Reuters Investigation: The Philip Morris Files

The Philip Morris Files is a major investigation by Reuters, with reporting from 14 countries and a searchable database of leaked internal company documents. “Treaty Blitz” details Philip Morris International (PMI)’s secretive campaign to use its vast resources, including 600 corporate affairs executives, to subvert the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a treaty aimed at reducing smoking globally. Reuters asserts “this may be one of the broadest corporate lobbying efforts in existence.” PMI infiltrates and influences treaty member meetings, known as Conference of the Parties (COP), to block or weaken FCTC provisions designed to reduce tobacco use, interferes in the selection of national delegations, increasing the number of non-health delegates, and secretly meets with government delegations. “Marlboro Country” reveals PMI’s strategies to subvert tobacco marketing restrictions and target youth in India. “Clinical Complications” uncovers worrying concerns about the quality of the research PMI presents to the public, media and policymakers in support of IQOS, its heated tobacco product, and “Humming Along” details PMI’s lobbying efforts to avoid regulation of IQOS.