Francesco Calderoni

Dr Francesco Calderoni is a research fellow at Transcrime, a collaborative research group between the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and the University of Trento.¹ Transcrime refers to itself as an independent academic centre which determines its own research agenda, although it does acknowledge that such research may also be developed through contracts with and funding from external bodies.
Calderoni is a respected criminologist who has consulted for the Council of Europe for the reform of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia (2006) and Ukraine (2007) and of the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation for the reform of the Criminal Procedure Code of Romania (2007).

Received Funding from Philip Morris International

In 2011, Transcrime received funding from Philip Morris International (PMI) for three PhD studentships in Criminology.²
Later, in 2012, Transcrime produced three reports for PMI which suggested that regulation such as plain packaging, if passed, would increase the illicit trade in tobacco products.³⁴⁵
By hiring academics with a respected track record, PMI attempted to bring credibility to their arguments against the further regulation of tobacco. The assumed independence of the research gives traction to the suggestion that tobacco control regulation will exacerbate illicit trade.

• To read about the public health response to the illicit trade argument visit TPD: It will Lead to Increased Smuggling.

Meetings & Events

The following events – detailed on Transcrime’s website – illustrate the organisation’s dual role as a respected source of evidence by policy makers in the EU on the one hand, and as a paid consultant for PMI on the other.

* In May 2011, Calderoni organised a PMI sponsored round table on European regulation against illicit trade in tobacco products. According to the agenda for this event, its aims were to provide an overview of existing tobacco regulation worldwide and the evidence supporting such regulations while considering potential implications for crime, and developing possible solutions and a future research agenda. It is noteworthy that many illicit trade experts invited to attend the May round table withdrew from the event after Transcrime informed them in March 2011 that they had “asked Philip Morris International to contribute to the costs of the initiative.” Transcrime,

Round Table on proofing European Regulation against illicit trade in tobacco products

, 21 April 2011, accessed August 2013 As a direct outcome of the future research directions discussed at the round table, Calderoni co-authored a 2013 Transcrime report on the illicit trade in the UK.⁶ Once again this report was supported by PMI.

* On the first two days of October 2012, Calderoni and Professor Ernesto Savona, the director of Transcrime, met with PMI executives in Lausanne “to discuss the research activities developed by Transcrime.”⁷

* In May 2013, Calderoni attended a Stakeholder Workshop “The EU’s Illegal Tobacco Market” organised by Euractiv with the support of PMI.⁸

TobaccoTactics Resources

• Transcrime
• Hiring Independent Experts
• TPD: It will Lead to Increased Smuggling
• Smuggling