“Too Much Time Has Been Wasted”: PMI CEO Challenges Governments Across the Globe to Embrace Smoke-Free Alternatives to End Cigarettes Faster
- Potential for tenfold reduction in smoking-attributable deaths by switching to smoke-free products
- Majority believe government should consider alternatives like e-cigarettes
- Positive impact of smoke-free products in Sweden and Japan
- Smoke-free products account for 35.4% of PMI's Q2 net revenues
- None.
- PMI presents hypothetical model that shows potential for a tenfold reduction in smoking-attributable deaths compared with historical tobacco control measures alone.
- New international survey finds majority of respondents believe their government needs to consider the role better alternatives such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products can play in eradicating cigarette smoking in their country.
- Nearly 9 in 10 adults agree that public health authorities should fully embrace and seek to learn from evidence and data from other countries.
“For over a decade, PMI has championed a smoke-free future. Having invested more than
Using the World Health Organization’s data, estimates, and methodologies, along with other third-party data, PMI calculated the potential public health impact of the world’s smokers switching from cigarettes to less harmful, smoke-free products. The hypothetical model shows that if smoke-free products are assumed to be 80 percent less risky than cigarettes and if people who currently smoke were to switch to them completely, then over their lifetime, there’s a potential for a tenfold reduction in smoking-attributable deaths compared with historical tobacco control measures alone.
In a world that demands change, people are counting on their governments to keep up with technological advancements while ensuring innovations are appropriately regulated. According to a new international survey conducted by independent research firm Povaddo for PMI, more than half of global respondents (56 percent) believe their government needs to consider the role better alternatives such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products can play in eradicating cigarette use in their country.
Moreover, 8 in 10 global respondents (82 percent) agree they would be somewhat or very angry, frustrated, or upset to learn that a breakthrough that could help address a societal issue was not made available to the public due to government inaction, and 88 percent agree that public health authorities should fully embrace and seek to learn from evidence and data from other countries.
During a streamed broadcast via Reuters’ (@ReutersPlus) on X (formerly Twitter) today at 10am ET, Olczak explains that, while there are limitations to any hypothetical analysis, real-world examples from countries that accept tobacco harm reduction confirm its positive impact.
Public health data show1, for instance, that
There is also compelling evidence from
“Innovations become advancements when they address existing issues and offer improvements. Decades ago, our industry was challenged to make cigarettes less harmful. We have delivered, creating science-based alternatives that remove combustion, the primary factor in smoking-related disease,” says Olczak. “It is no longer a case of if smoke-free alternatives are better than cigarette smoking; it is a case of by how much.”
A video of Olczak’s full speech will be accessible here from 10am ET and additional information on PMI’s hypothetical model is available at pmi.com/rethinkdisruption.
Survey Methodology
Povaddo conducted the online survey on behalf of PMI between March 30 and April 20, 2023. The survey was fielded among 30,591 general population adults aged 21 or older in 15 countries:
Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future
Philip Morris International (PMI) is a leading international tobacco company working to deliver a smoke-free future and evolving its portfolio for the long term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company’s current product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products. Since 2008, PMI has invested more than
# # #
1 Swedish National Public Health Survey
3 National Health and Nutrition Survey,
4 Smoking Habits in the
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230919717263/en/
Philip Morris International
David Fraser
Philip Morris International
David.Fraser@pmi.com
+41 (0)58 242 4500
Source: Philip Morris International