URGENT COMMUNIQUÉ TO THE HEALTH, ACADEMIC, AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY

Alert on Attempts at Co-optation by the Tobacco Industry Through Front Organizations

Health professionals, researchers, academics, and scientific associations are hereby alerted to a new strategy employed by the tobacco industry, aimed at “seducing” and misleading those who may not be sufficiently familiar with the industry’s historical and ongoing tactics.

Front organizations such as Global Action for Ending Smoking (GAES), operating through the agency Knowledge Action Change (KAC), are offering training courses and educational programs on so-called “tobacco harm reduction,” even promising financial incentives for participation.

This strategy seeks not only to legitimize products such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco but also to create confusion and divide the health and academic fields. These efforts are framed around a narrative of “harm reduction” that, according to independent evidence and the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), is not applicable to tobacco use.

It is important to clarify that harm reduction is a valid, evidence-based strategy for managing certain addictive substances. However, in the case of tobacco, this concept has been distorted by the industry to promote the continued use of addictive products, preserve markets, and delay the implementation of effective control policies.

We urge all colleagues to exercise caution and critically evaluate any such initiatives. Always verify the origins and interests behind the organizations promoting them. In this regard, we recommend consulting independent resources such as the University of Bath’s Tobacco Tactics platform in the United Kingdom (https://www.tobaccotactics.org/article/knowledge-action-change/), which provides comprehensive documentation on the actors behind these initiatives and how they operate.

History has shown that the tobacco industry has long employed deceptive tactics to safeguard its economic interests, and this is merely a new manifestation of such strategies. We remind all stakeholders that, under Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), public health and health policy actors must not engage with the tobacco industry or with organizations acting on its behalf.

For public health, scientific integrity, and the protection of future generations, we call for vigilance, unity, and firmness in the face of these manipulative attempts.