The Foundation has received a pledge of $80 million USD annually for 12 years, beginning in 2018 from Philip Morris International (PMI). The Foundation is seeking and expects to receive 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, 7 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 or 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.
#WorldNoTobaccoDay has been observed on May 31 since 1988. This year, as the world is grappling with a new and terrifying virus. #WNTD reminds us that smoking is a pandemic too. Read Derek Yach's blog piece here: https://bit.ly/2ZN5Wmt
Will #SouthAfrica’s ban on all #tobacco products as a response to #COVID19 backfire? As Derek Yach points out in a @Filtermag_org article by @Alex_Norcia, “the 1920s script of what happened in the US during Prohibition is happening now in South Africa.” https://bit.ly/2zIcUP9
In an article published by http://pubmed.gov Derek Yach explores how the #COVID19 State of Smoking Poll helps us understand tobacco use in 5 countries during the lockdown. This poll is one of many studies needed to evaluate long term consequences. https://bit.ly/3ddBoOF
In the first of our new Watching Brief series, Ayda Yurekli examines #ecigarette excise taxes and looks towards a smoke-free future in #Hungary. Take a look at her two-part piece here: https://bit.ly/36K7kYI
Tobacco Free Portfolios conducted a special webinar for #WorldNoTobaccoDay. We agree that the financial community can and should hold #tobacco companies accountable. The Tobacco Transformation Index may be a tool that can help bring us closer to that goal. https://bit.ly/2B2IVBD
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