Seventeen public health schools in the U.S. and Canada pledged Thursday to refuse research money from a new anti-smoking group funded by the tobacco industry.
The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World was created in September with nearly $1 billion from the Philip Morris tobacco company, saying it aims to end smoking worldwide and support research to meet that goal.
But deans of public health schools at Harvard, Johns Hopkins and other universities said the group is too closely tied to an industry that sells deadly products to millions.
“The idea of taking money that’s from the tobacco industry is just antithetical to everything we do,” said Karen Emmons, dean for academic affairs at Harvard’s public health school. “Philip Morris in particular has focused very hard to undermine the strategies that we know will reduce smoking rates.”
Derek Yach, president of the foundation, said it’s “disappointing, and a loss for smokers” that the deans won’t work with the group.
“We share the same goals: To improve public health and urgently advocate for more funding and better science to help millions of smokers reduce their risk of death and disease,” Yach said in a statement.
He added that Philip Morris has “absolutely no involvement, influence or control” over the foundation, and urged the deans to reconsider.
