PMI accused of manipulating science to promote IQOS, responds that its actions were completely legal and appropriate

PMI accused of manipulating science to promote IQOS, responds that its actions were "completely legal and appropriate"

PMI was accused of "manipulating science for profit" and planning to use politicians, doctors and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to promote the heated tobacco product IQOS by funding research and working with scientists. PMI responded that this was an absurd story and their involvement was legal and necessary.

[Two Supreme News] According to the Guardian recently reported, Philip Morris International (PMI) was accused of "manipulating science for profit" for funding scientific research and advocacy work.

 

Activists said that leaked documents from PMI and its Japanese branch (PMJ) also revealed their plans to attract non-smokers to use their heated tobacco product IQOS by targeting politicians, doctors and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

 

Japan is the first market for IQOS, and the tobacco industry watchdog Stopping Tobacco Organisations and Products (Stop) said it suspected PMI would apply this strategy to other markets.

 

A research report by the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath in the UK pointed out that PMJ funded a smoking cessation study at Kyoto University through a third-party research institution.

 

Although a PMI spokesperson said its involvement was announced at a 2021 Greek scientific conference, the researchers said they could not find a public record of PMJ's involvement.

 

PMJ pays about £20,000 a month to FTI-Innovations, a life sciences consultancy run by a professor at the University of Tokyo, to promote PMI's science and products at academic events. In an internal email, a PMJ employee said they were told to "keep it secret."

 

The paper, published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, is based on 24 leaked company documents between 2012 and 2020.

The researchers said,

 

"These activities are similar to known tactics to influence scientific research, publication and dissemination, and to hide scientific activities."

Dr. Sophie Braznell, one of the authors of the paper, said,

 

"Manipulating science for profit harms us all, especially policymakers and consumers trying to make potentially life-changing decisions. It slows and undermines public health policies while encouraging widespread use of harmful products."

 

Braznell said the leaked documents undermined PMI's claim to conduct "transparent science" and called for reforms to the funding and governance of tobacco research "to protect science from corporate interests."

 

In a separate report on the company's marketing activities based on the leaked documents, Stop said PMJ appeared to lobby to allow IQOS to be used in places where smoking is prohibited.

 

Stop said organizations including medical and hotel groups and Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency were targeted for support, "which, if supported, could give the impression that IQOS is widely accepted."

 

The presence of the Tokyo Olympics "reflects a known industry strategy to promote addictive, harmful tobacco products at sporting events - associating these products with health, misleading consumers, and reaching children and young people." Stop director Jorge Alday said the findings were inconsistent with PMI's claim that IQOS was only for adult smokers.

 

"PMI's intentions with IQOS appear to go far beyond what they claim. This finding adds weight to the evidence questioning PMI's intentions and product claims."

 

"Disturbingly, this hints at a broader pattern of deceptive tactics that could set the stage for a new chapter in the tobacco epidemic."

A PMI spokesperson said,

 

"This is yet another false story from an organization more concerned with criticizing our company than helping to reduce the harm of cigarettes. Like any highly regulated multinational company, PMI regularly shares our positions on issues that affect our consumers, company and communities. This engagement is not only completely legal and appropriate, but is also essential to inclusive policymaking that achieves better policy outcomes."