BOTEC Analysis is a research and consultancy firm based in the US, which works on nicotine and tobacco harm reduction, cannabis, drug policy, transportation and community corrections.¹  Its website states that “BOTEC combines the capabilities of a consultancy and a think tank, resulting in service that is nimble and responsive but also grounded in evidence and ethical accountability”.²

BOTEC Analysis has received funding from Philip Morris International (PMI) and the Foundation for a Smoke Free World (FSFW).

People

Samuel Hampsher-Monk has been the Managing Director of BOTEC Analysis since 2017.³⁴ BOTEC Analysis has developed its tobacco harm reduction work since he took on this role.⁵

A list of other current employees can be found on the BOTEC Analysis website.

Relationship with the Tobacco Industry

Funded by the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World

BOTEC Analysis has received funding from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) since 2019.

In 2019, It received a grant of US$299,767 to “Investigate the drivers of smoking cessation in five countries with alternative nicotine delivery device markets”.⁶

In 2021, it received a further two grants totalling US$401,349 to “Further develop the drivers of smoking cessation in five countries with legalized alternative nicotine delivery systems (ANDS) through a series of additional journal articles, econometric studies, and a full-length book on optimal nicotine regulation” and “Conduct an investigation and analysis and develop recommendations regarding the (i) literature addressing the relationship between COVID-19 and tobacco and nicotine products; (ii) the impact of various tobacco/nicotine related COVID restrictions around the world on smoking and alternative nicotine delivery system (ANDS) use”.⁷

In 2022 BOTEC received its largest grants to date, two grants totalling US$937,023 to “Investigate the drivers for smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction in five countries with alternative nicotine delivery systems markets” and “Develop journal articles, econometric studies, and a full-length book regarding the drivers of smoking cessation in five countries with legalized alternative nicotine delivery systems”.⁸

PMI IMPACT grant

BOTEC analysis received a grant from PMI through its PMI IMPACT initiative in 2017 to conduct research on the “Impact of e-cigarette regulation on illegal trade in tobacco products in the European Union”.⁹

As part of this project, a paper found that “the more available e-cigarettes become, the less ITTP [illicit trade in tobacco products] market share rises in response to tax-driven price increases for conventional cigarettes”,¹⁰ an argument beneficial to PMI’s business strategy of pushing heated tobacco products, not as an alternative but a supplement to its cigarette business.

For more information see List of Successful PMI IMPACT Applicants.

Other activities

Hampsher-Monk and Jamer Prieger, Senior Researcher at BOTEC Analysis,³ are listed as co-authors of a book due to be published in 2024 titled ‘Clearing the Air on E-Cigarettes and Harm Reduction, Volume I: Tobacco Regulation, Economics, and Public Health’.¹¹ The other co-author is Sudhanshu Patwardhan, Medical Director of the Centre for Health Research and Education (CHRE).

Hampsher-Monk was listed as a speaker at the 2023 ‘New Approaches’ conference, held at the Harvard Club of New York City, in the same week as the United Nations General Assembly.⁵ For more details see Healthy Initiatives (a FSFW grantee).

Relevant Link

• BOTEC Analysis website

TobaccoTactics Pages

• Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
• PMI IMPACT
• List of Successful PMI IMPACT Applicants

References

The post BOTEC Analysis appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

Healthy Initiatives, based in Ukraine, describes itself as a “non-profit organization aimed at promoting and strengthening public health and well-being”.

Its website states “We analyze and review key risk-factors, such as tobacco, alcohol, and passive lifestyles, then recommend mitigation strategies to effect positive change”.¹²

Healthy Initiatives was registered as a public organisation in November 2019. Nataliia Toropova and Tetyana Yuznova are listed as the founders.¹³

Staff

As well as being a founding member, Nataliia Toropova is listed as the Head of Healthy Initiatives on the organisation’s website.¹²

Before establishing Healthy Initiatives, Toropova worked as a Programme Manager for the World Health Organization (WHO) between 2010 and 2019. Part of this role included providing “technical assistance to the Russian Health Ministry in drafting, analyzing and promoting the adoption of the strong tobacco-control legislation”.¹⁴ Prior to this, Toropova worked as an Advocacy Coordinator at Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids in Eastern Europe.

