Tobacco Companies Targeting Health Professionals: The Tactics

This page was last edited on at

Tobacco companies use a wide range of strategies and tactics designed to keep people using their products and disrupt efforts to protect public health.123

Here we detail tactics used to target health professionals, and the professional environment in which they operate. These include direct approaches by tobacco companies and indirect approaches conducted by other organisations linked to them. As indirect tactics are a way for tobacco companies to distance themselves or conceal their involvement, this article is organised by topic and activity rather than method, but we note where the tactic used is direct or indirect.

For background on the long history of this strategy, and how it relates to tobacco companies more recent adoption of ‘harm reduction’ narratives in the service of product sales, see our long read: Tobacco Companies Targeting Health Professionals

Funding academic medical centres & groups

Tobacco companies have engaged with and funded research centres, groups and individuals, both directly and via other organisations.

In the 2010s Philip Morris ran an initiative with computer firm IBM called ‘sbv IMPROVER’ and sought endorsement from staff of US medical schools and a cancer institute, with some also speaking at a conference for the initiative.45

Swedish Match (now owned by PMI) and the US Smokeless Tobacco Company endowed a chair at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.6 This is currently held by Brad Rodu, a professor of medicine whose research has been supported by unrestricted grants from tobacco companies.7

Duke University in the US has had a long relationship with the tobacco industry, with a chair in medicine endowed by RJ Reynolds (now owned by BAT). It also hosts the Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research (CSNCR) whose director is Jed E.Rose, which has received indirect funding from the PMI-financed Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW, now renamed Global Action to End Smoking, GAES. As of its last financial statements GAES remains funded by PMI).

There is also evidence that PMI has invited medical professionals to visit its own research and development facility in Switzerland.8

Publishing in journals aimed at health professionals

Tobacco companies try to publish favourable research in books and journals, and via letters to journal editors.9 There are various standards for publishing in medical journals,101112 including those produced by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which require transparency around authorship and conflict of interest.131415 However tobacco companies continue to publish their own research, or research they have funded, in journals read by health professionals.1617

Some publications aimed at the medical community continue to accept advertising or sponsorship from tobacco companies, a key dissemination route for PMI:

  • A publication aimed at dentists in Japan published an advertisement for PMI’s heated tobacco product (HTP) IQOS.18
  • A European journal published an article on pneumology, paid for by PMI.19
  • A publication in Bulgaria aimed at doctors with content – and multiple events – sponsored by PMI.2021

Recruiting doctors to participate in research

In addition to funding research centres, tobacco companies try to recruit doctors to participate in funded studies relating to their products.

In 2020, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) reported how PMI had approached doctors in Romania, via an intermediary, to ask them to collaborate on research relating to its HTP IQOS.22 The study would have involved recruiting patients with mild to moderate Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and testing the outcomes of them using an HTP compared to continuing to smoke. The outline of the pitch listed four authors, one a pulmonologist, who were all contracted by PMI.22

In June 2021, FSFW funded the private social media network SERMO (which at the time described itself as the “World’s leading social platform for physicians”)23 to recruit doctors for an eight-month international study on “cessation and tobacco harm reduction around the world”.2425 SERMO invited “key stakeholders” and “thought leaders” in healthcare to join an advisory board for its “Doctors and Health Professionals Global Poll 2021”, and later to inform their networks about the subsequent findings.2425

In 2022, Sermo also conducted online interviews with physicians recruited through its own networks.26 This survey is cited on the PMI Science website, saying that it “demonstrated that nearly 80% of doctors worldwide believe nicotine causes lung cancer”.27 Findings from independent research (not funded by the tobacco industry) differ from PMI’s summary.28293031 In 2025, PMI commissioned research company Povaddo to again survey medical professionals in the US on perceptions around nicotine.3233

In 2022, FSFW gave a grant to the Centre for Substance Use Research (CSUR) to develop a protocol “to assess the long-term health effects of switching from combustibles to tobacco harm reduction products among Type 2 diabetic smokers in Bangladesh”.3435 CSUR is a UK company which provides consultancy to tobacco companies, including PMI. A randomised controlled trial was designed in collaboration with a doctor at a medical college in Bangladesh and a local development NGO.36373839 As of March 2025 it was not clear if the trial had begun.36

Sponsoring medical conferences and events

Tobacco companies have long sponsored medical conference and events (see the long read for details)940 and continue to do so, although not always successfully.

