SMOKING AND VAPING
Global smokers’ study criticised as biased
Scientists and tobacco control advocates have criticised a global study released on Monday by the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, which said South African smokers were less likely to have tried to quit than people from any other country bar Lebanon and were far less wary of e-cigarettes and vaping than smokers in other nations. The foundation has courted controversy since its launch last year, as it is funded by Philip Morris International (PMI), the maker of Marlboro cigarettes and smoke-free nicotine products such as iQOS. "They’ve added nothing to science. This is all about [gauging] the market for alternative risk-reduction products and [providing] market research for PMI," said Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, director of the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research at Sefako Makgatho University. The 2018 State of Smoking Survey was conducted by Kantar Public to "better understand smokers, their experiences and challenges they face when trying to quit smoking", acco...
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