New tobacco funded foundation is another industry interference tactic
The Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM) notes with concern the announcement of the launch of the Foundation for a smoke free World Initiative, to be headed by former tobacco control advocate – Dr Derek Yach. Yach, a South African, has been involved in tobacco control for several years. But the $80million funding per year this initiative will receive from Phillip Morris International must clearly be construed as an industry interference tactic, as noted by the World Health Organisation that Yach previously worked for. According to the ATIM Director, Professor Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, the foundation is clearly a covert way to usurp the scientific agenda with the aim to undermine science and manipulate public opinion. ATIM supports the statements of contempt issued by the World Health Organisation and the tobacco control community issued below: The Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) notes the launch of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, led by a former official of the World Health Organization. The Convention Secretariat regards this tobacco industry-funded initiative as a clear attempt to breach the WHO FCTC by interfering in public policy. It is a deeply alarming development aimed at damaging the treaty’s implementation, particularly through the Foundation’s contentious research programmes. The WHO FCTC is the world’s only tobacco control evidence based treaty and has been commended by global leaders as providing the primary roadmap to a tobacco-free world. It has 181 Parties, representing 180 States and the European Union, and is supported by numerous nongovernmental organizations. 1. With regard to the president of this Foundation 2. With regard to the Foundation’s funding 3. With regard to interactions with the tobacco industry 4. With regard to new products 5. With regard to possible effects on tobacco growers 6. With regard to the impact of the WHO FCTC on public health
Statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Sep. 13 2017 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Philip Morris International – the world’s largest non-governmental cigarette manufacturer – has announced that it is establishing a Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, with funding of $80 million per year over the next 12 years. Philip Morris has a long history of deceiving the public and doing whatever it takes to sell cigarettes. This is not the first time Philip Morris has announced that it is funding “independent” research, nor is it the first time it has claimed to support “independent” researchers. Each of its past efforts have been nothing more than a smokescreen to divert attention from its marketing practices, the harm its products cause and the strong scientific consensus that already existed – both about the harm of its products and the scientifically proven ways to reduce tobacco use. There is no reason to believe that this announcement is any different. Today, we know how to reduce tobacco use. The scientific evidence is strong and conclusive. The problem is that companies like Philip Morris continue to oppose the adoption of these policies and programs. Philip Morris’ claimed commitment to a “smoke-free world” cannot be taken seriously so long as it continues to aggressively market cigarettes and fight proven policies to reduce smoking and save lives around the world. Until Philip Morris ceases these harmful activities, its claims should be seen as yet another public relations stunt aimed at repairing the company’s image and not a serious effort to reduce the death and disease caused by its products. The amount Philip Morris is spending on its new foundation is a drop in the bucket compared to the $75 billion in revenues and over $17 billion in profits the company reported in 2016, most of it from selling cigarettes. If Philip Morris is truly committed to a smoke-free future, it should immediately take two steps: 1) Actively support the policies to reduce cigarette smoking that are endorsed by the public health community and an international public health treaty, the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC); and 2) set an example for the tobacco industry by stopping all marketing of cigarettes. Philip Morris International’s actions show it remains a major cause of the tobacco epidemic, not a part of the solution: There is a global consensus about how to reduce tobacco use. The problem is not a lack of evidence requiring research, it is the fact that Philip Morris and other tobacco companies continue to fight strong policies proven to reduce tobacco use around the world. Philip Morris continues to lobby against effective measures called for by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, such as higher tobacco taxes, graphic health warnings and bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. An investigative report published by Reuters in July revealed a massive, secret campaign by Philip Morris to undermine the FCTC, depicting “a company that has focused its vast global resources on bringing to heel the world’s tobacco control treaty.” In recent years, Philip Morris has also filed numerous legal challenges to strong tobacco control laws adopted by Australia, Uruguay and other countries. It is the height of hypocrisy for Philip Morris to proclaim publicly that it is helping to solve the tobacco problem while it wages all-out campaigns against efforts to reduce tobacco use and save lives. Philip Morris continues to aggressively market cigarettes around the world, often in ways that appeal to kids and much of its targeting low- and middle-income countries that can least afford the burden of tobacco-related death and disease. In a recent example, Philip Morris launched a global marketing campaign for its best-selling Marlboro cigarettes, called “Be Marlboro,” that uses themes and images that appeal to youth. The campaign, which has been rolled out in over 60 countries, features young people partying, falling in love, playing music and engaging in risky behavior. In many countries, Philip Morris and its subsidiaries have introduced flavored cigarettes that appeal to youth, conducted aggressive marketing near elementary schools, sponsored race cars and concerts, and engaged in other youth-oriented marketing. This isn’t the first time Philip Morris has stated a commitment to funding research with the goal of reducing the death and disease caused by cigarettes, but every prior announcement was nothing more than a smokescreen to enable it to continue business as usual. In 1954, a Philip Morris vice president stated, “[I]f we had any thought or knowledge that in any way we were selling a product harmful to our customers, we would stop business tomorrow.” In 1997, Philip Morris CEO Geoffrey Bible said in a deposition that the company would halt production if presented with evidence that smoking causes lung cancer, stating he would “shut it down instantly.” Yet today, cigarettes make up almost all of Philip Morris International’s business and profits. Cigarette smoking kills more than 7 million people worldwide each year and is projected to kill 1 billion people this century. To end this terrible epidemic, we need strong action by governments to reduce tobacco use, not empty promises from tobacco companies. For the original statement, click here.
