The Global Tobacco Control Research Program, Simon Fraser University, does not engage with tobacco industry representatives or affiliated organizations, including the Philip Morris International (PMI)–funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW). This stance is compliant with a World Health Organization statement issued in 20171 and reaffirmed in 2019 alongside more than 200 organizations and individuals,2 rejecting claims in an open letter by Derek Yach, MBChB, MPH, to the World Health Organization Executive Board that the “Foundation has taken every measure to ensure that PMI does not influence our work.”3
In this issue of AJPH, the letter by Yach regarding our research on investments by leading transnational tobacco companies must be assessed in this context. It is unclear why Yach’s letter cites the criteria put forth by Cohen et al.4 to support his claim of FSFW independence. His previous use of this argument was already refuted by Cohen and Eissenberg as “incorrect in several instances.”5 Subsequent analysis by van der Eijk et al.6 on the “multiple loopholes, particularly regarding conflicts of interest” and lack of transparency concludes that the foundation “cannot be regarded as independent.”
On this basis, we doubt the capacity of the FSFW to act as an independent arbiter of new nicotine products. Indeed, Yach misses the mark regarding the purpose, scope, and conclusions of our article. Much of Yach’s letter is written with a high degree of conjecture that cites poorly evidenced work by FSFW and PMI (see references 3, 4, and 5 in Yach’s letter) rather than independent, peer-reviewed scientific studies. Letters to scientific journals, such as this one by Yach, should be recognized as consistent with the well-documented history of tobacco industry interference in the scientific process.7
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (grant R01-CA091021).
The authors would like to thank Ross MacKenzie (Macquarie University) for his useful comments on our response letter.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
REFERENCES
- 1.World Health Organization. WHO statement on Philip Morris funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World. September 28, 2017. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/28-09-2017-who-statement-on-philip-morris-funded-foundation-for-a-smoke-free-world. Accessed March 23, 2019.
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