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The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, led by Dr. Derek Yach, a renowned anti-smoking crusader will build upon recent shifts in policy and science to fund research and support collaborative initiatives to accelerate progress in reducing harm and deaths from smoking worldwide.
The foundation seeks funding from other sources as well. Importantly, the grant terms, bylaws, and non-profit status of the foundation preclude PMI or other tobacco industry representatives from involvement in its governance, or from having any influence over its funding decisions, strategy, or activities. The foundation will have an independent research agenda, ownership of its data, freedom to publish, and strict protections against conflict of interest.
However, WHO is working quickly to extinguish any chances this new foundation may have. In October, WHO released a strongly-worded statement rebuking PMI and accused it of being disingenuous about consumer health, citing decades of research meddling and deceptive marketing. The organization declared it would have nothing to do with the foundation and warned governments the world over to do the same.
In an open letter to WHO, Yach wrote that he and his colleagues were “surprised and deeply disappointed” by WHO’s statement, which “mischaracterized” the foundation’s role. He also emphasized that the foundation would operate independently of PMI and will be “fully insulated” from the tobacco industry.
Yach called for WHO to retract its statement and give the foundation time to prove itself. “Taking action now is premature,” he wrote. “Let us rather focus our combined energies on reducing smoking.”