Should big Tobacco fund (and program) continuing medical education?

 Should physicians learn about tobacco from the source?

The Tobacco Industry Has No Business Funding Continuing Medical Education, by Robert K. Jackler, MD1,2; Pamela M. Ling, MD, MPH3,4, JAMA. 2024; doi:10.1001/jama.2024.9241 

"Recently, the for-profit medical media company Medscape promoted a series of continuing medical education (CME) courses (see the Supplement) funded by a grant from tobacco company Philip Morris International (PMI).1 These activities were certified (see the Supplement) by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) along with other health care professional education organizations (American Nurses Credentialing Center, Interprofessional Continuing Education, Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, American Board of Internal Medicine). As cigarette sales decline, PMI is promoting “harm reduction” nicotine products. This superficially appealing slogan thinly disguises PMI’s campaign to promote company brands designed to sustain nicotine addiction among people who smoke and entice youth who do not smoke to adopt new nicotine products.

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"The tobacco industry has a long history of undermining science to promote its products, the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death in the US, indicating inherently unresolvable conflicts incompatible with education of clinicians or sponsorship of certified CME. PMI’s hypocrisy in promoting a harm reduction agenda is highlighted by its aggressive marketing of Marlboro, the world’s leading cigarette brand, including campaigns manifestly targeting youth."

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