Big Tobacco spends billions to expand its influence on healthcare and research
By Mathilde de Jeu (editor until June 2025), Irene van den Berg (editor until October 2025), | 23 August, 2024
Tobacco giants have invested billions of dollars into remedies for smoking-related diseases, including by funding scientific research into medicine and treatment. This spending blurs the line between the tobacco industry and the pharmaceutical sector – raising ethical concerns among many healthcare professionals and experts. One pulmonary doctor was shocked to discover that his PhD research into children with asthma was suddenly affiliated by cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris International.
The research that Mathilde de Jeu and Irene van den Berg conducted together for The Investigative Desk on the ties between the tobacco industry and medical science is available in English on Follow the Money EU.
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