Saturday, September 6, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Science Education

Medscape removes education courses for doctors funded by tobacco giant

April 26, 2024
in Science Education
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Medscape removes education courses for doctors funded by tobacco giant
66
SHARES
603
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT

Medical education provider Medscape has bowed to pressure and agreed to permanently remove a series of accredited medical education courses on smoking cessation funded by the tobacco industry giant Philip Morris International (PMI), The BMJ and The Examination have found.

Medical education provider Medscape has bowed to pressure and agreed to permanently remove a series of accredited medical education courses on smoking cessation funded by the tobacco industry giant Philip Morris International (PMI), The BMJ and The Examination have found.

The global company has acknowledged its “misjudgment” in a letter to complainants and says it will not accept funding from any organisation affiliated with the tobacco industry in the future. .

The move comes after an investigation by The BMJ revealed the PMI deal and the widespread protests among doctors and academics in reaction to the partnership.

According to an internal Medscape document seen by The BMJ and the Examination, Medscape had planned to deliver 13 programmes under a multi-million dollar deal with PMI – called the “PMI Curriculum” – as well as podcasts and a “TV-like series.”

Other PMI-funded programmes with different continuing medical education (CME) providers have also emerged in Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

This apparent global push by the tobacco giant into certified medical education has been met with alarm and calls for certification bodies to issue a ban. 

In response to the criticism, a spokesperson for Philip Morris International told The BMJ: “Health agencies around the world have recognized the beneficial role that smoke-free products can play to improve public health. We are concerned that known special interest groups are actively blocking medical education that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and medical community have determined are needed. These actions stand to prolong use and possibly increase consumption of combustible cigarettes—the most harmful form of nicotine use.”

But Tim McAfee at the University of California, San Francisco and former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office on Smoking and Health, called PMI’s partnership with Medscape, “the ultimate example of the fox not only signing up to guard the hen house but offering to sit on the eggs. 

“It is a perversion of ethics surrounding continuing medical education to allow the very companies that caused and profit from the continuing epidemic of tobacco-related death and disease to be involved in any way,” he said.

Medscape claims that the course content complied fully with standards set by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), but Pamela Ling, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California San Francisco, said if so, “then the standards need to be strengthened to ensure they don’t allow merchants of death to educate doctors.”

This view is supported in a linked editorial by Professor Ruth Malone at the University of California San Francisco, who says “health professionals, health leaders, their societies and professional organisations must demand that the bodies accrediting continuing medical education for clinicians enact policies banning content sponsored by tobacco-affiliated organisations.”

Health professional and patient organisations should also caution their members to be aware that the tobacco industry is attempting to influence patient care in favour of its products, she adds.

She highlights that Medscape is not the only company offering CME, and PMI may not be the only tobacco company working to influence health professionals in this way, and says similar offerings should be widely publicised and the relevant educational providers notified that tobacco industry sponsorship is unacceptable.

“The tobacco industry cannot be allowed to influence medical education, health practitioners, or patient care in this way as it desperately seeks to secure its future profits,” she concludes.



Journal

The BMJ

DOI

10.1136/bmj.q948

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Investigation: Medscape caves in on courses funded by tobacco giant while medics fear global Philip Morris push into medical education

Article Publication Date

26-Apr-2024

COI Statement

Competing interests: I have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and have no interests to declare.

Share26Tweet17
Previous Post

Isabelle Anguelovski, selected by the U.S. government for the First National Nature Assessment

Next Post

Breast cancer rates rising among Canadian women in their 20s, 30s and 40s

Related Posts

blank
Science Education

Thai Medical Students: Research Skills and Motivations

September 5, 2025
blank
Science Education

Impact of Education on Pharmaceutical Promotion in Pakistan

September 5, 2025
blank
Science Education

Early Clinical Experience Sparks Medical Student Growth

September 5, 2025
blank
Science Education

Revolutionizing Blood Cell Education with AI Technology

September 4, 2025
blank
Science Education

Extensive Reading Boosts EFL Undergraduates’ Writing Skills

September 4, 2025
blank
Science Education

Authors and Reviewers Support Transparent Peer Review Pilot

September 4, 2025
Next Post
Breast cancer rates rising among Canadian women in their 20s, 30s and 40s

Breast cancer rates rising among Canadian women in their 20s, 30s and 40s

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27544 shares
    Share 11014 Tweet 6884
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    959 shares
    Share 384 Tweet 240
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    643 shares
    Share 257 Tweet 161
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    510 shares
    Share 204 Tweet 128
  • Warm seawater speeding up melting of ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn

    313 shares
    Share 125 Tweet 78
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • Trauma Healing Explored: Insights from Job and Art
  • Overcoming Challenges in Pressure Injury Management Guidelines
  • Bullying and Depression: A Cyclical Issue in Children
  • Empathy Connects Grandparent Involvement to Grandchildren’s Kindness

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Blog
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 5,183 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Discover more from Science

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading