Rainbow smoke
How the tobacco industry exploits the LGBTIQ+ cause for its marketing and public relations strategies.
The tobacco industry presents itself as an ally of the LGBTIQ+ community by funding associations and promoting inclusion. However, for decades, it has targeted this community through specific advertising campaigns.
In the spring of 2025, cigarette manufacturers removed pages describing their commitment to LGBTIQ+ people from their websites. They also stopped communicating on this topic on social media. Their support for the LGBT movement therefore appears to have been an opportunistic communication tactic, which could be discarded as soon as it no longer served their commercial interests.