Big Tobacco Responds to Bad Press. How’d they do?

An incredibly scathing new report batters big tobacco really hard. The Human Rights Commission hammered Philip Morris International (PMI) in a report stating the company was using illegal child labor and slave labor at farms it operated in Kazakhstan.

The report by the international human-rights group states PMI’s Kazakhstan farm operators were more than inhumane to its workers. They confiscated passports, cheated workers out of wages, and forced them to work long hours without clean drinking water or clean facilities. The report says these tobacco farms had kids as young as ten slaving away in the fields. Amazingly horrific.

Senior Human Rights Commission Senior Researcher Jane Buchanan said, in a story reported by the BBC: "Many of these tobacco workers, adults and children alike, came to Kazakhstan and found themselves in virtual bondage."

As if you didn’t already know, Philip Morris International is a huge company. Every year, the tobacco giant buys about 600,000 tons of tobacco from suppliers in more than 30 countries around the world.

So, how did PMI respond to the report "Hellish Work" Exploitation of migrant tobacco workers in Kazakhstan? As far as crisis communications goes, PMI responded like it was supposed to.

First, whether the corporation was aware of the atrocities or not, PMI publicly condemned the child and slave labor practices and promised to fix things. Whether that happens is material for a future story, but PMI did react with indignation, whether sincere or manufactured.

In a statement, posted on the corporation’s Web site, PMI states its opposition to labor abuses of any kind, expressed gratitude to the Human Rights Commission for shining a spotlight on this problem. The corporation responds, in part, by saying: “No one should work in unsafe or unlawful conditions and we are committed to working to prevent child labor, forced labor and other labor abuses in the tobacco supply chain. We look forward to a continued cooperation with Human Rights Watch, other NGOs, and government organizations to achieve this goal.”

The makers of Marlboro and other carcinogenic brands say it has strengthened contracts with overseas farmers to set higher standards for workers and will use monitors to keep one the foreign farms.

I’m against big tobacco because it kills 200 million people worldwide, EVERY YEAR. But give PMI credit for giving the right answers, pretty much. However, the corporation is used to being the bad guy and has loads of experience responding to these types of crises. Practice makes perfect.