Experts call 'less harmful cigarettes' deceptive marketing strategy (2)

"His theories were substantially based on junior-level toxicology appraisals, which is not enough to prove that low-tar cigarettes are less harmful," said Zheng Yuxin, an expert with the Chinese Society of Toxicology.

Gan Quan, a senior project officer with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, said Xie's research copies the deceptive, yet failed marketing strategy of the American tobacco industry.

"Xie is a representative of the beneficiaries of China's tobacco industry, who try to make money by lying to the public with seemingly scientific evidence," Gan said.

He added that the WHO FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control), to which China is a signatory, requires nations to ban deceptive and misleading descriptions such as "low tar."

Xie said he had conducted significant research on "less harmful, low-tar" cigarettes when he applied for the seat in CAE, but he contradicted himself in some of his work by saying his research was not sufficient to make cigarettes "less harmful," according to Wu Yiqun, executive vice director of ThinkTank.

Experts at the seminar petitioned for Xie to be removed from his seat in the CAE, as his research was conducted for the tobacco industry rather than the health of the general public, setting a bad example for the academic community.

They also called on the Ministry of Science and Technology to not include any research detrimental to public health and the environment on lists for any national awards.

"Scientists and institutions should refuse the involvement of the tobacco industry when they apply for research funds or awards, which can help research from going astray," said Yang Gonghuan, deputy head of the Chinese Association for Tobacco Control.

China is the largest tobacco producing and consuming country in the world, with more than 300 million smokers and another 740 million people affected by passive smoking, official figures show. About 1 million Chinese people die from tobacco-related illnesses annually.

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