British Imperial Legacies and Tobacco Power: Interrogating Connections Between Colonial Histories and Corporate Influence Over Modern Tobacco Control Measures.

This article examines how the legacy of British imperialism continues to hinder tobacco control efforts in post-colonial states, focusing on the cases of Sri Lanka and Cyprus. It highlights how British American Tobacco (BAT) historically leveraged imperial power structures to establish monopolies or oligopolies in these countries, which persist today and enable tobacco corporations to exert significant influence over governments, resist regulation, and sustain high smoking prevalence. Despite differences in economic status and market structure—Sri Lanka’s BAT monopoly versus Cyprus’s tobacco oligopoly—both countries face challenges rooted in colonial-era corporate entanglements that complicate tobacco control policies. The article argues that recognizing these imperial histories is crucial for policymakers and advocates to develop effective, context-sensitive tobacco control strategies in post-colonial settings.