PMI was listed as a direct sponsor of:

  • the Israel Medical Convention, 2016 – but was removed before it took place4142
  • the Bologna Medical Science Festival, Italy, 201822
  • a conference for Romanian doctors, as IOQS, 201822
  • the 11th International Sophia Dental Meeting, Bulgaria, 2018.4344
  • the Congress of Mediterranean League of the Angiology and Vascular Surgery, 201945
  • the 50th Annual Panhellenic Medical Congress – the largest medical conference in Greece, organised by the Athens Medical Society – Athens, 2024464748

BAT has sponsored:

  • the national congress of the College of University Teachers of Dentistry, 2019, as ‘bat-science.com’.49

Sponsorship may also be indirect.

  • In 2022, the not-for-profit sponsor of the seventh South Africa Tuberculosis (TB) Conference in was found to have accepted money from FSFW, leading to the withdrawal of the WHO and other organisations.50

Presenting at medical conferences & events

A 2023 TCRG study found that BAT and PMI attended over 200 scientific events between 2012 and 2021, including medicine (nearly 12% of the total), pharmaceutical science and dentistry (both around 4%, all figures rounded).51

Although less welcome at cancer research conferences,2251 since 2018 PMI states that it has presented at multiple events relating to cardiovascular disorders and lung health, as well as neurology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, and family medicine.51 Many have been detailed on the PMI Science website, including:

  • Atherosclerosis: conferences in 2018, in Canada,52 France,53 and Portugal.54
  • Pulmonology: Congress of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology in 2018,55 and the World Congress for Bronchology & Interventional Pulmonology in 2020.56
  • Haematology: Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) in Australia.57
  • Cardiology and vascular diseases: the Congress of the Mediterranean League of the Angiology and Vascular Surgery, Croatia, in 2019;58 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand;59 the International Conference of the European Society of Cardiology Council on Stroke in 2020.60 and Pecsi Cardiology Congress, Hungary, in 2023.6162 (PMI is also a strategic partner of Hungary’s Comprehensive Healthcare Programme, see CSR below).

Tobacco companies have also attended conferences on dentistry and oral health. PMI has presented at:

  • International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) conference, in the US in 2017,63 in Canada in 2019,64 and online in 2021.65 (BAT also attended in 2017, 2018 and 2019.)51
  • 15th Symposium of Oral Surgeons and Implantology in Serbia,66 and the International Sofia Dental Meeting (SDM) in Bulgaria, in 2018.67
  • Cenacolo Odontostomatologico Italiano, Italy, 2019.68 See also BAT’s sponsorship of the national congress of the College of University Teachers of Dentistry, detailed above.
  • Annual meeting of the Japan Society of Esthetics and Dentistry, 2021.69

At the World Dental Federation (Federation Dentale Internationale, FDI) World Dental Congress, held virtually in 2021, where PMI’s Gizelle Baker was initially listed as a speaker.70 The FDI adopted a new Policy Statement at the World Dental Congress in 2021, which asserted that oral health practitioners should not recommend the use of e-cigarettes or HTPs.1871

PMI has more recently attended conferences on bad breath.7273

In 2022 and 2023 Altria attended the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research Annual Meeting and Exhibition, giving presentations focussing on the impact of nicotine pouches on oral health.747576 It also presented at the American Association for Cancer Research in 2022. 7477

The industry also funds (directly or indirectly) annual events which are attended by researchers, health professionals and company representatives. These include the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) which is funded directly by the tobacco industry.78

Sponsoring medical training courses

In 2024, PMI sponsored a planned series of online Continuous Medical Education (CME) courses for physicians run by Medscape, a US medical education company.79808182 Medscape’s website stated that this training was “supported by an independent educational grant from Philip Morris International”.8384858687 Brad Rodu, a Professor of medicine, was named as author on two training modules,8384 but did not disclose his history of tobacco industry funding.88

The training related to smoking cessation, but focussed on the ‘smoke-free’ approach favoured by PMI, and product switching rather than quitting outright, and an internal Medscape document referred to the “PMI curriculum”.808889 A reported 16,000 doctors and health care providers attended the training between February and April 2024.80

After widespread criticism from doctors and the public health community, 79688 Medscape ended the sponsorship arrangement, and removed the PMI content.8890 It also adopted a new policy to not work with or accept funding from the tobacco industry or its affiliates.7990

PMI had previously:

  • sponsored courses run in South Africa by Emerging Market Healthcare in 2022;8891
  • sponsored webinars run by the Alliance of South African Independent Practitioners Associations (Asaipa), in November 2023,88 and April 2024;9293
  • and contracted Middle East Medical to deliver online training to “healthcare/research professionals in the Gulf Council Countries” in 2022 and 2023.88949596

PMI states that it supports certified medical education because it believes that “a science-based education on the topic of tobacco harm reduction (THR) is vital to improve public health.”97

