Foundation for a Smoke-Free World In its first year, the Foundation spent more on
public relations than on
scientific research, but had not yet spent most of its yearly budget. Its president was
Derek Yach, a former
World Health Organization (and later
PepsiCo) executive. An investigation conducted by investigative journalists of
Le Monde,
The Investigative Desk (Netherlands),
Follow the Money (Netherlands) and
Knack, published in April 2021, suggested that the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World is a lobbying tool used by Philip Morris International to circumvent the
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. According to internal documents from 2014, PMI's strategy consisted of dividing the
tobacco control movement (
schematically divided between "prohibitionists" and "pragmatists") and bending the WHO in order to
promote alternative products (
e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, etc.) to cigarettes. Advocacy groups
directly or indirectly funded by the Foundation have stated that vaping with
electronic cigarettes is a safer choice than smoking
cigarettes, regarding the health effects of
COVID-19. On 28 September 2022, the second edition of the Tobacco Transformation Index (an initiative of FSFW) was released at the Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum (GTNF) detailing the results of research into the efforts made by the world’s 15 largest tobacco companies to reduce the harm caused by the consumption of their products. The 2022 Index noted that high-risk products made up about 95% of retail sales in 2021, with so-called
reduced-risk products making up the remainder. It also noted that tobacco companies are failing to invest in harm reduction in low and middle-income countries, with sales of reduced-risk products concentrated in markets with a high disposable income. On 4 October 2022, it was reported that the Agricultural Transformation Initiative (ATI), a subsidiary of FSFW, supported
Malawi-based scholars through the ATI Fellowship and Scholarship Fund. Fifteen postgraduate students shared information about their studies while speaking with experts and students at the
North Carolina State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences International Programs. The goal of the event was to use what the students learned to help diversify Malawi’s tobacco-reliant agricultural ecosystem. On 31 January 2023,
The Australian reported that research conducted by FSFW was published in
Nicotine & Tobacco Research,
appearing in a paper about patterns of tobacco use over the pandemic. The original paper was cited in further papers, causing the research to eventually be cited in more than 6,700 papers.
Global Action to End Smoking In October 2023, Cliff Douglas became the CEO and president of the organization. In May 2024, the foundation changed its name to 'Global Action to End Smoking'. == Criticism ==