In a bid to achieve a smoke free future, the Philip Morris International (PMI) is intensifying its for all by pushing for its heated- not- burn tobacco products.
Speaking over the weekend at a press briefing, Tommaso Di Giovanni, Vice President, Market Activation & Support – Philip Morris International opined that the company does not advise anyone who does not smoke to start but smokers who find it almost impossible to quit the act should subscribe to science and technologically improved smoke -free products which has about 95 per cent harm reduction.
He however advised those who can stop it, to do so immediately to avoid tobacco related diseases like lung cancer, respiratory disease, cardiovascular diseases and premature deaths.
He added that conversations were in progress in many countries to key into the plan to unsmoke the world with improved non- combustible products made possible by modern science and technology.
He said for populations to get the right information about smoking, governments should engage the manufacturers or importers of tobacco products for a cross pollination and fertilization of ideas on how to entrench better alternatives to endangered tobacco products and smoking.
“Governments and civil societies should update their knowledge and understanding about smoking with current data and information about the product under review.
“There are a lot of improvement and development brought about by science and technology regarding to tobacco smoking. The information about tobacco products 10 years ago is outdated.
“The industry is evolving and we should not anchor our plans, our decisions or policy design on emotions,” he said.
Similarly, Dr Tendai Mhizha, Author, Public speaker/ Lecturer in Strategy- Integra Africa, who spoke on “ Scourge of Disinformation and Misinformation” stressed that there has been a lot of disinformation surrounding the topic of nicotine being the most harmful component in smoking.
According to her, this has led to policies that disfavour harm reduction products and discussion that completely denies their benefits, stressing that many governments across the world are now regulating nicotine products in a fashion that is disproportionate to the risks associated with them.
Mhizha said countries like India and Australia government policies are more antagonistic to life-saving harm reduction products such as e-cigarettes and vapes than to deadly combustibles.
She thereby called for concerted effort to countering disinformation to protect harm reduction efforts.
Director EA Nigeria, at PMI, Mojisola Akpata, noted that PMI has over a period leveraged technology and science to develop, assess, and commercialize less harmful alternatives products.
Akpata confirmed that PMI is making tremendous progress toward a smoke-free future by disrupting its business to achieve a bold vision to replace cigarettes with science-based smoke-free products.
“PMI is actively working to expand its purpose and evolve into a broader lifestyle, consumer wellness and healthcare company, extending its value proposition and innovative capability to commercialize products that go beyond tobacco and nicotine.
“The interest of one billion people who smoke globally should also be at the center of every public health discourse. We believe that with the right regulatory frameworks, dialogue and support from civil society, cigarette sales can end within 10 to 15 years in many countries,”
Okechukwu Aguoru, General Manager (Nigeria) at Philip Morris, said smoke-free products remains a better alternatives for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke because they do not produce smoke (do not burn tobacco).
“Aaerosol-like smoke contains a mixture of particles suspended in gas. But unlike smoke, the aerosol does not contain solid particles and contains fewer and reduced average levels of harmful chemicals compared to cigarette smoke.
“The best choice for smokers is to quit tobacco and nicotine products entirely. Smoke is the main concern because of the high levels of harm involved and it’s a primary source of smoking-related diseases found in cigarette smoke.
Titilope Jopseph – Independent – 2022-09-26.
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