Funding for these activities can also be indirect. In 2022 FSFW awarded a grant to the Physicians Research Institute (PRI), a US not-for-profit which stated (as of July 2022) that it was set up to counter biased studies on worker compensation and to “conduct unbiased research into proper therapy”.99 In the 1980s and 1990s PRI’s President collaborated with the tobacco industry opposing smoke-free laws.40 Since 2022, it states that one of its roles is to provide “detailed and other unavailable information with respect to (…) vaping as a harm reduction method with respect to tobacco dependence”.100 The FSFW funding was to “develop a web-based presentation on tobacco harm reduction for distribution to state medical societies and member physicians”.101 Two articles were published on the PRI website, but it is not clear whether a presentation was delivered.101102103 FSFW awarded PRI another grant in 2024 to “Develop a course curriculum to educate physicians about tobacco harm reduction alternatives, which will be presented to the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education”.104 As of January 2024 tobacco companies (or grantees) were not included in the list of those ineligible for accreditation.40105

In 2024, FSFW/GAES funded a consultancy to develop and evaluate harm reduction training programmes for healthcare providers in Malawi.106

Grants and scholarships for medical students and staff

Tobacco companies have offered direct grants to medical students:

  • BAT offered to sponsor medical students in the UK in the early 2000s.107
  • PMI offered grants to students in Israel in 2019.108

Grants have also been awarded to health professionals indirectly via other funded organisations, such as the FSFW funded K-A-C  scholarship programme, including:

Working through other organisations

The tobacco industry works with and through various organisations to get its messages out to policy makers, stakeholders and the public, including consultancies, front groups and think tanks. See Third Party Techniques for more background on this tactic. Detailed below are some examples of organisations linked to tobacco companies, or funded by them (directly or indirectly), targeting health professionals.

“Secret” consultancies

Some activities may be run via consultancies, where health professionals are invited to attend events, or promote products, without the involvement of tobacco companies being made clear.

PMI employed a consultancy to build a network of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in Japan, including specialist in psychiatry and pain management, to disseminate its research and messaging around harm reduction and newer products.113114

PMI set up a “Less Harmful Coalition” in Canada in 2022, but did not initially reveal its involvement. It used a PR company to recruit addiction practitioners, including First Nations people, for a conference on “less harmful approaches to substance use and restoring human resilience”.115

Third parties

FSFW / GAES

FSFW’s July 2020 country report on India featured an expert endorsement from three medical doctors and a dentist.116

In addition to directly commissioning research, FSFW/GAES funds several ‘Centres of Excellence’, some of whose activities are aimed at medical professionals:

CoEHAR

The Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR) was founded in 2018 by Riccardo Polosa at the University of Catania, Italy.117118 In addition to lobbying LMIC governments to adopt tobacco harm reduction approaches,119120121 and running events for journalists and KOLs,122 Coehar has approached healthcare organisations, for example:

  • meeting with the Heartcare Foundation of India and the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research, calling for the Indian government to reconsider its ban on e-cigarettes.119
  • developing a project on oral health, also funded by FSFW, in a collaboration with a dental hospital in Indonesia.123124 For more information see Tobacco Companies Targeting Health Professionals: Dentistry and PMI.

CHRE

The UK based Centre for Health Research and Education (CHRE) states that it is “A health research and education company run by medical doctors in service of public health”.125 One of the two directors previously worked for BAT, in a role relating to the development of its e-cigarettes.126127 CHRE has also received funding from FSFW to run programmes relating to smoking cessation and mental health. For more information see the CHRE page.

Opaque think tanks

A number of organisations which present themselves as independent think tanks are known to have received money from tobacco companies. Others have opaque funding but are known to have received funding in the past. Many of these organisations publish information relating to tobacco, health and harm reduction which is in part targeted at health professionals. Such organisations include:

  • The Institute for Competitiveness (I-com) partnered with BAT, and attempted to influence the EU Beating Cancer Plan.
  • R Street Institute, funded by tobacco companies, developed a ‘Safer From Harm Coalition’.
  • The US Independent Women’s Forum (see Think Tanks), which has received funding from tobacco companies, published an article about PMI’s 2025 doctors survey on its website, but did not refer to PMI.128

Health Related CSR

Despite the introduction of regulations restricting tobacco company sponsorship direct donations to government-run organisations and health programmes continue under the banner of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Donations may also be indirect via third parties such as local or international NGOs. With often positive coverage in local media, these activities can gain tobacco companies considerable reputational advantage, and access to policy makers.

For example, PMI is a ‘strategic partner’ in Hungary’s Comprehensive Health Screening Program, which includes screening for smoking-related diseases.129130131132133 and dental equipment to the Philippine Army.134

BAT provides mobile clinics in Pakistan,135 and involved itself in a vaccine drive in Bangladesh, despite having lobbied the government to keep its business running during pandemic during the COVID-19 pandemic. BAT lent the UK government equipment from its research and development laboratory for use in COVID testing centres, following a request from government.136For more details and examples of health-related CSR activities see the Tobacco Tactics COVID-19 monitoring database and the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index (coordinated by the Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control and published by STOP)

Relevant Links

Tobacco Tactics Resources

TCRG Research

“Let us all work together for the larger public health good.” Philip Morris targeting German dental professionals, B.K. Matthes, L. Graen, K. Schaller, Tobacco Control, Published Online First: 22 July 2025, doi: 10.1136/tc-2025-059527

“Keep it a secret”: leaked documents suggest Philip Morris International, and its Japanese affiliate, continue to exploit science for profit, S. Braznell, L. Laurence, I. Fitzpatrick, A.B. Gilmore, Nicotine and Tobacco Research, Published Online First: 27 June 2024, doi:10.1093/ntr/ntae101

Seeking to be seen as legitimate members of the scientific community? An analysis of British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International’s involvement in scientific events, B. K. Matthes, A. Fabbri, S. Dance, L. Laurence, K. Silver, A. B. Gilmore, Tobacco Control, 2023, doi: 10.1136/tc-2022-057809

The Science for Profit Model—How and why corporations influence science and the use of science in policy and practice, T. Legg, J. Hatchard and A.B. Gilmore, Plos One, 2021, 16(6), doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0253272

