WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative
Lessons in manipulating the Media:
- The global response to World No-Tobacco Day 1999 was ‘overwhelming’ said WHO. How overwhelming was it? The WHO used several tricks to raise the number of submissions. An analysis. PDF
- A brochure (Leave the pack behind) was compiled for that day. This brochure contains misleading statements and acts as a PR paper for Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). This brochure was also analysed. PDF
- What the tobacco industry is not allowed to do: WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative program is sponsored for over 70% by the pharmaceutical industries that supply NRT products.
According to their budget overview external funding for this part of WHO was $8,000,000 out of $9,885,000 is >70%. According to their Annual Report (http://wp.forces-nl.org/WHO/pdf/annualtf.pdf) this funding comes from:Glaxo Wellcome, Pharmacia & Upjohn and SmithKline Beecham, through IFPMA/WSMI supported the WNTD 1999; a WHO/Mayo clinic workshop on smoking cessation was supported by Glaxo Wellcome and Pharmacia & Upjohn. Merck & Co. has one staff secondment to TFI. Minnesota Blue Cross/Blue Shield pledged support for the analysis of industry documents and regulation. IDRC of Canada has supported the youth and tobacco project. - WHO’s predictions on the number of smoking related deaths in the world show a strange behaviour when analysed. They even predict ages for people in the third world that never reach these ages (according to their very own mortality/morbidity data). PDF
- Background article on WHO
- WHO cares? An article from Reason Magazine.
- Article in Deutches Ärzteblatt (German), June 22 – German/English CD-ROM available now!
Hard copy
Order CD-ROM | All relevant documents are stored on a CD-ROM that is available from W+D. A German language book on Passive Smoking (preface), written by the same author, is also available. Now available: WHO Horror. CD with documents referenced to by the article in Deutches Ärzteblatt |