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NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-- New Research Identifies Contradictions and Potential Pathways for Change

New research published by leading international business and corporate

governance scholar Daniel Malan identifies inherent conflicts of interest with

many of the countries leading the development of global tobacco control policy.

The "Contradictions and Conflicts"(

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2920315-1&h=1400565830&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smokefreeworld.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F09%2FContradictions-and-Conflicts.pdf&a=Contradictions+and+Conflicts%22

) report specifically identifies contradictions between governments' fiduciary

responsibility to maximize  state monopoly profitability and their health

responsibility to minimize public health risks, as well as generate potential

solutions.

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According to recent data, nearly 50% of the global combustible cigarette market

is controlled by governments that claim commitment to the World Health

Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)(

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2920315-1&h=3663653090&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.who.int%2Ffctc%2Fen%2F&a=WHO+FCTC

), which seeks to "protect present and future generations from the devastating

health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption

and exposure." Eight of these FCTC countries own 100% of at least one tobacco

company, including China, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, and

Vietnam. Notably, China National Tobacco Corporation controls roughly 44% of

the global cigarette market.

"Our research underlines a clear conflict of interest among these FCTC

signatories," said Daniel Malan, Assistant Professor of Business Ethics,

Trinity College Dublin; member, World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on

Transparency and Anti-Corruption; and an author of the report. "FCTC's Article

5.3 requires parties to protect the implementation of their public health

policies against the commercial and vested interests of the tobacco industry.

Yet, this is impossible when many of the same countries are also striving to

generate revenue from state-owned tobacco entities."

No One-Size-Fits-All Solution

The Contradictions and Conflicts report notes that state monopolies are not

subject to multinational governance, and pressure from national government

organizations has been largely ignored within the tobacco industry. There are

also no clear differences in health policies or burden of disease data when

compared with countries where there is no significant state ownership of

tobacco companies. As a result, the WHO may find it challenging to identify a

one-size-fits-all solution to this conflict of interest.

The possible solutions for governments with state-owned tobacco interests are

complex. The report suggests that shifting from the production and marketing of

combustible cigarettes over time to tobacco harm-reduction products could

alleviate the conflicts that the state-owned tobacco enterprises face and

ultimately save lives. Leading researchers and organizations such as the

Foundation for a Smoke-Free World are mobilizing globally to create solutions

that help expand knowledge in cessation and harm-reduction areas, including

biomarker discovery, outcomes of quitting/switching on the microbiome, and

innovative clinical trial designs for cessation therapies.

"The data show a clear need and opportunity to not only regulate state-owned

tobacco companies, but also to encourage them to evolve their business models

toward the development and promotion of innovative harm-reduction solutions,"

said Dr. Derek Yach, President of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World. "More

than 8 million people die from tobacco-related illnesses each year. Governments

must act to directly address the long-term health and wellness of the people

living in their countries."

Later this month, the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World will release the first

Tobacco Transformation Index, which will reveal that leading tobacco companies

are making limited, but in some cases meaningful, progress by lowering the

risks of their products and addressing long-term profitability at the same

time, through investments in harm reduction.

A key implication from Contradictions and Conflicts is that if state-owned

tobacco companies were to accelerate efforts to integrate tobacco harm

reduction into long-term corporate strategy, they would not only address the

conflict, but they would also simultaneously accelerate global progress toward

smoking cessation. This type of business restructuring to improve health

already exists. China, for example, has embraced a similar path in regard to

fossil fuels by committing its domestic auto manufacturing sector to ending

production and sales of vehicles with internal combustion engines.  

Commissioned by a research grant from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World,

the Contradictions and Conflicts report was co-authored by Daniel Malan and

Brett Hamilton, visiting faculty member, University of Stellenbosch Business

School.  

The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World is an independent, US nonprofit 501(c)(3)

private foundation with the mission of improving global health by ending

smoking in this generation. The Foundation strives to achieve its mission by

focusing its work on three core pillars: Health, Science, and Technology; the

Agricultural Transformation Initiative; and Industry Transformation. The

Foundation has received charitable contributions from PMI Global Services Inc.

(PMI) in each of 2018 and 2019 in the amount of US $80 million. Under the

Foundation's bylaws and its pledge agreement with PMI, Foundation shall

maintain full independence, and shall make all its decisions on its own, free

from the control, interim instructions, or influence from or by PMI or any

other third parties. The Foundation's acceptance of any charitable contribution

from PMI does not constitute an endorsement by the Foundation of any of PMI's

products. For more information about the Foundation, please visit

www.smokefreeworld.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Nicole Bradley

Vice President of Communications

Nicole.Bradley@smokefreeworld.org

SOURCE: Foundation for a Smoke-Free World