How a Secret Tobacco Deal in Laos Enriched a Political Insider

Jonh is just 20 years old yet he lies wheezing in a hospital bed; tubes from his chest lead to a plastic container on the floor which has collected half a liter of milky, pink liquid. Dr Sisouphan Vidhamaly inspects his x-rays. The diagnosis: pleural effusion and empyema, or an accumulation of pus and fluid in his lungs. “I am not sure if he will recover,” said Dr Sisouphan, “I advised him to stop smoking. But once he leaves the hospital I won’t know if the patient stops or not.” Jonh’s mother Doane looks on, concerned. She has already had to borrow 19M kip ($875) from friends and family in order to pay for his treatment.

A secret, 25-year-long contract between British tobacco company Imperial and the Laos government resulted in a family member of Laos’ former president pocketing more than $28M USD. A clause in this agreement also bars Laos from raising excise taxes, making it the producer of some of the world’s cheapest cigarettes. This has had jarring local health impacts. Smoking is linked to 1 in 7 deaths in the country. Shot and contributed additional reporting for The Examination and The Diplomat, supported by The Pulitzer Center.