Foundation for a smoke-free world

Abstract

The current and future health effects of smoking are well described. More than 7 million deaths per year are attributable to smoking, and projections suggest 1 billion deaths this century. 1 WHOWHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2017: monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies. World Health Organization, Geneva2017http://www.who.int/tobacco/global_report/en Google Scholar Over a decade ago, in my role to facilitate the establishment of WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), I warned about the potential for complacency in the years following the FCTC's adoption. 2 Yach D Injecting greater urgency into global tobacco control. Tob Control. 2005; 14: 145-148 Crossref PubMed Scopus (12) Google Scholar We knew that implementation of the FCTC would take decades, and that it would be challenged from the outset by constrained funding, shifting priorities and political will, weak human and institutional capacity, and continuing opposition from the tobacco industry. Tobacco control: a Foundation too far?Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable mortality worldwide and is responsible for more than 7 million deaths each year. In today's issue of The Lancet, we publish a Viewpoint describing the mission and goals of the recently established Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, funded by tobacco giant Philip Morris International. Led by former WHO executive director Derek Yach, the Foundation, whose aim is “to eliminate cigarette smoking worldwide”, will receive US$1 billion in funding over the next 12 years. Full-Text PDF Towards a smoke-free world? Philip Morris International's new Foundation is not credibleSmoking causes more than 7 million deaths each year1 and tobacco companies have known, since at least 1950, that their products are lethal and addictive. Now Philip Morris International (PMI) is committing nearly US$1 billion over 12 years to the Philip Morris Foundation for a Smoke-Free World that will “fund scientific research designed to eliminate the use of smoked tobacco around the globe”.2 In a Lancet Viewpoint in this issue, the Foundation's President Derek Yach argues it will support “an unswerving focus…to improve public health and human wellbeing”. Full-Text PDF Condemning industry attempts to subvert public policy for a tobacco-free worldThe World Heart Federation, alongside its partners in the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health, condemns outright the launch of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World,1 which is a vehicle for the tobacco industry. Full-Text PDF Department of ErrorYach D. Foundation for a smoke-free world. Lancet 2017; 390: 1807–10—The third sentence of the second paragraph of this Viewpoint should have read “Nonetheless, the capacity of developing countries remains threatened by the growing health and financial burden associated with behavioural risk factors contributing to non-communicable diseases.” with a revised citation from Bollyky TJ, Templin T, Cohen M, Dieleman JL. Lower-income countries that face the most rapid shift in noncommunicable disease burden are also the least prepared. Full-Text PDF Nuclear war and public health: rebalancing priorities and global health leadershipRecently, the North Korean nuclear and missile crisis has gripped international media headlines.1 In the streets of Seoul, the vast majority of civilians remain remarkably calm, confident that this threat will pass like those of the past. Yet, complacency would not serve an excuse in the face of war by either intention or tragic miscalculation. By then, the silence of the global health community will likely be seen as an opportunity missed. Why does it remain silent? Perhaps the community feels out of its depth in an area of competence of the UN Security Council—surely they must know what they are doing? Full-Text PDF