Jason McLure

In January 2025, a 14-year-old Bulgarian boy fell from a seventh-floor window after suffering a bad reaction to a vape that contained a synthetic drug similar to marijuana. His death sparked a national outcry and within weeks, the country’s parliament unanimously approved the first draft of a law banning all types of e-cigarettes. Enter the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Bulgarian affiliate.

The Examination published our investigation into how China National Tobacco Corp. has undermined efforts to cut down on smoking a couple of years ago, but something has been gnawing at us ever since. Given how large China is, how many people there smoke, and China Tobacco’s near-total dominance of the cigarette market, is it possible that this is the world’s deadliest company? Spurred by a collaboration with the YouTube channel fern, we decided to see if we could figure it out. Here’s what we did.

There’s what we fear may kill us, and what most likely will. Falling bombs, mass shootings, natural disasters and other means of sudden, violent death dominate headlines. But they’re far from the leading causes of death worldwide. Most global deaths are now caused by noncommunicable diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. In many cases, these diseases are caused by industrial pollution or well-known consumer goods.