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

References

  1. ↑S. Ulucanlar, G.J. Fooks, A.B. Gilmore, The Policy Dystopia Model: An Interpretive Analysis of Tobacco Industry Political Activity, PLoS Medicine, 2016, 13(9): e1002125, doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002125
  2. ↑B.K. Matthes, K. Lauber, M. Zatoński, et al, Developing more detailed taxonomies of tobacco industry political activity in low-income and middle-income countries: qualitative evidence from eight countries, BMJ Global Health, 2021;6:e004096, doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004096
  3. ↑T. Legg, J. Hatchard and A.B. Gilmore, The Science for Profit Model—How and why corporations influence science and the use of science in policy and practice, Plos One, 2021, 16(6), doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0253272
  4. ↑S. Bostic/Action on Smoking and Health (US), Philip Morris & IBM IMPROVER project: downplaying links between smoking & disease, Tobacco Control blog, 13 May 2012
  5. ↑World/USA: Philip Morris, IBM & scientific ‘respectability’, Tobacco Control news and comment, 11 June 2013, doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2013-051150
  6. ↑abH. Boytchev, Exclusive: Outcry as Philip Morris International funds smoking cessation courses on Medscape, BMJ investigation, 9 April 2024, doi:10.1136/bmj.q830
  7. ↑B. Rodu, My credentials, Tobacco Truth blog, archived May 2019, accessed October 2024
  8. ↑World Health Organization Egypt, Facebook post, 19 November 2019, accessed January 2020 (in Arabic)
  9. ↑abL. A. Bero, Tobacco Industry Manipulation of Research, Public Health Chronicles, 120: 2, March-April 2005, doi: 10.1177/003335490512000215
  10. ↑abF. Godlee, R. Malone, A. Timmis, et al, Journal policy on research funded by the tobacco industry,  BMJ editorial, 2013; 347 :f5193, doi:10.1136/bmj.f5193
  11. ↑H. Macdonald, Tobacco Policy: making a stand, BMJ Group, website, 12 September 2024, accessed September 2024
  12. ↑Tobacco industry funding policy, BMJ website, 2022, accessed September 2024
  13. ↑J. White. L.A. Bero, Corporate Manipulation of Research: Strategies are Similar across Five Industries, Stanford Law and Policy Review, 2010; 21:105–34
  14. ↑International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, website, 2024, accessed August 2024
  15. ↑International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Disclosure of Financial and Non-Financial Relationships and Activities, and Conflicts of Interest, website, undated, accessed August 2024
  16. ↑Tobacco funded research still appearing in top medical journals, BMJ Group, website news, 31 May 2024, accessed October 2024
  17. ↑Tobacco funded research: how even journals with bans find it hard to stem the tide of publications, BMJ, 2024, 385:q1153, doi:10.1136/bmj.q1153
  18. ↑abT. Hirano, T. Hanioka, Philip Morris International advertisements target the oral health field in Japan, contrary to the latest World Dental Federation Policy Statement, Tobacco Control, 2024;33:279-280, doi: 10.1136/tc-2021-057191
  19. ↑European Medical Journal, Current Evidence on Tobacco Harm Reduction in Pneumology: Interviews with Two Key Opinion Leaders, 8 December 2022, accessed October 2024
  20. ↑Coalicia Bedzim, Non-scientific communications, website, 6 May 2024, accessed August 2024
  21. ↑XV Scientific Conference “Modern Highlights in Cardiac and Vascular Pathology”, Arbilis, website, undated, archived February 2024, accessed October 2024
  22. ↑abcdeOrganized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, UnSmoking for Health, website, 25 May 2020, accessed August 2024
  23. ↑SERMO, For Physicians, website, undated, accessed June 2021
  24. ↑abA. Winkiewicz, email from SERMO to the University of Bath, Subject: Exclusive invitation to join the Doctors and Health Professionals Global Poll 2021 National Advisory Board, dated June 2021
  25. ↑abT. McAfee, J. Baker, Foundation for a Smoke Free World (funded by Philip Morris International) recruiting for its “Advisory Board for Smoking Cessation Research”, Tobacco Control, blog, 5 August 2021
  26. ↑Foundation for a Smoke-Free World/Global Action to End Smoking, Doctors’ Survey, website, undated, archived June 2024, accessed August 2024
  27. ↑Philip Morris International, The benefits of knowing the facts about nicotine, PMI Science website, 13 September 2023, accessed September 2024
  28. ↑M.B. Steinberg, M.T. Bover Manderski, O.A. Wackowski, et al, Nicotine Risk Misperception Among US Physicians, Journal of General Internal Medicine, 1 September 2020, 3888–3890, doi:10.1007/s11606-020-06172-8
  29. ↑M. Alobawone/Rutgers University, Researchers say physicians need to understand accurate nicotine risks better to assist patients addicted to the most harmful tobacco products, website news, 8 September 2020, accessed September 2024
  30. ↑C.D. Delnevo, M. Jeong, A. Teotia et al, Communication Between US Physicians and Patients Regarding Electronic Cigarette Use, JAMA Netw Open, 2022;5(4):e226692. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.6692
  31. ↑J. Corkill, S. Faber, F. Irshad et al, S53 UK doctors current perceptions of E-cigarettes (vaping), Thorax, 2018;73:A32, doi: 10.1136/thorax-2018-212555.59
  32. ↑Philip Morris International, Medical Professionals Recognize a Spectrum of Risk Exists for Tobacco and Nicotine Containing Products, website, 2025, archived May 2025, accessed July 2025
