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In September 2017, the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW), a not-for-profit organization with a core purpose “to accelerate global efforts to reduce deaths and harm from smoking” was launched. However, the legitimacy of the FSFW’s vision has been questioned by experts in tobacco control because of the organization’s only funding partner, Philip Morris International (PMI).
This study aimed to examine the response to the FSFW in Web-based and print news media to understand how the FSFW and its funding partner, PMI, were framed.
News articles published within a 6-month period after the FSFW was announced were downloaded via Google News and Factiva and coded for topic, framing argument, slant, mention of tobacco control policies, and direct quotes or position statements.
A total of 124 news articles were analyzed. The news coverage of the FSFW was framed by 6 key arguments. Over half of the news articles presented a framing argument in opposition to the FSFW (64/124, 51.6%). A further 20.2% (25/124) of articles framed the FSFW positively and 28.2% of articles (35/124) presented a neutral debate with no primary slant. The FSFW was presented as not credible because of the funding link to PMI in 29.0% (36/124) of articles and as a tactic to mislead and undermine effective tobacco control measures in 11.3% of articles (14/124). However, 12.9% of articles (16/124) argued that the FSFW or PMI is part of the solution to reducing the impact of tobacco use. Evidence-based tobacco control policies were mentioned positively in 66.9% (83/124) of news articles and 9.6% (12/124) of articles presented tobacco control policies negatively.
The Web-based and print news media reporting of the formation of the FSFW and its mission and vision has primarily been framed by doubt, skepticism, and disapproval.
Tobacco smoking contributes, in epidemic proportions, to the global burden of disease, causing the death of approximately 7 million people each year [
On September 13, 2017, the former head of the WHO’s tobacco free initiative, Derek Yach, announced the establishment of the
In response, experts working in tobacco control and public health have largely questioned the legitimacy of the FSFW and Derek Yach’s motives and whether the FSFW has any role to play in the efforts to sustain and increase the reduction in tobacco smoking globally. In a statement following the announcement of FSFW, the WHO stated it will not partner with the FSFW and consequently called on governments and the public health community to reject any partnership with the FSFW [
Although the tobacco control and public health community response to the launch of the FSFW has been primarily negative, how the FSFW is positioned in the news media has the potential to be heavily influenced and manipulated by both FSFW and PMI. The news media has the power to influence the general public’s knowledge and attitudes regarding health issues [
In this study, we examined how the global news media responded to the FSFW during a 6-month period following the announcement of the FSFW, to understand how the media framed the FSFW and its funding partner, PMI. We also documented any mention of proven, evidence-based tobacco control policies in the news reporting. All news actors were captured to build a picture of which key informants and messages are featured in the news coverage, as well as the influence of PMI and FSFW’s media releases in shaping the development of news articles.
Google News and Dow Jones Factiva were used to search for Web-based and print news articles published within a 6-month period after the FSFW was publicly announced. The time period of data collection spanned from September 13, 2017 to March 13, 2018. Separate searches were conducted on both Google News and Factiva using the search terms “Foundation for a Smoke-Free/Smokefree World” and “Smoke-free/Smokefree” with “Foundation.” A further search was conducted on Factiva with the search term “Smoke-free/Smokefree” and PMI selected as the company reference. Searches conducted on Factiva were limited to the following Factiva source categories: newspapers, magazines and journals, and major news and business. Searches conducted on Google News specifically looked for print news articles and Web-based news websites (eg, Reuters, news.com.au, and The Guardian) but excluded blogs and letters.
Coding variables.
Coding variable | Description |
Topic | Overall, what is the news article about? (1 topic per article coded) |
Framing argument | What is the argument presented in relation to the FSFWa? Framing argument was determined by identifying the argument that was presented most frequently within the articles |
Slant | Is the article presenting the FSFW as a positive or negative initiative? Or is the article neutral toward the FSFW? Positive: defined by a framing argument that is in favor of the FSFW. Negative: defined by a framing argument that is opposed to the FSFW. Neutral: defined by no framing argument, but rather, neutral debate is presented |
Mention of tobacco control policies | What tobacco control policies or initiatives are highlighted or mentioned in the article? |
Direct quotes or position statements | Who is quoted or paraphrased in the article with a position or opinion on the FSFW? |
aFSFW: Foundation for a Smoke-Free World.
