Amid Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, the country has witnessed a sharp rise in cigarette consumption, despite already having some of the highest tobacco prices in the world. Sales have soared to levels unseen in years: cigarette sales in Israel jumped to roughly 400 million packs in 2024, up from 352 million the previous year—about eight billion cigarettes—according to Tobacco Reporter.

By contrast, after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the world’s major tobacco companies swiftly announced they were shutting down or scaling back operations in Russia, one of the industry’s largest markets, responding to sanctions and intense political and media pressure. Yet during Israel’s war on Gaza no comparable outcry or accountability emerged. Instead, those same companies posted higher sales, an illustration of the double standards dictated by geopolitical interests, market dynamics, and uneven international pressure.

This report is part of a wider project on tobacco-company activity in conflict zones, timed to coincide with World No-Tobacco Day on May 31. Daraj is publishing a four-part series exposing how major tobacco firms operate in war-torn areas, focusing especially on Gaza and Sudan, and how they exploit humanitarian crises for profit at the expense of public health.

“Business as Usual” in Israel

Throughout the war on Gaza, tobacco companies operated in Israel without meaningful pressure or sanctions, nothing like the measures tobacco companies faced in Russia. Philip Morris International (PMI) holds about 24 percent of Israel’s cigarette market, which also includes the domestic giant Dubek Ltd. and Globrandz Group, the importer and distributor for brands owned by JTI and BAT.

“Smoking rates unfortunately rise during times of stress,” explains Dr. Ghazi Zaatari, professor and chair of the WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (TobReg), in an interview with Daraj. “Social and psychological factors linked to displacement and despair play a role, and nicotine—the addictive substance in tobacco—temporarily eases some of that tension. Naturally, when smoking and the use of all nicotine and tobacco products increase, so do sales and profits.” He adds, “In wartime, enforcing any laws becomes far more challenging. The tobacco industry exploits these circumstances to boost its sales, regardless of the health consequences.”

Philip Morris International (PMI), British American Tobacco (BAT), Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Imperial Brands are among the world’s largest tobacco companies. After the invasion of Ukraine, their responses in Russia varied, but each issued clear public statements—either cutting investment or announcing plans to withdraw—under the weight of sanctions and international pressure. By contrast, during Israel’s war on Gaza, none of these companies has taken a comparable stance or announced concrete measures.

While sales rise and cigarette smuggling into Gaza grows, the medical system there is collapsing under war conditions: care for smoking-related diseases is crumbling, and humanitarian aid and medical equipment are blocked. On May 1, Dr Mike Ryan, head of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, called the situation in Gaza “a heinous crime” at a briefing in Geneva: “We are crushing the bodies and minds of Gaza’s children. We are starving them. If we do nothing, we are complicit… This must stop immediately. I am angry at myself, at everyone here, at the world. This is a heinous crime.”

Asked about tobacco companies’ exploitative behaviors in war zones, Dr Zaatari added: “The words ‘ethics’ and ‘tobacco industry’ do not belong together. Tobacco kills up to half its users—more than eight million deaths a year worldwide. How can an industry that keeps flooding markets with new, highly addictive products—e-cigarettes, heated-tobacco devices, flavored shisha—claim to be ethical while hooking children and youth on nicotine for life?”

PMI operates in Israel via its local subsidiary, Philip Morris Ltd (PML), which supplies about 8,400 retail outlets through eight exclusive distributors and employs roughly 300 people. BAT and JTI do not run direct subsidiaries but rely on Globrandz for brand distribution.

Israel produced about 517 million cigarettes in 2023, with only a small share of domestically grown tobacco. Despite high prices and taxes, the market proved resilient and kept expanding under wartime conditions.

A clear disparity emerges in how the international community treats tobacco companies operating in Russia versus Israel. While sanctions and pressure focused on forcing firms to leave Russia, no comparable effort has been made regarding their operations in Israel.

As of April 2025, the major tobacco multinationals still face no genuine accountability in either Russia or Israel, despite ongoing conflicts and humanitarian crises, underscoring the persistent double standards that govern how these companies are dealt with and how they affect societies.

