The NOSMOKE Institute at Patras Science Park
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The NOSMOKE Institute at Patras Science Park, Tobacco Tactics, updated 08 November 2022, accessed 27 April 2024.
The NOSMOKE institute, also known as the Institute for a Smoke-Free Society, describes itself as an organisation “founded to promote the elimination of smoking. It operates as a research and innovation centre in the field of modified risk products (MRTPs)”.1
Background
The institute is a commercial endeavour of Konstantinos Poulas, Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Patras,2 and the Philip Morris International-funded Foundation for a Smoke Free World (FSFW). It develops new vaping products and shares pro e-cigarette research from the tobacco industry.
NOSMOKE is based at Patras Science Park in Greece, which is itself a Public Limited Company owned by the Greek Ministry of Finance that acts as an “incubator” for “spin out” research commercialisation. Patras Science Park hosts several technology and innovation companies. Organisations at the park frequently collaborate with multinational companies and research institutes such as the University of Patras.3
Relationship with the tobacco industry
The NOSMOKE institute was awarded grants totalling $105,9854 on the 30 May 2018 and 16 November 2018, by FSFW. The FSFW describe this grant as being for Patras Science Park and for the development of “an institute, which operates as a research and innovation center in the field of modified risk products (MRTPs) and tobacco harm reduction.”5
In July 20186 the staff from the Foundation for a Smoke Free World visited Patras Science Park and NOSMOKE to discuss setting up offices.
People
Konstantinos Poulas, Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Patras,7 is listed on the NOSMOKE homepage and on academic papers8 as a member of the organisation. All other listed NOSMOKE team members are students at the University of Patras.
Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos, also of the University of Patras, is a frequent co-author on papers with Poulas and the NOSMOKE institute. Farsalinos has publicly stated that he has “not even visited” the NOSMOKE.TEAM and that the University of Patras is not a grantee of FSFW.9
Poulas and Farsalinos co-authored papers on the role of smoking and nicotine in infection during the COVID-19 pandemic.10 Poulas declares no conflict of interest on papers that suggest the use of nicotine products for COVID-19 treatment.11
Product development
The only listed NOSMOKE Institute ”innovation” is an undergraduate startup developing an organic and essential oil-based vaping product named “Agromist”.12
Outputs
Of the academic papers listed on the NOSMOKE website13 five out of 11 are authored by the tobacco industry, including PMI,14 BAT15 and Altria.16 These papers mostly cover the reduced harm of non-combustible nicotine products compared with cigarettes and analysis of smoking habits.17
None of the papers are attributed to the NOSMOKE Institute itself, but do include papers co-authored by Poulas and Farsalinos.18
In its 2020 grants spreadsheet, FSFW listed an article published in Current Opinion in Toxicology titled “Oxidative stress induced by electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS): Focus on respiratory system” as a Patras Science Park output funded by the FSFW.19 This was despite the authors declaring that “This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-forprofit sectors.”20
Relevant links
NOSMOKE Institute
FSFW Awarded Grants
Patras Science Park
TT resources
