Opinion Experts condemn US tobacco firm’s sponsorship of doctor training as ‘grotesque’

[LeonardoBjj]

Philip Morris International has supported non-smoking programmes around the world ‘to advance its own interests’, say health professionals

The tobacco company Philip Morris has sponsored courses for doctors in multiple countries, in what critics have called a “grotesque” strategy.

Medical education programmes on quitting smoking and harm reduction in South Africa, the Middle East and the US have been supported by Philip Morris International (PMI) or its regional subsidiaries, according to advertising material seen by the Guardian.


The World Health Organization (WHO) said there was a risk that public health efforts could be undermined and called for partnerships of this kind to be banned.

Dr Tess Legg, of the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath, said sponsoring medical education was part of a “strategy to influence how science is used in medical practice and an attempt to rebuild the industry’s credibility among health professionals”.

Nicholas Hopkinson, a professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial College London, said: “Based on its market share (around 15%), and the global death toll from smoking (more than 8 million annually), Philip Morris kills at least a million people every year. The idea that it should have any role in medical education is grotesque.”

The sponsored courses allow participants to collect credits showing they are engaging in post-qualification learning. Typically, doctors must collect a certain number of these “continuing medical education” (CME) or “continuing professional development” (CPD) points annually to continue practising.

Hopkinson called for bodies that provide or regulate medical education to “produce explicit statements and policies that tobacco industry involvement is completely forbidden”.

Dr Rüdiger Krech, the director of health promotion at the WHO, called on certification authorities to ban partnerships with tobacco and related industries in medical education. “There’s a clear commercial interest that could spread misinformation undermining public health efforts,” he said.

“Health workers should be supported by education that is evidence-based, transparent and held to the highest ethical standards.”

Men who smoke are about twice as likely to develop ED as nonsmokers
. Smoking hampers circulation to all areas of the body, including the genitals, making it tougher to get and keep an erection. Once you quit smoking, your health starts to improve immediately.
https://www.webmd.com/erectile-dysfunction/ed-how-quit-smoking

One doctors’ organisation in South Africa, the Alliance of South African Independent Practitioners Associations (Asaipa), has offered webinars on harm reduction in public health “sponsored by Philip Morris South Africa”.

Sharon Nyatsanza, the deputy director of South Africa’s National Council Against Smoking, said the sponsorship may breach local laws designed to reduce the influence of the tobacco industry.

She said: “We hope public health professionals know who PMI really is. PMI – which is the largest [global] cigarette manufacturer – has a history of funding research, medical professionals and setting up front groups in ways meant to advance its own interests and in conflict with public health.”

Along with many South African public health organisations and professionals, she has written to the Health Professions Council of South Africa urging it to set out a clear policy that tobacco industry funding and sponsorship would not be allowed. They have also asked that CPD credits for events sponsored by a tobacco company be withdrawn.

In a statement, Asaipa said the content of all CPD webinars was reviewed “to ensure that no products of any partner are being promoted during the educational sessions, and all statements made during these sessions are based on clinical data and evidence”.

The statement added that Asaipa was “committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency and ethical conduct in all our endeavours” and would “conduct a thorough review of our sponsorship and involvement with PMI to ensure our actions align with our mission and values”.

A number of online courses run by the training provider Middle East Medical have received Philip Morris sponsorship, including a seminar for healthcare workers and researchers in the region on 26 April last year “sponsored by Philip Morris Management Services (Middle East) Ltd”. Content included “obstacles to implementing harm reduction” and “what is the evidence base for harm reduction in smoking”. A spokesperson said the company “stopped working with PMI in 2023”.

PMI has also sponsored sessions and speakers at conferences in countries including Jordan and Egypt.

Dr Ahmad Abbadi, the regional coordinator for the eastern Mediterranean at the Global Alliance for Tobacco Control, said he feared tobacco companies were targeting countries with weaker laws and regulations, particularly around conflicts of interest.

“It’s a great opportunity to advocate […] in favour of the industry,” Abbadi said, adding that many of his contemporaries as a Jordanian medical student had gone to work overseas. “I am in Sweden, many of my classmates are in the US, in Canada and the UK, across the world,” he said. “You affect the region itself, but also the whole globe because the world is more connected.”

Abbadi said the idea of harm reduction was crucial in public health, citing examples such as car seatbelts, but that the term had been co-opted as a marketing tool for tobacco companies pushing new products, including heated tobacco.

The WHO has highlighted a lack of independent research to back claims they are less harmful than cigarettes.

Medscape, a US website for health professionals, has withdrawn a planned series of educational courses around smoking cessation “supported by an independent educational grant from Philip Morris International” after criticism from doctors and academics. It said use of PMI funding “was a misjudgment that was out of character” and that it would not accept tobacco industry funding in the future.

A spokesperson for Philip Morris International said the company “believed science-based education on the topic of tobacco harm reduction was vital to improve public health.

PMI provides educational grants for science-based programmes that are run independently from PMI and follow accredited standards, including a further independent third-party academic review, he said.

“Funding is clearly labelled and attributes support from PMI. We do not control the content and it is unfounded to claim the programmes are to promote PMI products. Our activities comply with all applicable laws.”

https://www.theguardian.com/global-...s-sponsorship-smoking-public-health-education

 

[Fluffernutter]

My doctor has a Pfizer clock on their wall

 

[Dalarna3]

So get third world doctors to cover up the health risks since they can't elsewhere?

 

[LeonardoBjj]

So get third world doctors to cover up the health risks since they can't elsewhere?

- Whatnever the doctors are from, if they're brought, theres no garantee their recomendations are genuine.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Tobacco industry uses manipulative practices to hook young people on addictive products​

GENEVA — The World Health Organization and STOP, a global tobacco industry watchdog, warn the tobacco industry is using a variety of manipulative tactics to hook a new generation of young people into becoming users of their addictive, toxic tobacco and nicotine products for life.

“The terrible truth is that eight million people every year die from tobacco use. The single greatest cause for these deaths is a vast industry that works relentlessly to sell products that are essentially poison,” Jorge Alday, director of STOP at Vital Strategies, said at the recent launch of a new tobacco interference report, “Hooking the next generation.”

Speaking in advance of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, Alday asserted that the tobacco industry’s products kill at least half of the people who use them, therefore, he said, “It has an endless need to replace its customers.”

“From the perspective of a tobacco company, an addictive customer means a lifetime of profits. So, the younger someone gets hooked the more money they can make at the expense of that person’s health,” he said.

The report shows that globally, an estimated 37 million children ages 13 to 15 use tobacco, and in many countries, the rate of e-cigarette use among adolescents exceeds that of adults.

While significant progress has been made in reducing tobacco use, the report says the emergence of e-cigarettes and other new tobacco and nicotine products presents “a grave threat to youth and tobacco control.”

“Studies demonstrate that e-cigarette use increases conventional cigarette use, particularly among non-smoking youth, by nearly three times,” it says.

Ruediger Krech, director of health promotion at WHO, told journalists attending the global launch of the report last week that the industry is “exploiting digital and social media, delivery apps, and other innovative ways to reach our children. At the same time, they are continuing with old tricks such as giving away free samples to recruit a new generation as customers.”

He said the use of child-friendly flavored e-cigarettes combined with sleek and colorful designs that resemble toys “is a blatant attempt” by tobacco and related industries “to addict young people to these harmful products.”

“Currently, we have about 16,000 flavors that are very appealing to children and young people—fruity flavors, candy, bubble gum and vanilla ice-cream,” he said, noting that most adult tobacco users start their deadly habit when they are young.

“Most of them have started before the age of 21. Then they stay tobacco or nicotine users for the rest of their lives,” he said. “That is alarming when we are now seeing that with these novel products, so many children and young people are taking up this nicotine use.

“So, there is an urgency to act now to regulate those products, ban them if possible. But to be very, very serious about this,” he added.

One of many youth advocates around the world taking a stand against “the destructive influence and manipulative marketing practices” of the tobacco and nicotine industry is Given Kapolyo of Zambia. She is the Global Young Ambassador of the Year with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, CTFK.

“I totally agree with the sentiments shared already today that the industry continues to hook young people,” she said, speaking from the Zambian capital, Lusaka.

“It is extremely sad here in Africa because they continue to target low-income communities because they know that these young people do not have access to information on just how deadly these products are. ... They tell young people that vaping is cooler, that electronic cigarettes are cooler, and they continue to hook young people as early as 10 years and 13 years old.

“Their only interest is profits, and they want to hook young people while they are young, so they can have lifelong customers, which means more profits for them, without caring how many lives we are losing due to non-communicable diseases caused by tobacco abuse,” she said.

