We have big news to share: the Canadian government has rejected Philip Morris International’s (PMI) attempt to buy its way back into public health policymaking. The Quebec government announced that PMI is no longer invested in Medicago’s Covifenz vaccine for COVID-19. And it’s thanks to thousands of people like you who took action to pressure the Canadian government, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, not to approve the vaccine while PMI was involved.
This is a big deal because the tobacco industry has tried to take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to profit from it and deflect regulation of its core tobacco business, which continues to kill eight million people globally each year. This victory means that PMI’s involvement in a COVID-19 vaccine will not legitimize the tobacco industry as a public health partner. It also means it won’t undermine decades of effective tobacco control impact.
But thanks to a concerted organizing effort with allies across the U.S. and Canada, and thousands of members like you, we didn’t let Big Tobacco gain legitimacy, increase public trust, or advance its corporate interests.
This moment proves that together, we can challenge corporate power and take on some of the biggest and most powerful corporations in the world.