The news articles that appeared in the search results were scanned for relevance. Any news article that did not make at least 1 reference to the FSFW was not downloaded for inclusion in the study. News articles obtained through Google News were downloaded using the Web-browser extension, NCapture, and were then imported into NVivo; a qualitative data analysis program from QSR International. News articles obtained through Factiva were downloaded and imported into NVivo. Exact duplicates of news articles were removed; however, news articles that were similar, but not exact replications, were retained.
All news articles were read in full by the first author, CW. News articles were coded and analyzed for topic, framing argument, overall slant, mention of tobacco control policies, and direct quotes or position statements (
Finally, all news articles were also cross-checked against media releases from PMI and the FSFW that were issued within the data collection period. Media releases were sourced directly from the FSFW [
A random sample of 5 articles were selected and coded by an additional 4 coders, including the second author, using coding guidelines, to test inter-rater reliability. The inter-rater reliability was 93.5% (116/124).
A total of 149 news articles were downloaded from Google News and Factiva. A total of 9 news articles were exact duplicates and were removed from the sample. Upon reading each article in full, a further 4 articles were found to be media releases, 1 article did not make any reference to the FSFW, 1 had no relevance to tobacco control, and 10 articles were news bulletins or less than a paragraph in length, and so were also excluded from the study (
Articles that reported on PMI wanting a smoke-free future or PMI’s strategy to achieve a smoke-free future was the most frequent article topic, with 24.2% (30/124) of all articles coded under this topic. A further 23.4% (29/124) of articles were about individuals or entities refusing funding or any affiliation with the FSFW, and 21.8% (27/124) of articles explored and questioned whether the vision of the FSFW is plausible or not.
When cross-tabulated with the overall slant of each article, whether that be positive, negative, or neutral toward the FSFW, it was found that among articles with an overall positive slant (25/124, 20.2%), articles written about PMI wanting a smoke-free future were most frequent (13/124, 10.5%). Among articles with an overall negative slant toward FSFW (64/124, 51.6%), articles written about individuals or entities refusing funding or any affiliation with the FSFW were most frequent (21/124, 16.9%), followed by articles that explored and questioned the plausibility of the vision of the FSFW (14/124, 11.3%). The results of the article topics by slant are summarized in
Flowchart for identification of articles to be included in analysis. FSFW: Foundation for a Smoke-Free World.
Article themes by overall slant.
Topic | Brief description | Slant, n (%) | |||
Positive toward the FSFWa | Negative toward the FSFW | Neutral toward the FSFW | Total | ||
Bloomberg STOP Foundation announced | Articles that report on the announcement or establishment of the STOP Foundation, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. | 0 (0.0) | 7 (5.6) | 1 (0.8) | 8 (6.5) |
FSFW announced | Articles that report on the announcement or establishment of the FSFW. | 1 (0.8) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (3.2) | 5 (4.0) |
New grants, research, and programs from the FSFW | Articles that report on any new grants, research projects, or programs that are funded from the FSFW. | 4 (3.2) | 2 (1.6) | 0 (0.0) | 6 (4.8) |
PMIb wants a smoke-free world | Articles that report on PMI wanting a smoke-free future or world and its future investment strategy to achieve this. | 13 (10.5) | 8 (6.5) | 9 (7.3) | 30 (24.2) |
Reduced-risk products (RRP) | Articles that report on the regulation of RRPs or the need for new avenues in tobacco control and the potential of RRPs fulfilling this need. | 3 (2.4) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (3.2) | 7 (5.6) |
Refusing funding or affiliation with the FSFW | Articles about individuals or entities refusing funding or any affiliation with the FSFW. | 1 (0.8) | 21 (16.9) | 7 (5.6) | 29 (23.4) |
The plausibility of the vision of the FSFW | Articles that explore/question whether the vision of the FSFW is plausible or not. Articles within this category generally explore perspectives on the FSFW specifically to uncover whether it can be trusted or not. | 3 (2.4) | 14 (11.3) | 10 (8.1) | 27 (21.8) |
Tobacco industry interference | Articles about how the tobacco industry is interfering or the ways in which the tobacco industry continues to interfere in the development and implementation of effective tobacco control policies. | 0 (0.0) | 12 (9.7) | 0 (0.0) | 12 (9.7) |
Total | 25 (20.2) | 64 (51.6) | 35 (28.2) | —c |
aFSFW: Foundation for a Smoke-Free World.
