A descriptive content analysis of greenwashing tactics used in US cigarette advertisements between 2019-2023

The tobacco industry has incorporated strategies like greenwashing (i.e. a marketing tactic that utilizes false or unverified claims to mislead consumers about a business's environmental practices and impact) within cigarette advertisements. Despite regulation to limit greenwashing, research found continued employment of greenwashing tactics. Understanding the magnitude and extent of greenwashing strategies used by the industry is helpful given the emergence of these alternative tactics and the association between greenwashing advertising and consumer inaccurate risk perceptions.

We conducted a descriptive content analysis of 2102 cigarette ads that ran January 2019-December 2023 in the US and identified 487 ads (23.2%) that had at least one greenwashing feature. We further characterized the nature of the greenwashing tactics present via text, imagery, or audio cues in the ads, using a developed codebook. Ads were independently double-coded, with discrepancies reconciled by team deliberation.

Over 90% of the sample of ads came from 4 brands: Hestia, Natural American Spirit, Winston and Marlboro. Social media were predominant for ad identification. Hestia ads predominantly featured the descriptors 'naked' (74.6%) and 'wild' (63.9%), and flora imagery (67.3%). Natural American Spirit ads frequently used descriptors such as 'different' (50.9%) and 'simple' (41.1%), and over half (58.9%) featured flora imagery. Winston ads used the term 'tobacco and water' (45.0%) and depicted the great outdoors (47.0%). Marlboro ads commonly used great outdoors imagery (92.7%) and eco-related sweepstakes (41.5%).

Greenwashing continues to be used in cigarette advertising, including the use of tactics associated with inaccurate modified risk perceptions. If further studies strengthen the evidence, regulations to limit greenwashing in tobacco advertising may be justified.