Vaping: Doctor group criticised for link with tobacco giant Philip Morris

Nicotine e-cigarettes or vapes are only available with a doctor’s prescription, but now an online group has been criticised for asking a tobacco giant to address their doctors on the benefits of vaping.

An online doctor company has been blasted by the Australian Medical Association and called “unethical” for its close links to tobacco giant Philip Morris.

Doctors On Demand is a company that offers online appointments and can prescribe vaping products.

In emails obtained by The Saturday Telegraph, the company approached Philip Morris International Australia (PMI) ahead of the October 2021 law change that saw vaping products only available via a doctor’s prescription.

In September, Doctors On Demand’s digital campaign marketing manager Pierre Pommier wrote to Rhys Turner, PMI’s head of government and industry affairs: “To assist with our work we would like to get access to the data from your audience research. Would it be possible for you to share those?”

Vape or e-cigarettes are only available with a doctor’s prescription in Australia.

On November 11, Doctors On Demand also held a smoking cessation webinar featuring PMI’s Dr Gizelle Baker who “provided some great insights” on the science behind e-cigarettes and PMI’s vaping product Veev.

An email from Amanda Yeates, head of operations at Doctors On Demand added: “Dr Baker has also kindly offered to answer any further questions that may arise over the coming weeks as our campaign progresses.”

The Doctors on Demand webinar presented by Philip Morris.

The webinar, presented by Philip Morris, showcased their e-cigarette product Veev.

The presentation, which The Saturday Telegraph has obtained, presents vaping as a safer option to cigarettes.

“Nicotine … is not what makes tobacco use so deadly,” it said.

“Tobacco and tobacco smoke contain thousands of chemicals. It is this mix of chemicals — not nicotine — that causes serious disease and death in tobacco users, including fatal lung diseases, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer.

“E-cigarettes are not risk-free … but vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking and switching completely from smoking to vaping conveys substantial health benefits over continued smoking.”

The webinar also minimises the risk to young people, who are the fastest growing market for vape products.

Tobacco companies like Phillip Morris are forbidden to advertise their products.

One industry insider, who spoke on proviso of anonymity, said: “Why not get the people who need to be telling vapers to buy vaping products that the Philip Morris product is the best one? These people are doctors.”

The Philip Morris Veev vape product.

Australian Medical Association president Dr Omar Khorshid said it was of “significant concern” any doctor groups were engaging with PMI.

“It is evidence of collaboration of these groups with big tobacco to cause more Australians to become addicted to nicotine and support the business model of big tobacco,” Dr Khorshid said, rejecting any notion that smoking cessation was the motive behind vaping.

“They will do whatever they can to increase the number of Australians addicted to their products.

“We are opposed to tobacco companies having any say in healthcare decisions or promotion.

“Whether it be smoking or through vaping, they simply want to make money through addicting Australians to a product we believe is likely toxic … they don’t care if it’s cigarettes or vaping products because they are going to make money either way.

“Our concern has been around groups set up to effectively push these drugs and providing access to prescriptions in a cheap and easy way that has nothing to do with cessation to smoking and everything to do with easy access to vaping products.”

Vaping is growing in younger users.

Doctors On Demand CEO Kirsty Garrett defended the company’s association with PMI and likened it to relations with other drug companies.

“The federal Government has recognised that vaping is a legitimate pathway away from cigarettes and tobacco and they have asked GPs and pharmacies to help smokers make that transition,” she said.

“Given NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) and nicotine prescribing has only been introduced in October 2021, DoD is providing as much support as possible to those members of our GP cohort who have elected to participate in the smoking cessation service.

“PMI, as one of many NRT product manufacturers in the Australian market, has provided education materials, data and advice on smoking cessation products just as pharmaceutical companies provide advice on asthma, diabetes and a range of other chronic diseases impacting the Australian population.”

Professor of Public Health Simon Chapman has been a close observer of ‘Big Tobacco’ tactics over the decades and refuses to believe PMI is in the cessation business.

He said the link between Doctors on Demand and PMI “did not pass the pub test”.

“Big Tobacco is now all over vaping and nicotine products, their business model here is smoking and vaping, not vaping instead of smoking,” he said.

“It is completely unethical … tobacco companies are responsible for nicotine addiction. What doctors are doing here is aiding and abetting a corporate makeover attempt by a tobacco company which is still in the business of selling a product that is causing all the problems.

“I don’t think a doctor who cares for ethical practice would want anything to do with a tobacco company trying to engage in such duplicity, it does not pass the pub test.”

A spokesman for PMI said: “Under the government’s prescription vaping model, developed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, healthcare professionals receive information about products they may choose to prescribe to assist Australians stop cigarette smoking. We openly share technical product information to assist prescribers make informed choices.”

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Originally published as Vaping: Doctor group criticised for link with tobacco giant Philip Morris