bPMI: Philip Morris International.
cNot applicable.
Framing arguments presented.
Framing argument | Articles by frame, n (%) | |
25 (20.2) | ||
PMIb is funding the FSFW in an effort to ensure sustained profitability of the tobacco industry. | 9 (7.3) | |
The FSFW or PMI is part of the solution to reducing the impact of tobacco use. | 16 (12.9) | |
64 (51.6) | ||
FSFW is not credible simply because of funding link to PMI | 36 (29.0) | |
PMI is funding the FSFW to disingenuously makeover their image | 10 (8.1) | |
The FSFW is a tactic to ensure sustained profitability of the tobacco industry. | 4 (3.2) | |
The FSFW is a tactic to mislead and undermine effective tobacco control measures | 14 (11.3) | |
Balanced debate | 35 (28.2) |
aFSFW: Foundation for a Smoke-Free World.
bPMI: Philip Morris International.
The news coverage of the FSFW was framed by 6 key arguments, as can be seen in
It is the height of hypocrisy for PMI to proclaim that it is helping solve the tobacco problem while it aggressively markets cigarettes. [
Philip Morris isn’t the solution to the tobacco problem. Philip Morris is the cause. [
Articles also argued that the FSFW was established as a tactic to mislead and undermine effective tobacco control measures (14/124, 11.3%), to deceitfully ensure sustained profitability of the tobacco industry (4/124, 3.2%), and that PMI is funding the FSFW to disingenuously makeover their corporate image (10/124, 8.1%). Articles that presented arguments in favor of the FSFW most frequently argued that the FSFW or PMI is part of the solution to reducing the impact of tobacco use (16/124, 12.9%). A further 7.3% of articles (9/124) argued that PMI’s decision to fund the FSFW is a logical and genuine effort to ensure the industry sustains profitability in the future through investment in reduced-risk products. For example:
Yet Philip Morris International seems sincere in wanting to have people stop smoking combustible cigarettes—to go smoke-free—and switch over to e-cigs as an alternative. [
Evidence-based tobacco control policies were commonly referenced or mentioned within the news articles analyzed. The WHO FCTC was mentioned most frequently across all articles (31/124, 25.0%), with the majority of articles presenting the WHO FCTC in a positive or neutral light (14/124, 11.3% and 15/124, 12.1% of the total number of articles, respectively). Tobacco excise was also frequently mentioned in articles (26/124, 20.8%), along with advertising and promotion bans (22/124, 17.7%) and graphic health warnings (21/124, 16.9%). Overall, 66.9% (83/124) of all articles mentioned tobacco control policies or measures positively, whereas only 9.6% (12/124) of articles presented tobacco control policies or measures negatively. A full list of tobacco control policies and measures referenced in the articles can be seen in
Tobacco control policies and measures referenced in news articles (% of total number of articles).
Tobacco control policies mentioneda | Positiveb, n (%) | Neutralc, n (%) | Negatived, n (%) | Total, n (%) |
WHO FCTCe | 14 (11.3) | 15 (12.1) | 2 (1.6) | 31 (25.0) |
Tobacco excise | 17 (13.7) | 7 (5.6) | 2 (1.6) | 26 (20.8) |
Advertising and promotion bans | 17 (13.6) | 4 (3.2) | 1 (0.8) | 22 (17.7) |
Graphic health warnings | 16 (12.9) | 4 (3.2) | 1 (0.8) | 21 (16.9) |
Smoke-free environment policies | 7 (5.6) | 5 (4.0) | 2 (1.6) | 14 (11.3) |
Plain packaging | 5 (4.0) | 6 (4.8) | 0 (0.0) | 11 (8.9) |
Low-nicotine cigarettes | 0 (0.0) | 10 (8.1) | 0 (0.0) | 10 (8.1) |
Smoking cessation support | 4 (3.2) | 2 (1.6) | 3 (2.4) | 9 (7.2) |
Point of sale restrictions | 2 (1.6) | 2 (1.6) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (3.2) |
Mass media campaigns | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.8) | 1 (0.8) | 2 (1.6) |
Single cigarette sales ban | 1 (0.8) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.8) |
Total | 83 (66.9) | 56 (46.5) | 12 (9.6) |
aIf multiple policies were mentioned within 1 article, they were coded separately so the total exceeds the number of articles.
bPolicy mentioned is framed as being effective, proven, or evidence-based.
cPolicy mentioned with no statement of effectiveness or whether or not the policy is proven or evidence-based.
dPolicy mentioned is framed as being ineffective or not having adequate effect on reducing smoking.
eWHO FCTC: World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Articles were coded for quotes and position statements found within the articles. Quotes from tobacco companies were most frequently paraphrased in all articles, with 43.5% (54/124) of all articles having at least 1 quote or statement from a tobacco company. Although the majority of these were quotes from PMI (49/124, 39.2%), which described the FSFW and PMI’s vision for a smoke-free world as positive, a small fraction of quotes was from other tobacco companies (6/124, 4.8%):
One senior executive at a rival manufacturer praised PMI for scoring a “huge PR coup”, but claimed that the Swiss-based company was not doing anything markedly different from its competitors. “It has said it will go smoke-free “as soon as possible’, although it has not put a time frame on achieving it,” he said. “I think you'll see PMI selling Marlboro cigarettes for many years to come. [
Both the FSFW and public health groups, associations, and organizations were each quoted or had their position statement paraphrased in approximately 40.3% (50/124) of all articles (38.7% and 40.0%, respectively). Derek Yach was the primary spokesperson for the FSFW, with 38 of the total of 48 articles that quoted or paraphrased the FSFW, specifically quoting Yach. A total of 1 article was a published interview with Yach. The next most frequent organization or individual quoted or paraphrased was the United Nations, including the WHO, with 37.6% (47/124) of all articles including statements or quotes from the WHO. All statements attributed to the WHO were opposed to the formation and funding of FSFW. Health academics were also quoted in 27.2% (34/124) of the articles; however, they were slightly more varied in their position on the FSFW. Of the 23 health academics quoted, 3 were in favor of the FSFW, 18 were against, and 2 held neutral positions. Examples of positive and negative quotes or statements from health academics include:
Another anti-smoking expert and Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Health Law, Policy & Ethics at University of Ottawa, David Sweanor, is on the same page as Yach. He is inviting everyone at the Tobacco or Health Conference to consider a different, and perhaps more effective approach to the usual “let’s wrestle tobacco companies to the ground” kind of reasoning. [
The idea of taking money that's from the tobacco industry is just antithetical to everything we do, Karen Emmons, Dean for academic affairs at Harvard’s public health school. [
News articles are frequently generated as a direct result of media releases, which can be reproduced verbatim as a published news article or rewritten with quotes or content from the media release paraphrased with at times, a different overall slant or angle. During the data collection period, there were 4 media releases from the FSFW and 1 from PMI that were included in at least 1 article. A total of 3 news articles in total published the media release verbatim with no changes, 3 used quotes from the media releases but kept the same slant and angle as the media release, and 10 articles had quotes from the media releases, though the overall slant and angle of the article was different or conflicting with that of the media release (
Article reliance on media releases from Philip Morris International (PMI) and Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW).