No other staff members are listed on the Healthy Initiatives website.¹²

Links to the tobacco industry

Healthy Initiatives receives funding from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) to carry out research projects relating to tobacco use and public opinion on tobacco harm reduction.¹⁵ As of 2021, Philip Morris International (PMI) remains the sole funder of FSFW.¹⁶

The first FSFW grant was approved shortly after the establishment of Healthy Initiatives, in January 2020.¹⁷ Two further FSFW grants have subsequently been awarded, altogether providing funding to Healthy Initiatives from 2020-2024.¹⁸¹⁹

Head of Healthy Initiatives, Nataliia Toropova, has also taken part in events alongside FSFW and other FSFW funded organisations, including Knowledge-Action-Change.²⁰²¹

Supporting fewer restrictions for newer nicotine and tobacco products

Healthy Initiatives has regularly vocalised its support for what it refers to as a ‘harm reduction strategy’ in tobacco control.²²

Country profiles

Outputs produced by Healthy Initiatives as part of its FSFW funded projects, have included detailed country profiles on the use, prevalence, market size and policy surrounding tobacco use in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.²³

Recommendations listed in these reports consistently note a need to use harm reduction strategies in tobacco control. Recommendations also include a need for newer nicotine and tobacco products, including heated tobacco products, to be regulated differently from traditional tobacco products, particularly in terms of the taxation of these products.

For example, the Georgia country report notes “The existing taxation system of tobacco products encourages downward substitution instead of stopping smoking or switching to HRPs [harm reduction products]. The government should differentiate HRPs from traditional cigarettes and fine tobacco by imposing stricter regulations and higher excise duties on the latter. In addition, following the FDA’s recent decision, NCDC should stop spreading misconceptions about HTPs, specifically IQOS.”²⁴

IQOS is a heated tobacco product produced by Philip Morris International.

Similarly, the Ukraine country report states “The cost of a dose of nicotine in different products should be inversely proportional to the product’s overall harmfulness”.²⁵

The report also states “a smoking cessation service should offer alternatives to those who for some reason cannot or do not want to quit their own nicotine addiction, to satisfy needs for nicotine that are less harmful for their health…”.²⁵

Webinar

In November 2022, Healthy Initiatives hosted a webinar with journalists in Ukraine titled ‘Comprehensive Tobacco Control: Why Lies and Myths Make It Stuck, and What Can Help Adult Chain Smokers Quit and Gain 10 Years of Life’.²⁶

The research presented suggested that smoking prevalence in Ukraine was decreasing very slowly, and that “the effectiveness of traditional tobacco control tools is ineffective”.

The report also noted that “there is a lack of public understanding and awareness of the harm caused by tar and other substances emitted while smoking combustible cigarettes, while nicotine is viewed as the biggest enemy causing cancer. This deceptive thought on equalizing the health harm caused by smoking combustible cigarettes and the one from using electronic cigarettes is dangerously misleading, demotivating adult chain smokers from switching to harm-reduction products and gaining ten years of life”.

Links to FSFW funded Knowledge-Action-Change

The Global Forum on Nicotine

The Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) is an annual conference organised by Knowledge-Action-Change (KAC); another organisation funded by the Foundation for a Smoke Free World (FSFW). It regularly hosts tobacco industry speakers and panellists.

Head of Healthy Initiatives, Nataliia Toropova took part in a panel discussion at the GFN 2021, during which she expressed the need to “make harm reduction the key of tobacco control”.²⁷

Harm reduction roadshow

In June 2022, Healthy Initiatives organised a roadshow alongside KAC, titled ‘Integrating harm reduction into tobacco control in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: how to help people in the region to quit’, which took place in Warsaw. ²⁰

Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction report

Healthy Initiatives has also supported KAC’s Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR) project which “maps the global, regional and national availability and use of safer nicotine products (SNP), the regulatory responses to these products, and the public health potential of tobacco harm reduction.”²⁸

In 2021 the GSTHR project launched a report titled ‘Fighting the Last War: The WHO and International Tobacco Control’. This argued that current implementation of the FCTC had been a global public health failure, and that harm reduction for tobacco offered an opportunity for change.²⁹ Toropova took part in the online conference at which the report was presented alongside Derek Yach, former President of FSFW, and Gerry Stimson, Founder of KAC.²¹ She was also quoted in media reports published by GSTHR associated with this project.²⁹

New Approaches Summit

In September 2022 and 2023, Toropova co-chaired a conference called ‘New Approaches’, held at the Harvard Club of New York City, in the same week as the United Nations General Assembly.³⁰³¹

Conference sessions largely focussed to the role of newer nicotine products in harm reduction, and referred to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).³⁰³¹³²

Speakers have included previous employees and consultants of Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and other tobacco companies, and FSFW grantees.³⁰³¹

• See the TobaccoTactics long read on how the tobacco industry has appropriated the UN SDGs in order to promote its newer products, and claim a position as a legitimate stakeholder in matters of global development.

TobaccoTactics Resources

• Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
• Foundation for a Smoke-Free World Grantees
• A list of pages in the Ukraine category
• The Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN)
• Knowledge-Action-Change (KAC)

References

The post Healthy Initiatives appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

Background

Neil McKeganey founded the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow in 1994 to carry out research on Scotland’s drug problem. Its projects were funded by UK research councils and the UK government, among others. In 2011, the Centre became entirely independent of the University³³ and was renamed the Centre for Substance Use Research (CSUR) in November 2015.³⁴

In 2016, the University confirmed it was not in any way affiliated with the CSUR and McKeganey no longer held any position there, honorary or otherwise.³⁵

On its website, until early 2021, the CSUR describes itself as “a specialist agency undertaking research within the substance use field within the U.K., E.U., and the U.S.”³⁶ As of June 2021, it stated:

Centre for Substance Use Research Ltd is a “multi-disciplinary research agency providing behavioural science support to companies submitting applications for PMTA, MRTP and TPD approval.”³⁷

PMTA, Pre-Market Tobacco Applications, and MRTP, Modified Risk Tobacco Product applications, are specific to the US,³⁸ and the TPD, Tobacco Products Directive, to the European Union.

Staff

The website states that “The team within CSUR comprises post-doctoral researchers in behavioural science, experts in marketing, cyber security, and media.”¹²

Neil McKeganey is Director of CSUR (also referred to as CSURES as of February 2021).¹²

Christopher Russell, previously Deputy Director of CSUR,³⁹ was listed as a Special Advisor of CSUR in 2023.⁴⁰ He has been a director of Russell Burnett Research and Consultancy Ltd since 2019,⁴¹ which has “received funding from e‑cigarette/tobacco product manufacturers” to conduct research relating to nicotine and tobacco products.⁴²

McKeganey and Russell have been listed as speakers at tobacco industry events including the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF)⁴³⁴⁴⁴⁵ and the Tobacco Science Research Conference.⁴⁶

Russell was also listed as a speaker at the 2023 ‘New Approaches’ conference, held at the Harvard Club of New York City, in the same week as the United Nations General Assembly. ⁴⁷

For a list of staff see the CSUR website.

Relationship with the Tobacco Industry

Image 1: CSUR funding (Source: CSUR website, accessed June 2021)

CSUR has undertaken work for tobacco companies including Philip Morris International (PMI), British American Tobacco (BAT), Nicoventures, a subsidiary of BAT, Imperial Brands and Fontem Ventures, a subsidiary of Imperial (see Image 1).

CSUR also works with JUUL Labs, in which Altria has a share, and has received funding from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (see below for details).⁴⁸ CSUR has published multiple academic papers which declare support from either tobacco companies or tobacco company subsidiaries.⁴⁹⁵⁰

Opposed Plain Packaging in the UK

In 2014, McKeganey helped BAT oppose the introduction of Plain Packaging in the UK. McKeganey prepared a 82 page report for BAT which was included in BAT’s submission to the UK’s second public consultation on plain packaging in 2014.⁵¹⁵² In the report, McKeganey supports BAT’s view that there is no evidence to suggest that plain packaging will reduce smoking prevalence, and that packaging is not “a factor that influences people’s decisions to start, stop, or re-start smoking”.⁵¹⁵²

In May 2016, dismissing the legal challenges to the UK’s plain packaging legislation brought by the big four tobacco companies, the High Court of Justice’s ruling criticised McKeganey’s findings and the methodology they were based on:⁵²

“What I find unacceptable is the preparation of a report which by its total refusal to engage with any of this contramaterial simply conveys the impression that it does not exist and that the best way to refute it is to ignore it. Yet, at the same time and inconsistently, Professor McKeganey accepts that the principles of transparency and openness are “foundational tablets of the scientific enterprise”. Had Professor McKeganey confronted head-on the contrary evidence, including that from the tobacco companies, then it is hard to see how he could have advanced the opinions that he did; at the very least he would have been compelled to provide a proper rationale for why his opinion could be sustained in the light of this inconsistent evidence.”

Work with JUUL Labs

More recently, McKeganey and CSUR have been working for e-cigarette company JUUL Labs. Altria has held a 35% share in JUUL since December 2018. A number of outputs written with CSUR are published on the JUUL Labs website.⁵³ Others are listed on the CSUR website.⁴⁹ Some have been co-authored by PinneyAssociates, which also works with JUUL Labs and tobacco companies.⁵³

In March 2019, JUUL Labs promoted a study by CSUR (funded by JUUL) which found that the JUUL e-cigarettes “dramatically” cut adult smokers’ cigarettes consumption.⁵⁴ This paper was published in the Journal of Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine, which has been described as a “predatory journal”.⁵⁵⁵⁶

In 2021, CSUR contributed a paper to a special issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior, sponsored by JUUL Labs.⁵⁷⁵⁸ The paper was co-authored with JUUL Labs and PinneyAssociates. There was criticism of the journal, which defended the publication of the special issue.⁵⁹

Received Funding from the Foundation for A Smoke-Free World

The Foundation for A Smoke-Free World (FSFW), which is wholly funded by Philip Morris International, awarded two grants to CSUR in May 2018 totalling US$189,004. One grant for US$96,063 was provided to “develop a centre of excellence in behaviour research related to smoking cessation”, another for US$92,941 was provided for research on the “determinants and impact of switching to reduced risk products”.⁶⁰

In 2022 CSUR received another grant from FSFW of US$154,564 to “Develop a protocol for an intervention trial to assess the long-term health effects of switching from combustibles to tobacco harm reduction products among Type 2 diabetic smokers in Bangladesh”.⁶¹

Advocacy and research organisation PROGGA, expressed concerns around the study, stating “The timing of this campaign is particularly concerning, as the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is currently working on amending the tobacco control law, which could potentially ban e-cigarettes and vaping altogether”.⁶²

“Flagship” Studies

Annual Study on E-cigarette Use

CSUR’s website stated that in 2021 it would be conducting the first of an annual study of “Real-World ENDS Use”, stating that:

“What has been missing in this [ENDS, or e-cigarette research] are studies assessing the relative impact of different brands and types of ENDS devices. In 2021 CSURES [sic] will undertake research assessing 9 of the top ENDS devices on sale in the U.K. comparing the relative rates with which these devices are enabling adult smokers in the US and U.K. to quit and reduce their cigarette consumption”.⁶³

Tobacco Products Prevalence Study

In 2021, CSUR launched a study on prevalence and patterns of use of different e-cigarette brands and products in the US.⁶⁴ Its website stated that the study aimed “to estimate the prevalence and patterns of use of 20 ENDS brands and over 200 ENDS devices sold in the United States. This research is designed to provide ENDS manufacturers with population-level use data on their products for submission to FDA in seeking PMTA approval.”⁶⁴

In 2023, the study was expanded to include heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches.⁶⁵ Brands monitored in the study include those owned by JTI, Altria, BAT and Imperial Brands.

