The Philip Morris International–Funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World

In September 2017, Philip Morris International (PMI), the world’s largest publicly traded tobacco company and manufacturer of the world’s leading cigarette brand (Marlboro), announced establishment of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, with nearly $1 billion in funding over the next 12 years.¹ The foundation states that it will promote a vision of “ending smoking in this generation by eliminating the use of cigarettes and other forms of combustible tobacco.”¹ In its agreement with PMI, the foundation also states that “…a paradigm shift is needed to accelerate the pace of research and support of projects regarding alternatives to cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products and advance the field of harm reduction.”² The president of the foundation, Dr Derek Yach, a well-known member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Secretariat when the 2005 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was developed, noted that the foundation not only “supports and endorses implementation of all elements of the FCTC” but also reflects PMI’s commitment “to making cigarettes obsolete.”¹