The Foundation has received a pledge of $80 million USD annually for 12 years, beginning in 2018 from Philip Morris International (PMI). The Foundation may seek funding from other sources as well.
We fully recognize the challenges associated with accepting any funding from the tobacco industry. We also acknowledge the sad irony that we exist to solve a global public health crisis that companies like PMI helped to create and then tried to cover up. Our founder, Dr. Yach, and others on staff have spent years fighting the tobacco industry and working to end smoking.
We would have much preferred to have a diverse set of other funders in place with no industry funds from the start. But it would have taken years to build a base. Additionally, given the urgency of the problem – 1.1 billion smokers, more than 8 million dying each year, and a trajectory toward a billion deaths this century – we chose the path that gave us the best chance to move quickly and accepted the funding. But we did so only with extremely rigid protections against any involvement from PMI or anyone else from the industry in our ongoing activities and operations.
Under the Foundation’s bylaws and pledge agreement, PMI and the tobacco industry are precluded from having any influence over how the Foundation spends its funds or focuses its activities. Independence and transparency are core principles of the Foundation, and we have set ourselves up from the beginning to operate in alignment with the most rigid principles available to avoid conflicts of interest.
The Foundation has, constituted in its bylaws, an independent research agenda, independent governance, and protection against conflict of interest. We request that grant recipients submit papers for peer review and, wherever possible, make their data and findings available to other researchers for review and consideration.
Within our funding principles, the pledge agreement with PMI states that, beginning in 2020, the Foundation will make the following documents publicly available by May 31: audited financial statements, Form 990-PF for the prior year, and an operations update. These documents are now posted on this site.
Better let them smoke and die? #Bloomberg funded major international #NGO’s logic for #LMICs is baffling and worrying writes @swimdaily. #India #data #bidis #science #harmreduction #health #access #UN #mustread https://therearehumansintheroom.csdconsulting.net/
As the world continues to combat the #COVID19 pandemic, a new survey shows that trust in government is significantly lower than trust in the medical community. Derek Yach writes in @BDliveSA that to change unhealthy behavior, doctors must come to the forefront of public outreach.
People trust the state less than doctors, which is where smoking comes in @BD_Africa @INNCOorg @Filtermag_org #Trust in #government and #doctors is key to public support of health policies- from #COVID19 to #smoking https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2020-08-12-people-trust-the-state-less-than-doctors-which-is-where-smoking-comes-in/
The true cost of a #cigarette is more than it seems. As the world begins to smoke less cigarettes, we must help #Malawi’s smallholder #tobaccofarmers switch to sustainable alternative livelihoods. https://bit.ly/3bEUZ8Y
Many governments in #LatinAmerica (including #Mexico, #Argentina, & #Brazil) have passed restrictive policies on safer #nicotine products. @VIDAdotNEWS hosted a panel discussion on the unintended consequences of strict regulations in Latin America.
Live right now: "Why Bans Are Not Best for Latin America"
https://youtu.be/I3tTphE08H4
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