Paper on single-use e-cigarettes

CSUR received funding from BIDI (Kaival Brands), towards the publication of a paper on the prevalence of the use of single use, or ‘disposable’ e-cigarettes in the US.⁶⁶ The paper was cited by Bidi Vapour in a press release published in July 2023, which stated that its ‘disposable’ products were “not implicated in the recent growth in the use of disposable e-cigarettes by U.S. youth”.⁶⁷ PMI began marketing Kaival’s single use e-cigarette, outside of the US, in July 2022, as VEEBA, later renamed VEEV NOW.⁶⁸

• For details see E-cigarettes: Tobacco Company Interests in Single Use Products

TobaccoTactics Resources

• JUUL Labs
• Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
• Foundation for a Smoke-Free World Centres of Excellence
• PinneyAssociates

Relevant Links

• CSUR website

References

The post Centre for Substance Use Research (CSUR) appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

Links to the tobacco industry

Funded by the Foundation for a Smoke-free World

The organisation has received funding on several occasions from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW), an organization solely funded by Philip Morris International (PMI). In 2018, ARI received U$S285,200 for “mapping the status of harm reduction products framework in Pakistan” and to conduct a study on smoking cessation and harm reduction products in marginalized communities in Pakistan.⁷¹ In 2019, FSFW granted US$123,420 to  the Alternative Research Initiative, to “conduct a knowledge, attitudes and practices survey evaluating the use of harm reduction products (HRPs), mainly e-cigarettes, in 11 urban districts of Pakistan” and to “conduct a qualitative survey barriers to smoking cessation in marginalized areas of Islamabad, and assess the possible use of e-cigarettes in these areas”.⁷¹

During 2020, ARI received US$340,960 from the Foundation for a Smoke-free world for two different grants: one to “study on barriers to smoking cessation and reduced risk products in marginalized communities in Pakistan” and a second one, more focused on advocacy, to “Garner consensus and support for COP9 to consider harm reduction as integral to tobacco control”.⁷¹ This last grant is one of fifteen grants awarded in 2020 by FSFW that focusses on influencing the Conference of Parties of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).⁷¹ ARI received a further US$193, 760 for this activity in 2021.⁷² In 2022 ARI received US$259,981 to “Support capacity of PANTHR (Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction) to increase access to tools that support cessation and tobacco harm reduction in Pakistan, including engaging with health professionals to reduce impediments to access”.⁷³

Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction (PANTHR)

The Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction (PANTHR) is a project of the Alternative Research Initiative (ARI) with the stated aim of promoting solutions for smoking cessation in Pakistan and EMRO region (PANTHR EMR).⁷⁴ The organisation’s purpose is stated as follows:

“The alliance serves as a platform for advocating and promoting all innovative solutions for ending smoking whether counselling, NRTs, or harm reduction”.⁷⁵

For more information, go to Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction (PANTHR)

Relevant Link

Alternative Research Initiative website

Tobacco Tactics Resources

Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW)

Philip Morris International

Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction (PANTHR)

References

The post Alternative Research Initiative appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

Link to the Tobacco Industry

Funded by the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World

In 2020, the Asociación Argentina de Servicios Médicos de Avanzada received funding from the  Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW), which is wholly funded by Philip Morris International. This was FSFW’s first grantee in Latin America and the Caribbean .

The organisation received $128,850 from FSFW for a project to “Garner consensus and support for the ninth session of Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (COP9) to consider harm reduction as integral to tobacco control⁷⁷ It received a payment of US$11,699 for this work in 2021.⁷² This is one of a number of grants awarded by FSFW that focusses on influencing COP.⁷⁷⁷²

Tobacco Industry Interference around COP

The tobacco industry has a history of funding interference with the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), including through its use of third party allies For more information and recent examples, see Interference around COP 9 & MOP 2 and TCRG research on Investigating Twitter Activity Around COP8.⁷⁸

Argentina is one of the four countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that, as of 2021, are not signatories of the WHO FCTC.  The South American country has many tobacco control regulations in place. However, there is a high level of tobacco industry interference,  amongst the highest in the region, according to the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2020.⁷⁹

Tobacco Tactics Resources

• Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
• Foundation for a Smoke-Free World Grantees
• Philip Morris International

TCRG Research

L.Robertson, A. Joshi, T. Legg 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

For a comprehensive list of all TCRG publications, including research that evaluates the impact of public health policy, go to TCRG publications.

References

The post Asociación Argentina de Servicios Médicos de Avanzada appeared first on TobaccoTactics.