Association between tobacco company corporate social responsibility claims, support for the company and policies, and perceptions and intentions among Brazilians

This study aimed to examine how corporate social responsibility messaging from tobacco companies influences public attitudes, policy support, and risk perceptions among Brazilian adults. Specifically, it assessed whether exposure to a fictional tobacco company's corporate social responsibility video affects viewers' opinions of the company, perceptions of cigarette and e-cigarette harm, and intentions to use these products. An online randomized experiment was conducted with 4,047 Brazilian adults aged 18 and older, recruited via the Qualtrics panel. Participants were randomly assigned to view a three-minute video depicting a fictitious Brazilian tobacco company, Cruzeiro do Sul, either presenting its business activities alone (control) or with additional corporate social responsibility messaging (experimental). Outcomes were assessed using linear regression for continuous variables and Poisson regression with robust variance for binary outcomes. Interaction effects were examined by gender and smoking status. Exposure to the corporate social responsibility video was significantly associated with more favorable views of the company (β = 0.16, p < 0.001), especially among women (β = 0.21). Viewers were also more likely to perceive the company's cigarettes as less harmful than others (IRR = 1.14, 95%CI: 1.05; 1.25), with a stronger effect among nonsmokers (IRR = 1.26, 95%CI: 1.04; 1.53). No significant effect was observed on overall support for tobacco control policies or intentions to use the products. Corporate social responsibility messaging by tobacco companies can improve corporate image and mislead consumers about product harm, potentially undermining tobacco control efforts. These effects mirror those observed with traditional tobacco advertising.