UK Tobacco Industry Interference Index
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UK Tobacco Industry Interference Index, Tobacco Tactics, updated 17 December 2025, accessed 09 January 2026.
The UK Tobacco Industry Interference Index (UKTI) forms part of the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index (GTI).
Based on a survey methodology developed by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), and published by the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC), the GTI is a global survey on how governments respond to tobacco industry interference and to what extent they protect their public health policies from the commercial and vested interests of the tobacco industry, as required under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).1
The UK has been a Party to the WHO FCTC since 16 March 2005.
The number of participating countries has increased with each edition of the GTI, from 33 in 2019 to 100 in 2025. The UK has participated in every edition to date: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2025. The GTI is now produced every two years.
A higher score indicates that the policymaking process is subject to greater tobacco industry interference.
The UK Houses of Parliament (Source: Michael D. Beckwith/CC0 1.0 Universal)
Index Reports
2025
The 2025 UKTI was produced by TCRG with input from UK stakeholders and the GGTC. It was published in November 2025.
The 2025 edition ranked 100 countries worldwide. The UK scored 45 out of a possible 100 and rising from 21st place in 2023 to 17th in the ranking. This slight improvement indicates that some positive steps might have been taken towards protecting public health in the UK from tobacco industry interests. However, challenges remain, including multiple industry efforts to influence and undermine the UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
2023
The 2023 UKTI was produced by TCRG with input from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), ASH Scotland, ASH Wales and Cancer Research UK, as well as GGTC. It was published in November 2023.
The 2023 edition ranked 90 countries worldwide. The UK scored 48 out of a possible 100 and fell from third in 2021 to 21st place in the ranking. The report highlighted several areas of concern, including lack of transparency; a wide range of unnecessary interactions between government officials and the tobacco industry; and tobacco industry attempts to influence public consultations and policy reviews, including on matters of public health.
2021
The 2021 UKTI was produced by TCRG with input from ASH, ASH Scotland, ASH Wales and Cancer Research UK, as well as GGTC. It was published in November 2021.
The 2021 edition ranked 80 countries worldwide. The UK’s score was unchanged from the previous edition in 2020, at 32 out of a possible 100, though it moved up one position in the ranking from fourth to third. The report found that while the UK compared favourably to most other countries, there was still room for improvement.
2020
The 2020 UKTI was produced by TCRG with input from ASH, ASH Scotland, ASH Wales and Cancer Research UK, as well as SEATCA. It was published in November 2020.
The 2020 edition ranked 57 countries worldwide. The UK’s score deteriorated slightly since 2019, from 26 to 32, and the UK dropped from first position to fourth. This reflected greater industry activity in trying to influence policy development, suggestions of political willingness to extend existing privileges to the industry in the future, and more high-profile instances of conflict of interest among politicians.
2019
The 2019 UKTI was produced by TCRG with input from ASH and SEATCA. It was published in October 2019.
The 2019 UKTI formed part of the first Global Tobacco Index, which ranked 33 countries worldwide. The UK ranked first with a score of 26, indicating relatively low levels of tobacco industry interference.
Relevant Links
- Tobacco Control Research Group page on the UKTI launch
- A moment of truth for UK tobacco control? – University of Bath Institute for Policy Research blog
Tobacco Tactics Resources
- Tobacco Industry Hospitality for UK Politicians
- Tobacco Industry Responses to Public Consultations in the UK
- Tobacco Industry Tactics
- Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
TCRG Research
- A “willingness to be orchestrated”: Why are UK diplomats working with tobacco companies?, R. Alebshehy, K. Silver, P. Chamberlain, Front. Public Health, 17 March 2023 Sec. Public Health Policy Volume 11 – 2023