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By Henry Uche
Philip Morris International (PMI) is pushing for it called heated- not- burn tobacco products which is aimed at achieving a smoke -free future for all
PMI said it does not advise anyone especially youths to indulge in smoking, however, adult smokers who find it almost impossible to quit the act should subscribe to science and technologically improved smoke -free products which has about 95% harm reduction, while those who can stop it, should do so immediately to avoid tobacco related diseases like lung cancer, respiratory disease, cardiovascular diseases and premature deaths.
At a press conference in Lagos, the vice president, Market Activation & Support – Philip Morris International, Tommaso Di Giovanni, said 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.
Recall that the federal government in June 2022 increased the tax on cigarettes from 20% to 30%. The minister of Health (State) Olorunnimbe Mamora, had quoted the 6th edition of Tobacco Atlas, which estimates that more than 26,800 annual deaths occur from tobacco-related diseases in Nigeria. At the launch of the Tobacco Control Data Initiative Dashboard in Abuja, the minister said the tax increase was made to dissuade Nigerians from tobacco consumption.
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. Tommaso di Giovanni said that “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 The information about tobacco products 10 years ago is outdated.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. Many countries in Europe, Asia and Africa are subscribing to de- smoke and unsmoking the world through improved products. We believe it would be ideal for governments to think about progress, instead of paying the cost of harmful effects of tobacco smoking,” he urged.
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. She revealed 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 called for concerted effort to countering disinformation to protect harm reduction efforts.
“One way that harm reduction initiatives can combat issues of disinformation is by investing in longitudinal studies on policy effectiveness. The European Union is already exploring different ways in which it can set up legal and regulatory frameworks to eliminate or prevent disinformation on the subject matter from spreading to the level of influencing government policy.”
She charged the media, civil society organizations and other stakeholders to conscientiously help to address the scourge of misinformation and disinformation in every facet of human endeavor particularly those issues that have to do with national health and general well-being.
Also, the Director EA Nigeria, at PMI, Mojisola Akpata, maintained 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,”
According to her, tobacco harm reduction make sense because current fiscal and regulatory measures are not accelerating cessation, while scientifically substantiated products capable of switching consumers out of differentiated regulatory frameworks should be adopted.
“The interest of 1 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,”
She posited that PMI biggest positive impact on harm reduction was that, the company recently estimated that there were approximately 17.9 million people who switched to IQOS and stopped smoking, with the balance in various IQOS users, 71 percent of them, or 12.7 million adult smokers have stages of conversion.
“The emergence of both electronic (e-) cigarettes and heated tobacco products -Tobacco Heating System (THS) or IQOS by Philip Morris International (PMI) is a reduced risk alternative to conventional cigarettes as a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP). Philip Morris researchers have proven that IQOS aerosol is significantly less harmful to human health. The increasing popularity of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and, more recently, the new “heat-not-burn” tobacco products (heated tobacco products (HTPs) under its IQOS brand is the way to go,” she added.
For Okechukwu Aguoru, General Manager (Nigeria) at Philip Morris, 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.
“Scientific studies have shown that, as the temperature of tobacco increases, the levels of harmful chemicals formed increase. A cigarette burns tobacco at temperature up to 900°C. This creates the high levels of risk. By eliminating smoke, these products can significantly reduce the average levels of harmful chemicals. This makes them a better choice than continuing to smoke the conventional cigarettes.”
He charged adult smokers to seek accurate information on the matter under review to enable them make informed decisions. “We all must be careful of misleading information, science and technology has made like better for all of us, it’s our responsibility to scan through and pick those information that can make us better persons and leave a legacy for the coming generations,” and in this regard, the media, the government, CSOs, others should help the publics to the right information,” he asseverated.
