Tobacco.org

EDITORIAL: International tobacco control should repudiate Jekyll and Hyde health philanthropy 

So what should global tobacco control workers make of the world’s richest man,1 Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú, pouring rivers of money into health, education and poverty charities in Latin America? . . .

Slim’s efforts to improve the health of Latin Americans while continuing to profit from tobacco sales is nothing but the latest episode in Jekyll and Hyde duplicity. His continuing "active partnership" with Philip Morris invites consideration of what advice he might be giving them. What will he suggest about compensating the families of tens of thousands of Mexican smokers who died early from smoking Cigatam products? What will he advise that Philip Morris do with their earnings from underage smokers each year? Will he urge that Mexico move all retailed tobacco under the counter as happens in Thailand, significantly raise tobacco tax and be the first nation to introduce plain packaging? Will he fund mass reach, effective graphic campaigns known to reduce sales or support PM’s tepid, feel-good and ineffectual youth smoking prevention campaigns?5

There is now a conga line of health and poverty relief agencies and researchers applauding Slim’s philanthropy and hoping to get in on the action. Business philanthropy is to be applauded but when a philanthropist’s day job is a major contributor to the death and disease that his generosity in part seeks to redress, it is time for all self-respecting agencies to make a stand and refuse to have anything to do with it.

Jump to full article »