Tag: The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World

  • Erik Augustson to Direct FSFW Programs

    Erik Augustson to Direct FSFW Programs

    Image: Monster-Ztudio

    The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) has appointed Erik Augustson as vice president of programs, responsible for management and oversight of the foundation’s global grantmaking portfolio.

    In this new role, Augustson is poised to elevate the grant program, ensuring the foundation’s strategic priorities are addressed by overseeing the strategy, development and implementation of all programmatic work, including research strategy and grant generation.

    Throughout his career, Augustson has made contributions within academic, clinical medicine, federal government and private sector contexts. For the past two decades, he has been a driving force in advancing population-level and public health interventions on both domestic and international fronts.

    Notably, Augustson played a pivotal role in the development and leadership of the large-scale U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mobile health and behavior change program, Smokefree.gov.

    In addition to those achievements, Augustson is recognized as a mentor and senior leader, known for his human-focused management style. His commitment to research, intervention program development, evaluation and management has earned him accolades and positioned him as a respected figure in the field.

    “I am delighted to welcome Erik as the leader of this new team at the foundation,” said FSFW CEO Cliff Douglas in a statement. We have ambitious objectives to elevate the strength of our grantmaking and to diversify our partnerships and sources of funding. Erik’s experience delivering the highest-quality programs for the public and private sectors will be a great help in those endeavors.”

    An alumnus of the University of New Mexico, Augustson holds two master’s degrees and a doctorate in psychology. He also completed two postdoctoral fellowships—one in behavioral medicine at the University of Alabama School of Medicine and the other in epidemiology and cancer prevention at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

  • ‘Insufficient Progress on Harm Reduction’

    ‘Insufficient Progress on Harm Reduction’

    Most of the 15 largest tobacco companies are not making substantial progress in advancing harm reduction, according to The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW).

    According to the foundation’s first Tobacco Transformation Index, some companies have made public commitments—backed by significant investments—to harm reduction, but many companies have not made these commitments. Committing to and implementing harm reduction and cessation strategies could help reduce tobacco-related deaths in the next two decades, according to the FSFW.

    “The Tobacco Transformation Index is the first index to rank the world’s largest 15 tobacco companies on their relative performance, commitment and transparency to deliver material progress in supporting tobacco harm reduction,” according to a press release. The index assesses the companies’ strategy and management, product sales, capital allocation, product offer, marketing, and lobbying and advocacy from 2017 to 2019.

    Swedish Match is ranked in first position. Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Altria, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco, KT&G, ITC Ltd., Swisher International, Tobacco Authority of Thailand, Vietnam National Tobacco, Gudang Garam, Djarum, Eastern Co. and China National Tobacco Corp. follow Swedish Match in the overall rankings.