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Introduced as “a GP and medical director at the [CHRE]”, she made no mention of the links to Philip Morris as she discussed the increase in smoking rates during the pandemic and encouraged listeners to quit smoking, including through the use of e-cigarettes or other “safer nicotine” products including patches and gum.
In a statement, she said CHRE offered advice on all smoking cessation products, not just e-cigarettes, and this was consistent with “recommendations by UK’s national health bodies”. She said she always declared relevant interests when giving talks.
Calls for change
Dr Vinayak Prasad, head of the World Health Organisation’s No Tobacco Unit, said: “The tobacco industry is constantly using front groups and allies to change the perception of their deadly products and influence health policies.”
The organisation has launched a new “Stop the lies” campaign to highlight tobacco companies attempts to influence health policy, in contravention of a global tobacco control treaty. New research by the WHO has found that globally a higher proportion of children aged 13 to 15 had tried vapes than among adults.
Mark Hurley, a spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said: “Tobacco companies like Philip Morris and British American Tobacco have a long history of funding front groups to manipulate the public and advance their business interests at the expense of public health. Tobacco companies have funded ‘research’ that claimed the science was still out on the health impacts of smoking … it’s shameful that tobacco companies still think they can get away with it.
“Groups like the Philip Morris-funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World are used to undermine life-saving public health laws around the world and to enable tobacco companies to insert themselves into public health policy. Far from being part of the solution, tobacco companies like British American Tobacco and Philip Morris are the main cause of the global tobacco epidemic that kills millions of people each year — full stop. If an organisation or research is being funded by a tobacco company, you can trust one thing only: that the aim is to further the interests of a deadly industry.”
Dr Raouf Alebshehy, managing editor of Tobacco Tactics at the University of Bath, said: “These incidents [are] the latest examples of the industry’s long history of using third parties and front groups, funding and publishing its own research, and attempting to manipulate science.”
He argued that “these tactics also blatantly contravene the tobacco control treaty, which explicitly requires governments to protect public health from the commercial interests of the industry”.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the anti-smoking charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). said the “activities exposed by the Times are textbook tobacco industry attempts to influence public policy which failed before and will again”.
Sheila Duffy, chief executive of ASH Scotland, said: “Astroturf campaigning, which is hard to spot, is increasingly being used by the tobacco industry and its allies to create and amplify false perceptions of grassroots opinion being against proposed progressive health measures.
“Tobacco industry funding for campaigns helps to create a massive imbalance in the volume of government consultation responses that can be generated to drown out genuine community voices and health advocates’ concerns about the impacts imposed by their health-harming, addictive products on society.” She said these campaigns can “dangerously distort public health debates and delay or disrupt regulations to protect the profits of health-harming corporations”.
Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: “Having ruined countless lives through smoking, Big Tobacco now looks to be using the same old playbook and getting a new generation of kids hooked on nicotine through vapes.” He called on Rishi Sunak to “start taking tough action to protect children’s health”.
Mark Hurley, a spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said: “Tobacco companies like Philip Morris and British American Tobacco have a long history of funding front groups to manipulate the public and advance their business interests at the expense of public health. Tobacco companies have funded ‘research’ that claimed the science was still out on the health impacts of smoking, among other ludicrous findings over the years. After decades of recycling this tactic, it’s shameful that tobacco companies still think they can get away with it.
“Groups like the Philip Morris-funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World are used to undermine life-saving public health laws around the world and to enable tobacco companies to insert themselves into public health policy. Far from being part of the solution, tobacco companies like British American Tobacco and Philip Morris are the main cause of the global tobacco epidemic that kills millions of people each year — full stop. If an organisation or research is being funded by a tobacco company, you can trust one thing only: that the aim is to further the interests of a deadly industry.”
If you would like to get in touch with the reporting team behind this investigation, email [email protected]
In a statement, she said CHRE offered advice on all smoking cessation products, not just e-cigarettes, and this was consistent with “recommendations by UK’s national health bodies”. She said she always declared relevant interests when giving talks.
Calls for change
Dr Vinayak Prasad, head of the World Health Organisation’s No Tobacco Unit, said: “The tobacco industry is constantly using front groups and allies to change the perception of their deadly products and influence health policies.”
The organisation has launched a new “Stop the lies” campaign to highlight tobacco companies attempts to influence health policy, in contravention of a global tobacco control treaty. New research by the WHO has found that globally a higher proportion of children aged 13 to 15 had tried vapes than among adults.
Mark Hurley, a spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said: “Tobacco companies like Philip Morris and British American Tobacco have a long history of funding front groups to manipulate the public and advance their business interests at the expense of public health. Tobacco companies have funded ‘research’ that claimed the science was still out on the health impacts of smoking … it’s shameful that tobacco companies still think they can get away with it.
“Groups like the Philip Morris-funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World are used to undermine life-saving public health laws around the world and to enable tobacco companies to insert themselves into public health policy. Far from being part of the solution, tobacco companies like British American Tobacco and Philip Morris are the main cause of the global tobacco epidemic that kills millions of people each year — full stop. If an organisation or research is being funded by a tobacco company, you can trust one thing only: that the aim is to further the interests of a deadly industry.”
Dr Raouf Alebshehy, managing editor of Tobacco Tactics at the University of Bath, said: “These incidents [are] the latest examples of the industry’s long history of using third parties and front groups, funding and publishing its own research, and attempting to manipulate science.”
He argued that “these tactics also blatantly contravene the tobacco control treaty, which explicitly requires governments to protect public health from the commercial interests of the industry”.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the anti-smoking charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). said the “activities exposed by the Times are textbook tobacco industry attempts to influence public policy which failed before and will again”.
Sheila Duffy, chief executive of ASH Scotland, said: “Astroturf campaigning, which is hard to spot, is increasingly being used by the tobacco industry and its allies to create and amplify false perceptions of grassroots opinion being against proposed progressive health measures.
“Tobacco industry funding for campaigns helps to create a massive imbalance in the volume of government consultation responses that can be generated to drown out genuine community voices and health advocates’ concerns about the impacts imposed by their health-harming, addictive products on society.” She said these campaigns can “dangerously distort public health debates and delay or disrupt regulations to protect the profits of health-harming corporations”.
Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: “Having ruined countless lives through smoking, Big Tobacco now looks to be using the same old playbook and getting a new generation of kids hooked on nicotine through vapes.” He called on Rishi Sunak to “start taking tough action to protect children’s health”.
Mark Hurley, a spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said: “Tobacco companies like Philip Morris and British American Tobacco have a long history of funding front groups to manipulate the public and advance their business interests at the expense of public health. Tobacco companies have funded ‘research’ that claimed the science was still out on the health impacts of smoking, among other ludicrous findings over the years. After decades of recycling this tactic, it’s shameful that tobacco companies still think they can get away with it.
“Groups like the Philip Morris-funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World are used to undermine life-saving public health laws around the world and to enable tobacco companies to insert themselves into public health policy. Far from being part of the solution, tobacco companies like British American Tobacco and Philip Morris are the main cause of the global tobacco epidemic that kills millions of people each year — full stop. If an organisation or research is being funded by a tobacco company, you can trust one thing only: that the aim is to further the interests of a deadly industry.”
If you would like to get in touch with the reporting team behind this investigation, email [email protected]
