Right information, science-based legislation, needed to accelerate end of cigarettes

Leaving cigarettes behind can be much faster if everyone plays a role, said a top-ranking Philip Morris International (PMI) executive.

This was the key message of Tommaso Di Giovanni, PMI’s vice president for global communications, during the 27th National Public Relations Congress held virtually by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP). He said the ambition of PMI, the parent company of PMFTC Inc., is to replace all cigarettes with better alternatives based on science as soon as possible.

Di Giovanni said it’s no secret that smoking causes diseases and is addictive. Yet, the vast majority of smokers don’t quit. It’s estimated by the World Health Organization that there will be the same number of smokers around the world in 2025.

According to Di Giovanni, this is what prompted PMI to explore “creative solutions to the problem. We decided to think, is there anything that we can do to change our business and give all those smokers who would otherwise continue using cigarette a better alternative?”

“We started working at products that do not burn and therefore generate significantly lower levels of harmful compounds. We call them heated tobacco. And that has been our focus since then,” he said.

Di Giovanni said more than 350 studies by PMI on these new products have been peer-reviewed, making PMI the fifth-largest holder of patents filed with the European Patent office.