PMI Funding Risk Research in Korea

Source from:  tobaccoreporter.com South Korea, Friday, July 6, 2007 07/09/2007

Three of South Korea's university hospitals have been commissioned by Philip Morris International to conduct clinical trials aimed at investigating the health risks posed by smoking, according to a report in The Hankyoreh. PMI is providing funding of Won1 billion to Seoul National University Hospital, Chonnam National University Hospital and the CMC Clinical Research Co-ordinating Center of the Catholic University of Korea, which have recently initiated the trials involving 540 smokers and non-smokers. The research is aimed at assessing the health risks associated with Asian adult smokers and non-smokers exposed to tobacco smoke. The funding of university hospitals by a tobacco manufacturer has led to opposition, but, in response, Seoul National University's medical professor, Jang In-jin, who is leading the research, said the results would be used by PMI in its attempts to produce cigarettes that posed less risk than did conventional cigarettes. Enditem