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Secretariat’s statement on the launch of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
The Convention Secretariat wishes to make the following points and clarifications:
If Philip Morris Is Serious About a “Smoke-Free World,” It Should Stop Marketing Cigarettes, Fighting Efforts to Reduce Smoking
Canadian health groups respond to Philip Morris International’s $1 billion research fund
Government action needed to block tobacco industry interference in public health issues.
Canadian health organisations have called on the government to immediately restore public funding for tobacco control and to ensure that the costs of reducing tobacco use are passed on to the tobacco industry. This was in response to the announcement that Philip Morris International had pledged $1 billion to a new purpose-built foundation.
“In this recent ploy, Philip Morris is using the same bag of tricks it invented in the 1950s, to create its own research bodies in order to manipulate the research environment and delay effective measures to reduce smoking,” explained Neil Collishaw, Research Director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. [1]
“We risk repeating the tragedy of past decades unless the government moves quickly to ensure that the new challenges of e-cigarettes and so-called reduced risk products are addressed by reliable and uncontaminated research.”
“A year has passed since we provided Health Canada with proposals for ways to protect public health from tobacco industry interference in research and policy” said Melodie Tilson, Director of Policy for the Non-Smokers’ Rights Association. [2]
“Since that time, we have seen no action on any of our 20 recommendations, nor any indication that these are a priority of Health Canada. Recent events and the industry’s abuse of science as a front for tobacco marketing [3] have increased our concerns that Canada is vulnerable to tobacco industry interference.”
“The most recent intrusion of the tobacco industry into research funding is all the more dangerous in the context of massive cuts to tobacco control funding by the previous government, and the failure of the new government to restore resources for independent activities,” said Cynthia Callard, Executive Director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. “The Canadian Tobacco Control Research Initiative was defunded in 2009, and policy-focused community work was abandoned by Health Canada in 2012. The failure of the new federal government to restore this important work has left little national-level capacity for independent response to industry-funded disinformation.” [4]
“The federal government should apply the polluter-pay principle to public health by levying a regulatory charge on tobacco manufacturers,” explained Flory Doucas, Co-Director and Spokesperson for the Quebec Coalition on Tobacco Control. “We have previously made this recommendation as a way to require the industry to internalize some of the costs they impose on society.” Like many other health groups, the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control and Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada have recommended that Canada follow the example of the United States and France in imposing licencing fees on the industry. [5]
Tobacco control organizations are calling on the Minister of Health and parliamentarians to move quickly to implement these measures.
“Over the past months, Philip Morris International and other multinational tobacco companies have stepped up their efforts to re-invent their markets, their public image and their influence on government. Canadians need and deserve a federal government that will respond quickly and effectively to these new challenges,” said Michael Perley, Executive Director of the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco.
* Issued by the Non-Smokers Rights Association, Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco, Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control and Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada
[1] A history of these events can be found in documents provided to the Quebec Superior Court during the CQTS/Blais and Létourneau class action trials. See paragraphs 1342 to 1595 of the Plaintiffs’ Notes and Authorities. <http://www.smoke-free.ca/eyeonthetrial/Plaintiff_Notes_and_Authorities_public.pdf.>
[2] Canada’s Implementation of Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. A Civil Society Shadow Report. September 2016 <http://cqct.qc.ca/Documents_docs/DOCU_2016/MEMO_16_09_00_CCAT_shadowreport_Article5POINT3.pdf>
[3] L’Economiste. Philip Morris International: Le cigarettier parie sur les produits de substitution. <http://www.leconomiste.com/article/1017271-philip-morris-international-le-cigarettier-parie-sur-les-produits-de-substitution>
[4] Tobacco Info. Harper government guts Federal Tobacco Control Strategy. Big Tobacco wins big with $15 million cut from tobacco control budget. <http://www.tobaccoinfo.ca/mag10/federal.htm>
[5] Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada and <http://www.smoke-free.ca/eng_home/2017/Federal_2018_Budget_Submission-PSC2.pdf> Coalition Québécoise pour le contrôle du tabac. Pre-Budget Submission 2018. <http://www.smoke-free.ca/eng_home/2017/Federal_2018_Budget_Submission-PSC2.pdf>