The Union responds to today’s announcement that Philip Morris International (PMI) will set up a ‘Foundation for a Smoke-free World’ in 2018, with the following statement from José Luis Castro, Executive Director, The Union
The Union responds to today’s announcement that Philip Morris International (PMI) will set up a ‘Foundation for a Smoke-Free World’ in 2018, with the following statement from José Luis Castro, Executive Director, The Union:
"The tobacco industry will need more than the huff and puff of a Foundation to convince the public health world that this is not just a cynical marketing exercise.
"This is a one billion dollar bribe to secure Philip Morris a seat at the table with public health policymakers globally. There is a fundamental conflict of interest between the goals of the tobacco industry and the goals of promoting public health.”
The Union is one of 89 organisations, representing global health, medicine, human rights, and consumer protection around the globe that have published an open letter to Philip Morris International (PMI) demanding they immediately cease production, marketing and sales of cigarettes.
The move comes after the Danish Institute of Human Rights conducted an evaluation of PMI and concluded that the company could not meet human rights norms while still selling tobacco products. PMI owns some of the world’s most powerful cigarette brands – including Marlboro.
Read the letter here(PDF 790 KB).