The World Health Organization is urging governments to protect young people from taking up tobacco, e-cigarettes and other nicotine products by banning or tightly regulating them. Its recommendations include the creation of smoke-free indoor public places, bans on flavored e-cigarettes, as well as bans on marketing, advertising, and promotions, and the enactment of higher taxes.

Authors of the reports say these measures work. They cite an example from the United States where research found that “more than 70 percent of youth e-cigarette users would quit if the products were only available in tobacco flavor.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/report-to...ng-people-on-addictive-products-/7627497.html

 

[HereticBD]

Tobacco industry uses manipulative practices to hook young people on addictive products​

GENEVA — The World Health Organization and STOP, a global tobacco industry watchdog, warn the tobacco industry is using a variety of manipulative tactics to hook a new generation of young people into becoming users of their addictive, toxic tobacco and nicotine products for life.

“The terrible truth is that eight million people every year die from tobacco use. The single greatest cause for these deaths is a vast industry that works relentlessly to sell products that are essentially poison,” Jorge Alday, director of STOP at Vital Strategies, said at the recent launch of a new tobacco interference report, “Hooking the next generation.”

Speaking in advance of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, Alday asserted that the tobacco industry’s products kill at least half of the people who use them, therefore, he said, “It has an endless need to replace its customers.”

“From the perspective of a tobacco company, an addictive customer means a lifetime of profits. So, the younger someone gets hooked the more money they can make at the expense of that person’s health,” he said.

The report shows that globally, an estimated 37 million children ages 13 to 15 use tobacco, and in many countries, the rate of e-cigarette use among adolescents exceeds that of adults.

While significant progress has been made in reducing tobacco use, the report says the emergence of e-cigarettes and other new tobacco and nicotine products presents “a grave threat to youth and tobacco control.”

“Studies demonstrate that e-cigarette use increases conventional cigarette use, particularly among non-smoking youth, by nearly three times,” it says.

Ruediger Krech, director of health promotion at WHO, told journalists attending the global launch of the report last week that the industry is “exploiting digital and social media, delivery apps, and other innovative ways to reach our children. At the same time, they are continuing with old tricks such as giving away free samples to recruit a new generation as customers.”

He said the use of child-friendly flavored e-cigarettes combined with sleek and colorful designs that resemble toys “is a blatant attempt” by tobacco and related industries “to addict young people to these harmful products.”

“Currently, we have about 16,000 flavors that are very appealing to children and young people—fruity flavors, candy, bubble gum and vanilla ice-cream,” he said, noting that most adult tobacco users start their deadly habit when they are young.

“Most of them have started before the age of 21. Then they stay tobacco or nicotine users for the rest of their lives,” he said. “That is alarming when we are now seeing that with these novel products, so many children and young people are taking up this nicotine use.

“So, there is an urgency to act now to regulate those products, ban them if possible. But to be very, very serious about this,” he added.

One of many youth advocates around the world taking a stand against “the destructive influence and manipulative marketing practices” of the tobacco and nicotine industry is Given Kapolyo of Zambia. She is the Global Young Ambassador of the Year with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, CTFK.

“I totally agree with the sentiments shared already today that the industry continues to hook young people,” she said, speaking from the Zambian capital, Lusaka.

“It is extremely sad here in Africa because they continue to target low-income communities because they know that these young people do not have access to information on just how deadly these products are. ... They tell young people that vaping is cooler, that electronic cigarettes are cooler, and they continue to hook young people as early as 10 years and 13 years old.

“Their only interest is profits, and they want to hook young people while they are young, so they can have lifelong customers, which means more profits for them, without caring how many lives we are losing due to non-communicable diseases caused by tobacco abuse,” she said.

The World Health Organization is urging governments to protect young people from taking up tobacco, e-cigarettes and other nicotine products by banning or tightly regulating them. Its recommendations include the creation of smoke-free indoor public places, bans on flavored e-cigarettes, as well as bans on marketing, advertising, and promotions, and the enactment of higher taxes.

Authors of the reports say these measures work. They cite an example from the United States where research found that “more than 70 percent of youth e-cigarette users would quit if the products were only available in tobacco flavor.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/report-to...ng-people-on-addictive-products-/7627497.html

Third world nations have more to worry about than cigarettes.

Over here in the West, until the government just flat out bans them, it's a personal choice, like drinking or eating yourself into a 500lb blob of shit. It is what it is.

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

My doctor has a Pfizer clock on their wall

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/opioid-fentanyl-drug-company-conviction-insys-1.5121088