Foundation for a Smoke-Free World

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Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
Established18 October 2017 Edit this on Wikidata (5 years ago)
Legal status501(c)(3) organization Edit this on Wikidata
CountryUnited States Edit this on Wikidata
DirectorsDerek Yach Edit this on Wikidata
Parent organisationsPhilip Morris International Edit this on Wikidata
Skull with a burning cigarette, by Vincent van Gogh.

The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World is an organization founded in 2017 by Philip Morris International. It is entirely funded by Philip Morris International, with 80 million dollars annually, with the aim of promoting alternatives to conventional cigarettes, such as heated tobacco products. The World Health Organization (WHO) urges not to collaborate with this front organization of the tobacco industry.[1]

Context[]

The tobacco industry has historically created third-party groups to influence science and policy in a covert manner, with the goal of sowing doubt about the harms of tobacco.[2] For instance, the Tobacco Industry Research Committee in 1953, the Tobacco Institute in 1958, and the Center for Indoor Air Research in 1988.[2] These organizations were disbanded by the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement in 1998.[2]

In 2003, the World Health Assembly adopted the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly has recognized the "fundamental conflict of interest between the tobacco industry and public health".[3]

Activities[]

See also: Electronic cigarette and e-cigarette liquid marketing

In 2018, the foundation fully funded by Philip Morris International has invested less in scientific research than in public relations.[4] Its president is Derek Yach, a former WHO and then PepsiCo employee.[5][6]

An investigation conducted by Le Monde (France), The Investigative Desk (Netherlands), Follow the money (Netherlands) and Knack, published in April 2021, indicates that the Smoke-Free World Foundation, which is not transparent about the grants it gives to other entities, is a lobbying tool used by Philip Morris International to circumvent the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, whose article 5.3 aims to protect public decisions from tobacco industry lobbying.[6] According to the authors of the investigation, who rely in particular on internal documents of the firm dated 2014, Philip Morris International's strategy consists of dividing the tobacco control movement (schematically divided between "prohibitionists" and "pragmatists") and bending the WHO in order to promote its new products (e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, etc.).[6]

Advocacy groups that are directly or indirectly funded by the foundation have stated that smoking electronic cigarettes is a better choice than smoking cigarettes, regarding the health effects of COVID-19.[7]

Researchers linked to the foundation have consistently failed to declare their connections to the tobacco industry; and journals are neglecting to apply conflict of interest policies.[2][8] For instance, the Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR) at the University of Catania is funded by the foundation (through an intermediate company named ECLAT SRL) and some of its researchers (such as Riccardo Polosa) published tobacco-related papers without declaring funds received from Philip Morris International nor conflicts of interest.[2][8][9]

Reactions[]

The creation of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World was met with scepticism by the medical community. The World Health Organization and the Union for International Cancer Control announced that they would not work with the foundation, and encouraged governments and the public health community to follow their lead.[1][10]

The claim of 'independence' of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World has been challenged.[5][11][12][13] This instrument of Philip Morris International has been criticised by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids,[14] Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), Corporate Accountability International and others.[5]

More than one hundred public health organizations have taken a strong stance in rejecting collaboration with the Foundation.[4][15] The American Cancer Society stated, "This attempt by Philip Morris International to paint itself as a public health partner is manipulative and dangerous. It is a new twist out of the tobacco industry's deadly playbook, but nobody should be fooled. It's a continuation of a decades-long effort to paint over tobacco's role in spreading death and misery around the globe."[16]

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ a b "WHO Statement on Philip Morris funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World". World Health Organization. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Tess Legg, Michel Legendre and Anna Gilmore, "Paying lip service to publication ethics: scientific publishing practices and the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World", Tobacco Control, 28 April 2021 (PMID 33911028).
  3. ^ General Assembly Resolution 66/2, Political Declaration of the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, A/RES/66/2 (24 January 2012), paragraph 38.
  4. ^ a b Tess, Legg; Peeters, Silvy; Chamberlain, Phil; Gilmore, Anna (6 June 2019). "The Philip Morris-funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World: tax return sheds light on funding activities". The Lancet. 393 (10190): 2487–2488. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31347-9. PMID 31178156.
  5. ^ a b c Sarah Boseley (13 September 2017). "Tobacco company launches foundation to stub out smoking". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Stéphane Horel (14 April 2021). "La guerre secrète de Philip Morris contre l'OMS et les experts de la lutte antitabac". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  7. ^ Kary, Tiffany (21 April 2020). "Philip Morris Money is Funding Pro-Vaping Virus Spin". Bloomberg News.
  8. ^ a b Talha Khan Burki, "Conflicts of interest in tobacco industry-funded research", The Lancet Oncology, volume 22, issue 6, page 758, 2021 PMID 33965060.
  9. ^ "Centre of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR)", on the platform Tobacco Tactics, University of Bath, 13 July 2021 (page visited on 10 September 2021).
  10. ^ "UICC issues warning about the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World". Union for International Cancer Control. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  11. ^ van der Eijk, Yvette; Bero, Lisa A.; Malone, Ruth E. (21 September 2018). "Philip Morris International-funded 'Foundation for a Smoke-Free World': analysing its claims of independence". Tobacco Control. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054278. ISSN 1468-3318. PMID 30242044.
  12. ^ Daube, Mike; Moodie, Rob; McKee, Martin (14 October 2017). "Towards a smoke-free world? Philip Morris International's new Foundation is not credible". Lancet. 390 (10104): 1722–1724. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32561-8. ISSN 1474-547X.
  13. ^ "Foundation for a Smoke-Free World - TobaccoTactics". www.tobaccotactics.org.
  14. ^ "Philip Morris-Funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World", Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 16 August 2021 (page visited on 10 September 2021).
  15. ^ "Open Letter to Urge WHO Executive Board to Reject Foundation for a Smoke Free World (FSFW) (2019)". 28 January 2019.
  16. ^ "American Cancer Society Statement on Philip Morris International Support of New Effort". American Cancer Society. 2017.

See also[]

External links[]

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