BOSTON — Seventeen public health schools in the U.S. and Canada pledged Thursday to refuse research money from a new anti-smoking group funded by the tobacco industry.

The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World was created in September with nearly $1 billion from the Philip Morris tobacco company, saying it aims to end smoking worldwide and support research to meet that goal.

But deans of public health schools at Harvard, Johns Hopkins and other universities said the group is too closely tied to an industry that sells deadly products to millions.

“The idea of taking money that’s from the tobacco industry is just antithetical to everything we do,” said Karen Emmons, dean for academic affairs at Harvard’s public health school. “Philip Morris in particular has focused very hard to undermine the strategies that we know will reduce smoking rates.”

Officials at the New York-based foundation did not immediately provide comment. Philip Morris declined to comment.

The foundation has yet to issue research grants but said it has received draft proposals and will make funding decisions after a series of meetings scheduled to be held in February.

Universities that won’t take funding from anti-smoking group

These are the schools that signed a letter opposing the group:

— University of Alberta

— University of Colorado

— Florida International University

— Harvard University

— University of Illinois-Chicago

— Indiana University

— Johns Hopkins University

— University of Kentucky

— Loma Linda University

— University of Maryland

—University of Minnesota

— Ohio State University

— Rutgers University

— University of South Carolina

— Tulane University

— West Virginia University

— University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee