Philippines: Philip Morris Front Group Interferes in Tobacco Control Campaign

Philip Morris and its front groups are particularly active in the Philippines, where they denounce the influence of health organizations on health authorities and where they do not hesitate to take legal action against regulations that go against the interests of the cigarette company.

In a press release, INNCO points the finger at the funding of international health organizations and says[1] concerned about "the growing influence of foreign subsidies on health authorities that could undermine the campaign to reduce the harm caused by combustible cigarettes in low- and middle-income countries, including the Philippines."

In particular, the actions supported by the Bloomberg Initiative and the Union which would have some influence on health authorities such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This position comes following the July 2020 decision of the Philippine Food and Drug Administration[2]This introduces an age verification system. The proposal would require retailers to conduct their own compliance checks to ensure that all their customers are over 21. This decision poses a problem for the manufacturer because it comes as its Philippine subsidiary Philip Morris International (PMI) has just opened its first four IQOS stores in Metro Manila.[3].

INNCO, Philip Morris's fake nose to promote heated tobacco

INNCO was established in 2016 in Switzerland and describes itself as a global coalition of non-profit consumer advocacy organizations that aims to “ to represent consumers of low-risk alternative nicotine products and to promote tobacco harm reduction on the global stage.” INNCO has a direct relationship with the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World[4], funded by Philip Morris International (PMI), and its grantees. INNCO was established as PMI's lobbying organization to influence the work of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), particularly with regard to the regulation of new tobacco and nicotine products.[5]-[6]Philip Morris is trying, through various third parties, to interfere in official discussions of the WHO and the countries party to the treaty on tobacco control and to position itself as a legitimate actor in the fight against the burden of smoking. Through this, these front groups want to change the regulations in a way that favors the interests of the tobacco company.

Philip Morris's Further Attempts to Weaken Tobacco Control in the Philippines

Philip Morris is also very active locally, as the Philippines highlights. The company uses aggressive marketing to promote its heated tobacco product and does not hesitate to compromise, weaken, or delay tobacco control measures. In 2017, the Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI), representing Philip Morris and other tobacco companies, filed two lawsuits against the city of Balanga.[7], a small city in the Philippines, over the city's comprehensive smoking ban ordinance. According to the PTI, the ordinance was "arbitrary and oppressive." In July 2018, regional courts ruled in favor of the PTI, noting that while the city's tobacco control efforts were "commendable," they were also unconstitutional. The PTI launched another lawsuit in May 2018 challenging the constitutionality of the city's Tobacco-Free Generation Ordinance.[8].

Keywords: INNCO, Philip Morris, Heated Tobacco, Philippines

©Generation Without Tobacco

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^[1] Groups alarmed that FDA accepted grants from foreign anti-tobacco advocates, Inquirer, November 23, 2020, accessed the same day ^[2] Revised Draft Guidelines on the Regulation of Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs), The Philippines Food and Drug Administration, July 16, 2020, accessed November 23, 2020 [3] PMFTC opens IQOS stores in Metro Manila, September 4, 2020, Inquirer, accessed November 23, 2020 [4] International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organisations (INNCO), Tobacco Tactics, last updated 13 November 2020, accessed 23 November 2020 [5] Robertson L, Joshi A, Legg T, et al Exploring the Twitter activity around the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Tobacco Control Published Online First: 11 November 2020. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-055889 [6] Tobacco industry's attempts to interfere in COP8 via Twitter, Generation Without Tobacco, November 17, 2020, accessed November 23, 2020 [7] Philip Morris claims “smoke-free future” but sues small smoke-free city in PH, SEATCA, [8] T. Elliot, Big Tobacco's shadowy new play, The Sydney Morning Herald online, May 18, 2019, accessed November 23, 2020 National Committee Against Smoking |