The World Health Organization on Thursday rejected an anti-smoking foundation endorsed by tobacco giant Philip Morris.
WHO said it would not engage with the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World due to “a number of clear conflicts of interest involved with a tobacco company funding a purported health foundation,” the UN health agency said in a statement.
“WHO will not partner with the Foundation. Governments should not partner with the Foundation and the public health community should follow this lead,” the statement said.
WHO policies including tobacco taxes, graphic warning labels and advertising bans, the statement said, are effective approaches to tobacco control.
Philip Morris International pledged 80 million dollars of annual funding to the foundation over 12 years in mid-September.
The company had not yet responded to dpa’s request for comment.
