This paper presents the history of tobacco industry in Brazil, the formation process of its strategic network, as well as its counter-players, namely social actors' network. First, a correlation is found among the industrial production history, tobacco consumption and antitobacco movements. Second, two operational concepts are defined: strategic network and strategic network and multi-fragmentary or anti-tobacco network. They help to provide a trans-disciplinary perspective of the various conflicting aspects between these two types of networks. Theoretical concepts found in the literature and empirical data gathered through interviews with entrepreneurs, tobacco farm workers, union leaders, technicians from tobacco companies and from health institutions, non-government organization leaders and other relevant social actors are reviewed, synthesized and articulated. Results suggest that there is a simultaneous and contradictory growth between the two types of networks, the strategic tobacco firms' network enjoying a leading position and a set of dilemmas inside the multi-fragmentary network.
Tobacco industry; networks; strategy; tobacco consumption; tobacco production