  33. ↑Philip Morris International, Two-Thirds of U.S. Healthcare Practitioners Mistakenly Believe or Are Unsure Whether Nicotine Causes Cancer, According to New Survey, press release, Businesswire, 21 May 2025, accessed July 2025
  34. ↑Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, Awarded Grants:  Centre for Substance Use Research, Global Action website, July 2022, archived July 2025, accessed September 2024/July 2025
  35. ↑Anti-tobacco campaigner protest against research supported by tobacco companies, Daily Sun, 10 January 2023, accessed September 2024
  36. ↑abAssociation for Community Empowerment, Develop an Intervention Trial to Assess the Long-term Health effects of Switching Combustible to Tobacco Harm Reduction Products Among Type2 Diabetic Smokers in Bangladesh, website, updated 23 September 2024, accessed September 2024
  37. ↑F. Haseen, A-S. Hossain, N. Rahman et al, A Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess the Long-Term Health Effects of Smoking Cessation Intervention through a Tobacco Harm Reduction Product among Type 2 Diabetic Smokers in Bangladesh: Study Protocol of the DISC Trial, 2023, Journal of Clinical Trials, Vol.13 Iss. 5 No: 1000555, doi:0.35248/2167-0870.23.13.555
  38. ↑ACE, The End-of-Protocol Dissemination Workshop of DIABETES AND SMOKING CESSATION (DISC), website news, 28 August 2024, accessed October 2024
  39. ↑Tobacco industry accused of promoting E-cigarettes in the name of study, bdnews24, 25 May 2023, accessed October 2024
  40. ↑abcP.M. Ling, S.A. Glantz, Historical and political context for Philip Morris International’s continuing medical education courses on harm reduction, Tobacco Control, 2025;0:1–3. doi:10.1136/tc-2024-059015
  41. ↑Israel medical conference quits cigarette company’s sponsorship, The Times of Israel, 2 August 2016, accessed August 2024
  42. ↑J. Siegel-Itzkovich, Hadassah medical conference to go on after it drops tobacco giant as sponsor, The Jerusalem Post, 2 August 2016, accessed August 2024
  43. ↑Sofia Dental Meeting, Programme: 2:15 – 13:00 Sponsored lecture by Phillip Morris, September 2018, accessed October 2024
  44. ↑Sofia Dental Meeting, Abstract Book 2018, accessed October 2024
  45. ↑The XXIX Congress of Mediterranean League of the Angiology and Vascular Surgery (MLAVS), Final Programme: Other sponsors, 2019, archived May 2023, accessed August 2024
  46. ↑50th Panhellenic Medical Conference, Gallery image, Conference website, 25 April 2024, accessed June 2024
  47. ↑Annual Pan-Hellenic Medical Conference, Final Program, Annual Pan-Hellenic Medical Conference program, pg. 111, April 2024, accessed June 2024
  48. ↑Athens Medical Society, Brief Overview, MEDNET website, undated, accessed June 2024
  49. ↑Collegio de Docenti Universitari Di Discipline Odontostomatologiche, 26th Congresso Nazionale. 2019: Sponsor, conference programme, p.64, archived April 2022, accessed October 2024
  50. ↑J. van Dyk, The oldest trick in Big Tobacco’s playbook nearly derailed SA’s TB conference. Here’s why, Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism, 13 September 2022, accessed October 2024
  51. ↑abcdB. K. Matthes, A. Fabbri, S. Dance, et al Seeking to be seen as legitimate members of the scientific community? An analysis of British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International’s involvement in scientific events, Tobacco Control, 2023, doi: 10.1136/tc-2022-057809
  52. ↑Philip Morris International, XVIIIth International Symposium on Atherosclerosis, PMI Science website, archived January 2019, accessed October 2024
  53. ↑Philip Morris International, NFSA Congress 2018, (Nouvelle Société Francophone d’Athérosclérose), PMI Science website, archived January 2019, accessed October 2024
  54. ↑Philip Morris International, European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) 2018, PMI Science, archived January 2019, accessed October 2024
  55. ↑Philip Morris International, 23rd Congress of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), PMI Science website, archived January 2019, accessed October 2024
  56. ↑Philip Morris International, The 21st World Congress for Bronchology & Interventional Pulmonology (WCBIP 2020), PMI Science website, archived September 2021, accessed October 2024
  57. ↑Special Issue: Abstracts of the XXVII Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 21 June 2019, doi:10.1002/rth2.12229
  58. ↑Philip Morris International, XXIX Congress of the Mediterranean League of the Angiology and Vascular Surgery (MLAVS), PMI Science website, archived September 2020, accessed October 2024
  59. ↑Philip Morris International, 68th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, PMI Science website, archived September 2021, accessed October 2024
  60. ↑Philip Morris International, The International Conference of the European Society of Cardiology Council on Stroke (ESC Heart & Stroke) 2020, PMI Science website, archived September 2020, accessed October 2024
  61. ↑Pecsi Kardiologiai Kongresszus, Program: Fustmentes.hu, programme, pg 6, September 2023, accessed October 2024
  62. ↑Philip Morris International, Fustmentes, website, 2021, accessed October 2024
  63. ↑Philip Morris International, Candidate MRTP Aerosol has Low Impact on Organotypic Gingival Cultures, Abstract, IADR/AADR/CADR General Session, 2017, IADR website, accessed October 2024
