The Foundation for a Smoke Free World has changed management and is now breaking all contracts it previously had with the tobacco industry. According to the new executive director, Cliff Douglas, the change is being made in order to move forward with harm reduction work in tobacco and nicotine.
"The Foundation will not accept money from either tobacco companies or pharmaceutical companies in the future. This was one of the conditions I set when I accepted the assignment and something that is necessary to develop new partnerships" says Cliff Douglas.
Since its inception, the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World has sponsored a number of projects and research efforts to increase knowledge about harm reduction and smoke-free nicotine products. At the same time, the organization has always been controversial. Its founder, a key figure behind the WHO Tobacco Convention, Derek Yach, started the foundation in 2017 with the ambition to accelerate efforts to reduce harm of smoking in the world. Through an agreement with Philip Morris Internationalone of the world's largest cigarette manufacturers, the Foundation received funding to run projects in the Foundation's field of activity.
Counted as an industry lobby
Although the agreement contained clear clauses prohibiting PMI from conditioning or directing the activities, the cooperation was met with skepticism among active in the anti-tobacco movement. In most contexts, the Foundation for a smoke free world is considered part of the tobacco industry lobby.
The new leadership now wants to change this.
"Starting in the fall of 2023, the Foundation will not accept any money from the tobacco industry, or for that matter the pharmaceutical industry. We see this as an important step to move forward and broaden the discussion on harm reduction" says new CEO Cliff Douglas in a press release.
Working for the "other side"
Cliff Douglas has a long history in the anti-tobacco movement and has been a driving force in smoking-related issues for decades. Not least in a fierce battle against the tobacco companies.
"I was there at the time when we pushed through the smoking ban on airplanes. It was a great success in fighting smoking and its harmful effects. That was 35 years ago now. I see my new role as a very important step to accelerate the progress towards a smoke-free society." Cliff Douglas.
"Must find common ground"
He believes that the debate about smoking and the potential for reducing its harm has reached a tipping point in recent years. This is particularly true in the scientific community, where researchers disagree about the potential of what is called "tobacco harm reduction". Cliff Douglas believes that the link to tobacco companies has stood in the way of progress.
"But research is research, and those of us working in tobacco control actually agree on a lot of things. For example, we know that smoking kills millions of people every year. We can save lives by establishing a range of evidence-based strategies to reduce smoking. This is, of course, about developing methods to reduce uptake and increase opportunities to quit smoking. But it is also about developing and establishing harm reduction strategies. The risks of nicotine use can be measured on a scale where different forms of use pose different risks to the user," says Cliff Douglas.
Supports many projects
According to Cliff Douglas, the foundation for a smoke free world will soon change its name, as part of a change in the organization's funding. The foundation currently supports various training programs and scholarships and this funding will reportedly continue. The Foundation also publishes Tobacco Transformation Index, an annual review of the share of tobacco companies' revenues and resources spent on smokeless nicotine products and smoking tobacco and cigarettes.
