Saving Face
The tobacco industry has a long-standing history of using corporate social responsibility strategies to deflect attention from the fact that it markets, sells, and profits from lethal products.
Philip Morris International’s Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, recently rebranded as Global Action to End Smoking, presents a perfect example of a tobacco industry CSR initiative.
While Global Action to End Smoking claims to be “committed to improving global health,” its founder continues to relentlessly market tobacco to developing countries.
There is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry’s interests and public health policy interests... The tobacco industry should not be a partner in any initiative linked to setting or implementing public health policies, knowing that its interests are in direct conflict with the goals of public health. World Health Organisation, 2023