Pulling Out of Russia: Responding to Sanctions and Public Pressure

Before 2022, Russia’s tobacco market was one of the most promising anywhere, posting annual growth of about 15 percent, among the highest rates worldwide. After Russia invaded Ukraine, however, the major multinationals had to take clear public positions. Companies such as Philip Morris International (PMI), British American Tobacco (BAT), Japan Tobacco International (JTI), and Imperial Brands all pledged to leave the Russian market. In 2021, the year before the invasion, Russia accounted for roughly six percent of PMI’s global revenue. Even so, PMI announced it was freezing new investments and marketing activities and later revealed plans for an “orderly” withdrawal in order to protect its reputation.

BAT transferred its Russian operations to a local distributor, while JTI, whose second-largest market is Russia, generating 20 percent of its profit, hesitated at first. Under mounting sanctions and negative public opinion (Ukraine formally labeled PMI and JTI “war sponsors”), both companies scaled back operations or began the process of transferring ownership.

Although Japan Tobacco paid some US $182 million in Russian taxes in 2023, it faced limited backlash at home; Japanese media hardly covered the issue, unlike the severe reputational hit Western companies suffered. By 2025, JTI had walked back its exit plans, appeasing investors, while keeping four factories and around 4,000 employees in Russia.

Despite early vows by PMI and JTI to withdraw after the 2022 invasion, both remain deeply rooted in Russia. PMI, for example, still commands a large share of the market and is earning substantial profit even after briefly suspending production in Ukraine in 2022.

Japan Tobacco has said it wants to sell its Russian business but has yet to commit to a full withdrawal, weighing commercial interests against reputational risk while maintaining sizable operations and a large workforce.

BAT formally ended its Russian and Belarusian business only in November 2023, selling its local assets to a consortium led by former BAT Russia executives. In spring 2022, BAT had frozen new investment but kept making and selling cigarettes, boosting 2021 revenue by two percent. Until October 2023, Russia and Belarus still generated about 2.7 percent of group income, according to Tobacco Asia.

BAT estimated its loss from leaving Russia at roughly US $1.2 billion. Though it never disclosed the sale price, Russian analysts put it between US $200 million and US $300 million, far below the business’s real market value.

The Guardian reported that BAT, maker of Lucky Strike and Camel, was heavily criticized in 2022 for continuing operations in Russia, in contrast to global brands such as Nestlé, Unilever, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s. Two days later BAT reversed course, citing its “values and principles.” More than 18 months on, BAT, which once held 25 percent of the Russian market, finally agreed to sell its business in Russia and Belarus to a management-led consortium in Moscow.

Russia represented 2.7 percent of BAT’s £13.4 billion revenue for the first half of 2023. According to The Guardian, exiting therefore meant giving up roughly £725 million a year. Nielsen data show BAT was Russia’s third-largest cigarette maker in 2022 with a 23 percent share, behind JTI (35.6 percent) and PMI (31.1 percent).

PMI’s Russian assets are valued at roughly US $2.5 billion. The CEO has said potential Russian buyers were willing to pay only a steep discount. Under Russian Finance Ministry rules, Western companies exiting the country must accept at least a 50 percent “haircut” on any sale. PMI therefore chose to “carry on” rather than sell on unfavorable terms. The CEO added that leaving such a large market is complex, as PMI controls 27 percent of Russian tobacco sales. Nonetheless, the company has since confirmed its intention to keep operating in Russia, Tobacco Asia reports.

Imperial Brands was the only firm to complete a sale, divesting its Russian business in March 2022 and closing in April, according to Tobacco Intelligence.

“Never trust the tobacco industry. It may say one thing and do the opposite,” says Dr Ghazi Zaatari. “What it truly cares about is revenue, hooking youth on nicotine. This industry is not governed by ethics. A well-documented share of the global illicit tobacco trade is secretly run by the industry itself.”

The Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath supported Daraj’s tobacco-investigation project. Responsibility for collecting, interpreting, and presenting the information rests solely with Daraj.