Media release title | Organization | Media release reproduced verbatim (n=3), n | Quote from media release, different angle (n=10), n | Quote from media release, same angle (n=3), n |
Global foundation launches to accelerate an end to smoking | FSFW | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Letter to the World Health Organization | FSFW | 0 | 5 | 1 |
Public invited to shape Foundation for a Smoke-Free World’s US $1 billion research agenda | FSFW | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Accelerating an end to smoking | FSFW | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Philip Morris International announces support for the establishment of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World | PMI | 1 | 3 | 1 |
The global news media have reported the announcement of the FSFW; however, the portrayal of the foundation and its mission and vision has primarily been framed by doubt, skepticism, and disapproval. A majority of articles were slanted negatively toward the FSFW, and the most frequent framing argument presented was that the FSFW was not credible because of the funding link to PMI. Other arguments against the FSFW were that the foundation was established as a tactic to mislead and undermine effective tobacco control measures, to deceitfully ensure sustained profitability of the tobacco industry, and to disingenuously makeover PMI’s corporate image. Encouragingly, at least 1 evidence-based tobacco control measure was mentioned or referenced positively within a majority of the news articles analyzed.
Despite attempts by both PMI and the FSFW to steer media coverage in a positive direction, the tobacco control community’s views opposing this new venture dominated the news reporting. This is a positive finding for public health advocates as it is indicative that tobacco control policies and perspectives are generally accepted as reputable, newsworthy, and fundamental in the efforts to reducing the burden of smoking. News media have repeatedly shown to be influential in communicating health messages to the public [
The ways in which issues are reported on in the media can also be heavily impacted by the content of media releases. Corporate strategies for engagement with the media are seen to be essential to shape a company’s reputation and build respectability and credibility [
In what was clearly an attempt to secure positive news coverage, we noted that an Australian journalist traveled to Japan as a guest of PMI. This was revealed in a concluding disclosure statement within the news article. The article written by this journalist presented a balanced debate about PMI’s involvement in reduced-risk products, citing quotes from reputable evidence-based organizations such as the WHO and Cancer Council Australia, alongside quotes from the manager of PMI in Japan [
Although the findings of this study broadly indicate positive results for the public health and tobacco control agenda, the FSFW and PMI were still able to deliver their key messages and have key media spokespeople quotes within a significant proportion of all news articles (44.0% and 38.7%, respectively). The most frequent topic presented in the news articles was PMI’s key public relations message that it is working for a smoke-free future, irrespective of the overall slant of the article. The presentation of some supportive views from health academics in the media may also create confusion and a perception of “in-fighting” and disunity among experts in the field.
Given PMI’s deceptive history and false attempts to publicly rebrand itself as a socially responsible company committed to a smoke-free future, it is essential that the tobacco control community unite to reinforce why the FSFW cannot be considered a reputable research-focused not-for-profit organization. The FSFW lacks independence from PMI, as revealed from a review of the FSFW governing documents showing that PMI’s funding is contingent on the FSFW working toward its stated goals, which are aligned with PMI’s agenda. The FSFW also lacks transparency and accountability, and board members, who were appointed by the FSFW president, are paid US $50,000 per year, which is far beyond the standard of other nongovernment organizations [
News articles were not able to be analyzed for readership numbers, nor for the number of times each article was shared on social media; therefore, the overall reach of the articles was not determined. The study also focused on Web-based and print news articles only and excluded other Web-based channels that are used to obtain and share information, such as social media. As the data were obtained through Google News and Factiva, there is also no guarantee that all Web-based and print news articles were included in the analysis.
In the 6 months following the announcement of the FSFW, the global news media primarily portrayed the FSFW and PMI with doubt, skepticism, and disapproval, despite efforts to shape the development of news articles through corporate media releases and media spokespeople. Although this is a positive finding for the public health agenda, it is essential that the tobacco control community continue to provide a unified voice in the media on this issue to minimize the influence of the FSFW and PMI in tobacco control research and policy development.
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
Philip Morris International
World Health Organization
The authors would like to thank the staff at Cancer Council New South Wales, Tobacco Control Unit for coding a sample of news articles to test inter-rater reliability.
None declared.