PMI Draws Fire for Supporting Doctors

Philip Morris International is drawing fire for sponsoring doctors’ education, reports The Guardian.

According to the newspaper, the multinational has been supporting medical education programs on quitting smoking and harm reduction in South Africa, the Middle East and the United States. The sponsored courses allow participants to collect credits showing they are engaging in post-qualification learning.

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

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

A PMI spokesperson said the company believes science-based education on the topic of tobacco harm reduction is vital to improve public health.

PMI provides educational grants for science-based programs 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 programs are to promote PMI products. Our activities comply with all applicable laws.”