  64. ↑Philip Morris International, Cigarette Smoke and E-cigarettes Effects on Dental Hard Tissue Discoloration, Abstract, IADR/AADR/CADR General Session, 2019, IADR website, accessed October 2024
  65. ↑Philip Morris International, IADR/AADR/CADR General Session, 2021, PMI Science website, archived September 2021, accessed October 2024
  66. ↑Philip Morris International, Symposium of Oral Surgeons and Implantology, PMI Science website, archived September 2023, accessed October 2024
  67. ↑11th International Sofia Dental Meeting, abstract book, September 2018, accessed October 2024
  68. ↑Philip Morris International, XXIII Congresso Nazionale COI-AIOG , PMI Science website, archived October 2020, accessed October 2024
  69. ↑Philip Morris International, Japan Society of Esthetics and Dentistry Annual Meeting, PMI Science website, archived September 2021, accessed October 2024
  70. ↑World Dental Federation, World Dental Congress, programme, 2021, archived August 2022, accessed October 2024
  71. ↑World Dental Federation, FDI policy statement: the role of oral health practitioners in tobacco cessation, adopted by the FDI General assembly: 27-29 September 2021, Sydney, Australia, accessed October 2024
  72. ↑Philip Morris International, Breath Summit, PMI Science website, archived September 2023, accessed October 2024
  73. ↑Philip Morris International, International Conference on Oral Maladour, PMI Science website, archived June 2023, accessed October 2024
  74. ↑abAltria, Scientific Engagement: Conferences, website, accessed October 2024
  75. ↑Altria, Evaluation of Switching from Cigarette Smoking to Nicotine Pouches on Oral Health, April 2022, website, accessed October 2024
  76. ↑Altria, Evaluating Subgingival Microbiome After Switching from Cigarettes to Nicotine Pouches, March 2023, website,  accessed October 2024
  77. ↑Altria, Oral Cancer Incidence and Tobacco, April 2022, website,  accessed October 2024
  78. ↑Panel: Talking Nicotine: Perception vs. Reality, Tobacco Reporter, 11 October 2023, accessed October 2024
  79. ↑abcK. Lay, Experts condemn US tobacco firm’s sponsorship of doctor training as ‘grotesque’, The Guardian, 3 May 2024, accessed August 2024
  80. ↑abcN. Bai, How the tobacco industry began funding courses for doctors, Stanford Medicine SCOPE blog, 9 July 2024, accessed August 2024
  81. ↑R. Jackler, P.Ling, The Tobacco Industry Has No Business Funding Continuing Medical Education, JAMA, 8 July 2024, doi: 10.1001/jama.2024.9241
  82. ↑Medscape-PMI course material, available from the Stanford Medicine Box website, accessed October 2024
  83. ↑abS. Satel, B. Rodu/Medscape, Harm reduction from tobacco: an evidence-based discussion, 4 April 2024, archived 5 April 2024, accessed August 2024
  84. ↑abC.P. Vega, B. Rodu/Medscape, Nicotine misperceptions: What does the evidence say?, 5 April 2024, archived 5 April 2024, accessed August 2024
  85. ↑P.P. Doghramji/Medscape, Smoking cessation: conversations in the clinic, 4 April 2024, archived 4 April 2024, accessed August 2024
  86. ↑S. Satel, M.J. Blaha/Medscape, Health impact of tobacco products: what do we know in 2024?, 4 April 2024, archived 4 April 2024, accessed August 2024
  87. ↑M.J. Blaha, P.B. Morris/Medscape, Smoking cessation: What works? What doesn’t?, 4 April 2024, archived 4 April 2024, accessed August 2024
  88. ↑abcdefgH. Boytchev, Medscape caves in on courses funded by tobacco giant Philip Morris, while medics fear global push into medical education, BMJ investigation, 26 April 2024, doi:10.1136/bmj.q948
  89. ↑M. Chapman, Medscape severs ties with tobacco industry after backlash over $3M Philip Morris International deal, The Examination, 26 April 2024, accessed August 2024
  90. ↑abMedscape, Medscape Education adopts a new policy that it will not accept funding from the tobacco industry or its associates, website, 10 May 2024, accessed August 2024
  91. ↑Emerging Market Healthcare cancelled subsequent courses
  92. ↑ASAIPA, Webinar Alert: Philip Morris CME Webinar – 18 April 2024, archived 21 April 2024, accessed August 2024
  93. ↑Asaipa said it would conduct a review of this sponsorship137138L. London, M. Talatala, B. Cassim, There is no place for Tobacco Industry sponsorship continuing Professional Development, Journal of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, Vol 2, No 1, a101, doi:https://doi.org/10.4102/jcmsa.v2i1.101
  94. ↑Middle East Medical, Harm reduction in healthcare and the impact on public health, webinar, website, 2022, since removed from the internet archive
  95. ↑Middle East Medical, Harm reduction in healthcare and the impact on public health, webinar, website, 2023, since removed from the internet archive
  96. ↑Middle East Medical told The Guardian that it stopped working for PMI in 2023
  97. ↑Philip Morris International, Our Initiatives: Why PMI supports certified medical education on tobacco harm reduction, PMI Science website, undated, archived 6 May 2024, accessed August 2024
  98. ↑Tobacco Control Research Group, Tobacco control community helps to end tobacco industry sponsorship of medical training courses, University of Bath website news, 9 May 2024, accessed August 2024
  99. ↑Physicians Research Institute, About PRI, website, undated, archived 5 July 2022, accessed August 2024
  100. ↑Physicians Research Institute, About, website, undated, archived 9 November 2022, accessed August 2024
