Creating a ‘Smoke-Free’ future in the Tobacco industry

Neuchâtel in Switzerland is an exciting technological hub and key site for the future of the tobacco industry. Philip Morris International has been leveraging careful research and development at The Cube facility for over a decade and has more recently set an ambitious target of having its smoke free products to account for 50% of the total revenue by 2025. The company’s ambition is to completely phase out cigarettes and replace them with better products. According to PMI, it could happen within the next 15 years in countries where a progressive approach towards regulation is taken. PMI is the first and only tobacco company that committed to terminating the very product which shaped this industry, writes Tori Macdonald, EU Reporter.

The main reason? A rhetorical question of course, but the fact that prioritising public health should have been a motivating enough factor, now as we emerge out the other side of a global pandemic which focused majorly around lung health, we must ensure that every measure possible is taken to improve our collective wellbeing in the face of future risks.

PMI has already been working on a smoke-free transformation for more than a decade, having pioneered the IQOS, its flagship heated tobacco product. In 2021, smoke-free products represented around 29% of its total net revenues, based on the released data in May 2022, the company’s smoke-free products are now available in 71 markets worldwide.

A common misconception about smoking is that the most dangerous component of the cigarette is nicotine, however, one of PMI’s leading scientists, Gizelle Baker reveals that it is the toxicants in cigarette smoke that are the true culprits of smoking-related diseases. The key development in IQOS, PMI’s leading ‘heat not burn’ tobacco product, is the elimination of combustion. Instead, the tobacco stick is heated to a temperature low enough to avoid combustion, but high enough to produce a nicotine-containing aerosol that has significantly fewer and lower levels of toxicants than are present in the smoke from the classic burning procedure of cigarettes. PMI’s extensive smoke-free research had been published in more than 425 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. However, as misinformation remains, some countries such as Belgium continue to regulate cigarettes and smoke-free products, such as IQOS, in the same way.

The EU has this year launched an ambitious plan, entitled the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan aiming to reverse the growing trend in cancer diagnosis. ¼ of world tobacco deaths are European despite only being 1/10th of the global population. Every year 2.7 million Europeans are diagnosed with cancer, however 40% are preventable, according to the Commission. The aim is to reduce the number of smokers in Europe from the present rate of 25% to 5% by 2040.

However, in order for this target to be reached, it is imperative that science, tech and development are leveraged across the world. This begins with de-bunking the misconceptions by ensuring differentiated regulation between cigarettes and smoke-free alternatives.

This could look like, for example, applying a common-sense principle of taxation based the risk profile of the products. Governments should make this a key principle, whilst incentivising innovation and tech adoption.

Ironically Belgium doesn’t have heated tobacco products (HTPs) available.. A lost opportunity for 2 million smokers in Belgium as they do not have access to better alternatives unlike the majority of countries in the EU.  In Lithuania for example – one of the most advanced countries in terms of smoke-free products adoption, the market share of IQOS is already more than 25% and in Vilnus only it’s close to 40%.

Another example is New Zealand wherethe government has made substantial efforts to prevent youth initiation and phase out smoking altogether by implementing a new smoke-free regulatory framework, ceasing equal messages on the packaging for cigarettes and HTPs and instead, ditching the graphic health warnings for text warning on HTPs to differentiate the products by level of risk.The government launched last year Smoke-free Aotearoa 2025 Action plan, aiming to accelerate the progress towards a smoke-free future in the country. This includes incentives for current adult smokers who cannot quit to switch to smoke-free alternatives as a way to move away from cigarettes.

The question is, could the same happen in the EU?

What is important is that the EU regulation and taxation provides behavioural incentives for smokers to move away from cigarettes so that the issue of cigarette consumption in EU is addressed. It is essential that a solid framework of comprehensive regulation is set up to make the facilitation of substitution to smoke-free methods feasible, otherwise the initiative will be counterproductive. The idea should be to not leave anyone behind and make the transition accessible no matter the socioeconomic status of the smoker.  PMI strives to play a key role in this transition through encouraging existing smokers to switch to smoke-free alternatives, with a long term vision of eradicating classic cigarettes. $9 billion+ has been invested in the innovation, manufacturing and scientific substantiation of smoke-free products since 2008 with $120 million accounting for the construction of the cutting edge ‘Cube’ research facility in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

If the key to reducing the number of smokers lies in preventative measures, we must consider what formulates addiction in the first place. Understanding human psychology is essential in this process. Addiction formulation is of course subjective but some of the factors that play a crucial role are social, cognitive, family-oriented, and risk-taking behaviours.

Preventing poor lifestyle choices is undoubtedly a great challenge. Many smokers know smoking is bad for them but still don’t stop. The use of substitutes to minimise consequences or risks is a solid, tangible starting point, however we must also approach the problem intangibly too. Providing education as well as emotional exploration into the individual’s psyche is necessary to greater understand where the thoughts and beliefs stem from that make the subject rely so heavily on their smoking habit.

In conclusion, to become a, more sustainable world, a solid, coherent framework must be put in place to create effective change. Continuing the development of less harmful alternatives to cigarettes is the first step, followed by increasing awareness and access for adult smokers who will otherwise continue smoking to permanently transition into smoke-free products. These are the most practical short term solutions, but in the long term, increased creative capacity is required to innovate further, whilst committing purposefully to phasing out cigarettes altogether.

Share this article: