealing images might not tell the whole story.
- Don’t be dazzled by feelgood visuals – attractive photos and colourful graphics can be used to distract from the real harms of tobacco products.
- Check whether the images match the facts – upbeat visuals often highlight small positives while downplaying or hiding the more serious issues buried in the data or text.
- Watch for ‘lungwashing’ – when harmful industries use positive imagery to look responsible, it is often a sign the company is trying to soften or mask the truth.
- Read beyond the pictures – the real story lies in the details: footnotes, disclaimers, and any information that the images don’t show.
Examples of lungwashing in PMI integrated reports
At first glance, this graphic promotes PMI’s commitment to reducing post-consumer waste, suggesting the company is part of the solution, rather than a source of the problem.
Source: PMI’s 2023 integrated report, page 43.
Example of a feel-good photo of a smiling worker in thick work gloves stringing large green tobacco leaves used to distract readers from the real harms of tobacco products, including the risk of green tobacco sickness from nicotine absorbed through the skin.
Source: PMI’s integrated report 2019, page 106
Example of an image and accompanying narrative to create an impression that the company is helping smokers by providing supposedly “better” scientifically tested tobacco products, thereby promoting a message of technological reassurance around products that still carry significant health risks.
Source: PMI’s integrated report 2020, page 33
Read the research: Visualisation within sustainability reports: insights from a stigmatised industry company
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