The Vital Strategies team at STOP, a tobacco industry watchdog, and the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath, U.K., collaborated on analysis of leaked documents from Philip Morris International
April 14, 2025—Vital Strategies and the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath, U.K., have been recognized as finalists in the Best Collaboration category at this year’s PRWeek Purpose Awards. Working together as part of STOP, a global tobacco industry watchdog, the two organizations were selected for their partnership on “The IQOS Illusion: Exposing a Global Cigarette Company’s Covert Science and Influence Campaign.”
The partners analyzed internal company documents leaked by a whistleblower from Philip Morris Japan, a subsidiary of Philip Morris International, to expose how the tobacco giant commissioned covert scientific research and infiltrated scientific communities to promote IQOS, an addictive heated tobacco product. The investigation also revealed the company’s extensive plan to cultivate influence across Japan, with evidence from other countries indicating that the plan appears to be a blueprint for the global rollout of IQOS.
“More than 8 million people die each year from tobacco use. The tobacco industry is the main barrier to reducing those deaths, while portraying itself as being part of the solution to the global epidemic of tobacco-induced harm it helped to create,”said Jorge Alday, Director of STOP at Vital Strategies.“We are honored to be recognized as a finalist by PRWeek alongside our colleagues at the Tobacco Control Research Group. It is a testament to the commitment, collaborative spirit and dedication of our teams to expose the covert tactics used by Philip Morris International that are a serious impediment to public health progress. The research revealed new details of questionable practices that policymakers, the public health community and consumers around the world needed to know about.”
“The collaboration between TCRG and Vital Strategies has underpinned the impact of this project, illustrating the importance of research and communication working hand-in-hand,” said Dr. Sophie Braznell, Research Associate at the University of Bath’s Department for Health and lead author of an academic paper about the investigation. “Translating our rigorous research into more accessible formats and multiple languages helped extend its reach beyond the academic realm, making it more accessible to policymakers and other stakeholders bombarded with biased science and misleading industry tactics, in desperate need of facts.”
Philip Morris International claims IQOS is for smokers, yet markets it to a wide, general audience around the world, including youth, using influencers, music sponsorships and discounts. A leaked Philip Morris Japan document revealed that the company planned to promote IQOS to politicians, dentists, and audiences of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with the goal of increasing IQOS sales and use.
The IQOS Illusion project leveraged peer-reviewed research, media outreach and strategic, digital communication to effectively bring the whistleblower’s leaked information to a global audience. The Tobacco Control Research Group researchers produced an academic paper, “Keep it a secret”: Leaked Documents Suggest Philip Morris International, and Its Japanese Affiliate, Continue to Exploit Science for Profit, highlighting Philip Morris International’s covert tactics. The STOP team at Vital Strategies published “Today Japan, Tomorrow the World,” an explainer detailing the plan to manufacture support for IQOS, and created a landing page with an interactive module exposing the gap between Philip Morris International’s rhetoric and independent evidence.
PRWeek’s sixth annual Purpose Awards recognizes campaigns that use creative ideas to further authentic purpose, create impact and acknowledge the organizations and individuals behind them. Open to agencies, brands, public sector bodies, nonprofits and NGOs, the awards spotlight examples other PR pros and marketers can aspire to emulate.
Visit PRWeek Purpose Awards for a complete list of finalists.
Read more about the project here.
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies believes every person should be protected by an equitable and effective public health system. We partner with governments, communities and organizations around the world to reimagine public health so that health is supported in all the places we live, work and play. The result is millions of people living longer, healthier lives.
To find out more, please visit www.vitalstrategies.org or follow us on LinkedIn.
About The Tobacco Control Research Group
The Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG) at the University of Bath is part of STOP, a global tobacco industry watchdog whose mission is to expose the tobacco industry tactics that undermine public health. TCRG is a multidisciplinary, international research group that examines how companies influence health and policy and evaluates and provides evidence for policy change.
For more information, please visit: https://www.bath.ac.uk/research-groups/tobacco-control-research-group
About STOP
STOP is a network of academic and public health organizations operating globally as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use. STOP connects experts in all aspects of the tobacco industry’s business to expose and counter its relentless efforts to sell harmful, addictive products. For more information, visit exposetobacco.org.