Philip Morris International: World Health Organization Report on Tobacco Fails People Who Currently Smoke
July 30 2019 - 5:39AM
Business Wire
The WHO is missing major opportunity to help smokers by putting
science and innovation at the core of public policy
The following is a statement from Philip Morris
International.
On July 26, the World Health Organization released a report on
global tobacco use which urges governments to step up efforts to
help smokers quit. There is no question that the best choice is
never to start using cigarettes or nicotine-containing products or
if someone has, they should quit altogether. By encouraging
governments to double down on efforts to help men and women who
smoke quit, the WHO takes an admirable stance. But the reality is
that even with the best treatments available today, many people
will not succeed. In any given year, about nine out of 10 men and
women who are already smoking will continue to do so; in turn,
their risk of smoking-related disease will continue to increase.
We, as a society, cannot turn our backs on those people.
Surprisingly, this report, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies,
fails to acknowledge the robust science and innovation behind
alternatives to smoking cigarettes. The WHO misses a critical
scientific point: It is the burning of tobacco that produces the
vast majority of the harmful chemicals that cause smoking-related
diseases, not tobacco itself. Hundreds of millions of men and women
who don’t quit stand to gain the most from less harmful
alternatives to cigarettes. In fact, a global survey of 31,000
people in 31 countries found that 88 percent of respondents think
smokers should have access to less harmful alternatives to
cigarettes.
https://www.pmi.com/media-center/news/public-supports-alternatives-to-cigarettes.
PMI’s alternatives alone have already helped 8 million people
abandon cigarettes entirely.
“The WHO is failing the 1 billion men and women around the world
that continue to smoke by continuing to ignore the science behind
better alternatives to cigarettes,” said Dr. Moira Gilchrist, Vice
President of Strategic and Scientific Communications, Philip Morris
International. “There is no question that scientifically
substantiated smoke-free alternatives are better than cigarettes.
The WHO is perfectly situated to encourage independent research and
provide science-based recommendations to smokers. Instead they seem
to be closing down dialogue on promising alternatives to continued
smoking, choosing instead to focus solely on pharmaceutical
industry products.”
In 1997, the UN Focal Point on Tobacco or Health recommended
that “in order to assist smokers who are so heavily dependent that
they cannot possibly stop smoking, every effort should be made to
reduce the toxicity of existing tobacco products.” The same report
also recommends that “the WHO is requested to consider the above
recommendations in future policy-development activities, including
the drafting of a framework convention on tobacco control.”
PMI heeded the call for reduced toxicity products and for more
than 20 years has been working on developing and scientifically
assessing less harmful alternatives to cigarettes that do not
create smoke, because they do not combust. PMI’s scientific
assessment program is inspired by the well-recognized practices of
the pharmaceutical industry and in line with the draft guidance of
the U.S. FDA for Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) Applications.
Our scientific studies resulted in more than 340 references in
peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals and book chapters.
All our clinical studies are registered on the public website
www.ClinicalTrials.gov.
We encourage rigorous assessment of our scientific research,
which is made transparently available for just that purpose. To
date, there have been 73 independent studies and scientific reviews
from universities and government research institutes in countries
like Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. In general, the
conclusions from these studies and reviews are in line with PMI’s
own data.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO,
outlines in his own vision statement that “under my leadership an
enhanced and independent WHO will take a science-led and
innovation-based approach that is results-oriented and responsive,
maximizes inclusive partnerships, and ensures collective priority
setting with all stakeholders.” https://www.who.int/dg/vision
One has to ask, why does the WHO not apply these same principles
to tobacco control?
“We remain committed to having an open and transparent dialogue
based on science,” said Dr. Gilchrist. “We cannot change the past,
but we can change the future for the 1 billion people around the
world who continue to smoke.”
Our smoke-free strategy complements efforts by the WHO to tackle
smoking. Our aspiration is that, by 2025, at least 40 million
people who would otherwise have smoked cigarettes will have
switched to our smoke-free products (approximately 8 million people
to date globally), reducing the number of smokers of PMI cigarette
brands by a total 55 million by 2025. Our aspiration is to reduce
smoking almost four times faster than the target set by WHO.
“We are shifting our business toward science-based better
alternatives. We look forward to working with decision-makers in
governments around the world and organizations such as the WHO to
accelerate this transformation,” said Dr. Gilchrist. “Despite the
WHO report, we remain steadfast in our commitment to unsmoke the
world.”
Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free
Future Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a
transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free
future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products
to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke,
society, the company and its shareholders. PMI is a leading
international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale
of cigarettes, smoke-free products and associated electronic
devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in
markets outside the U.S. PMI is building a future on a new category
of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better
choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary
capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities
and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its
smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous
regulatory requirements. PMI’s smoke-free IQOS product portfolio
includes heat-not-burn and nicotine-containing vapor products. As
of June 30, 2019, PMI estimates that approximately 8.0 million
adult smokers around the world have already stopped smoking and
switched to PMI’s heat-not-burn product, available for sale in 48
markets in key cities or nationwide under the IQOS brand. For more
information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.
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Ryan Sparrow Philip Morris International Media Office T: +41
(0)58 242 4500 E: ryan.sparrow@pmi.com
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