Foundation Splits From Tobacco Funding
With a new President and Chief Executive Officer at the helm, the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World has acted to eschew tobacco industry funding and seeks wider cooperation and understanding
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by Dave Cross
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“Since announcing my new role as President and CEO of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World on October 12, we have engaged in efforts to communicate ground-breaking changes to the organisation. The most important of these immediate changes are the end of the Pledge Agreement with PMI and our new policy, adopted formally this month by the Board of Directors, to not accept or seek any tobacco or nonmedicinal nicotine industry funding moving forward. The Reuters article titled, Formerly Philip Morris-backed foundation severs ties with nicotine industry, which was published today, clearly communicates these important facts,” said Clifford E. Douglas.
The former Director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network and as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health was recently named as the FSFW’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“The Foundation is about to enter a new era under the leadership of Cliff Douglas,” said Pam Parizek, Chair of the Foundation Board of Directors.
Speaking about the Reuters articles, Cliff added: “While a couple of my favourite tobacco control advocacy organisations – meant sincerely – were quoted in this piece voicing scepticism about the independence and reputation of the Foundation, I am encouraged by the overall tone of this article and quite optimistic about the coverage to come. There were many comments provided to the reporter that were not included in the piece, which is reasonably short, including the fact that while I fully understand such scepticism, given our shared interests and priorities I am asking those who feel doubt at this early stage to not merely rely on what I say, but to watch what we do.
“We are at an inflection point where we have a wonderful new opportunity to strengthen our relationships and establish new partnerships to save lives through tobacco prevention, control, and cessation, complemented by carefully regulated, evidence-based reduced-risk alternatives. The alternatives are for those adults who cannot or will not otherwise stop smoking, which remains by far the leading preventable cause of death globally.”
The FSFW’s split with Philip Morris International is the latest in a line of organisations dividing themselves from the tobacco industry. Last month, UKVIA announced that it would no longer allow companies related to the tobacco industry to be members of its organisation.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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