  101. ↑abFoundation for a Smoke-Free World/Global Action to End Smoking, Awarded Grants: Physicians Research Institute (USA), website, 21 October 2022, archived May 2024, accessed August 2024
  102. ↑Physicians Research Institute, Harm Reduction, website, November 2022, accessed August 2024
  103. ↑Physicians Research Institute, Hey Doc: Do You Really Want to Stop Your Patients From Smoking?, website, 14 September 2023, accessed August 2024
  104. ↑Global Action to End Smoking, Awarded Grants: Physicians Research Institute, Inc (USA), website, 19 June 2024, updated 9 July 2024, accessed August 2024
  105. ↑Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, Eligibility, ACME website, undated, accessed January 2025
  106. ↑Global Action to End Smoking, Form 990-PF, 2024 Tax Return, 18 May 2025, accessed May 2025
  107. ↑J. Meikle, BAT sorry for offer to sponsor student, The Guardian, 11 October 2002, accessed October 2024
  108. ↑R. Linder, Philip Morris Offers Israeli Medical Students Grants for Attending Lectures, Haaretz, 2 December 2019, accessed October 2024
  109. ↑M. Davey, N. May, Vaping debate: doctor’s reticence over declaring tobacco money raises questions about conflict of interest, The Guardian (Australia), 25 March 2024, accessed August 2024
  110. ↑S. Rossell, No Shortcuts, Tobacco Reporter, 1 August 2024, accessed October 2024
  111. ↑Knowledge Action Change, KAC Scholars 2018/19: Examing [sic] the Effects of ‘Heat Not Burn’ Products, Compared to Tobacco, on Peridontal Disease, KAC website [page no longer available], undated, archived 12 November 2019, accessed September 2020
  112. ↑Global Forum on Nicotine, Scholarship 2019 – 2018 scholars and their projects: Dr Mihaela Raescu, GFN website, undated, archived 18 May 2020, accessed September 2020
  113. ↑S. Braznell, L. Laurence, I. Fitzpatrick, A.B. Gilmore, “Keep it a secret”: leaked documents suggest Philip Morris International, and its Japanese affiliate, continue to exploit science for profit, Nicotine and Tobacco Research, Published Online First: 27 June 2024, doi:10.1093/ntr/ntae101
  114. ↑F. Johnston, Science for Sale: Philip Morris’s Web of Payments to Fund Tobacco Research, Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 1 July 2024, accessed October 2024
  115. ↑Less Harmful Coalition, Less Harmful Summit 2022 Toronto, undated, archived 5 October 2022, accessed October 2022
  116. ↑Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, India Country Report, July 2020, accessed July 2024, available from globalactiontoendsmoking.org
  117. ↑University of Catania, Riccardo Polosa, undated, accessed March 2019
  118. ↑University of Catania, CoEHAR, undated, accessed May 2020
  119. ↑abCoEHAR, India: Riccardo Polosa urges the government to reconsider the ban on electronic cigarettes, website, 28 August 2019, archived September 2021, accessed August 2024
  120. ↑CoEHAR, CoEHAR members calls for reconsider the vaping ban in Bangladesh and sign a letter to the Health Ministry, CoEHAR website, 20 July 2022, accessed September 2022
  121. ↑CoEHAR, Letter to the Malaysian government on tobacco control, CoEHAR website, 9 August 2022, accessed September 2022
  122. ↑CoEHAR, Catania Conversation is a new CoEHAR project which brings together journalists, scientists and opinion leaders experts in harm reduction from all over the world, CoEHAR, 5 May 2020, accessed May 2020
  123. ↑CoEHAR, Smile Study: A smile to quit smoking, CoEHAR website, 27 October 2022, accessed July 2024
  124. ↑CoEHAR, New collaborative projects between Padjadjaran University and the University of Catania for studies on harm reduction in Indonesia, CoEHAR Press Release, 4 July 2024, accessed July 2024
  125. ↑The Centre for Health Research and Education, website home page, 2020, accessed May 2020
  126. ↑British American Tobacco, An employee’s perspective: Dr Sudhanshu Patwardhan, International Scientific Affairs Manager Medical and Public Health, London, UK, www.souzacruz.com.br, undated, archived 20 May 2020, accessed May 2020
  127. ↑Sudhanshu Patwardhan, Tobacco Reporter, author profile, 12 November 2023, accessed August 2024
  128. ↑J. Gunlock, Misconceptions About Nicotine Undermine Public Health Progress, Independent Women website, 23 May 2025, accessed July 2025
  129. ↑MAESZ/Hungary’s Comprehensive Health Screening Program: 2010-2020-2030, Strategic partners, website, undated, accessed October 2024
  130. ↑The Hungarian government to launch a comprehensive, new public health program, About Hungary, 2 August 2018, accessed October 2024
  131. ↑The company has also donated mobile clinics to the government of the Philippines,139Healthcare boost! Liza Marcos turns over mobile lab clinics, water station to DSWD, Politiko, 22 March 2025, accessed March 2025
  132. ↑Philippines: Government accepts Philip Morris mobile clinic donation, Generation Sans Tabac, 6 September 2024, accessed October 2024
  133. ↑I.P. Reyes, Tobacco companies’ donations to government undermine good governance, Vera Files, 31 August 2024, accessed October 2024
  134. ↑Philippine Army, Army receives dental equipment, press release, 29 September 2020, accessed October 2024
  135. ↑British American Tobacco, Corporate social investment, website, undated, accessed September 2025
  136. ↑British American Tobacco, Chairman’s AGM Statement – 2020 outlook, press release, 30 April 2020, archived August 2024, accessed March 2025

Categories