Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work stood alongside Harvard University’s Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, John Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health and 16 other schools in solidarity against accepting money from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, established by Philip Morris International.
Philip Morris International is a tobacco and cigarette manufacturing company chiefly known for its Marlboro products. This company plans to contribute close to $1 billion to fund the Foundation of a Smoke-Free Work.
Philip Morris International has a long history of deceptive practices and the formation of front organizations that aim at confusing the public about their deadly products, and engaging members of the scientific community to seed doubt in the evidence about tobacco induced morbidity and mortality.
Independent assessment of the foundation’s claims of independence highlighted the deceptive language used, where the focus is not on prevention, but product replacement, with the total absence of commitment to phasing out combustible products. These deceptive tactics have been the signature strategy of the tobacco industry to continue selling and expanding their deadly products for decades.
For more information on the Statement on the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, click here .
The statement received significant media coverage, and the Associated Press story appeared in numerous outlets, including The New York Times , ABC News , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Santa Fe New Mexican . Other press coverage was featured on U.S. News and World Report . In addition, Jonathan Liberman, director of the McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer in Melbourne, Australia wrote a blog post about the statement.