Philip Morris researching reduced-risk tobacco products
I refer to the report “Ban on ‘emerging’ tobacco products to kick off from Dec” (June 16).
This intention to pre-emptively ban “emerging” tobacco products comes at a time when a growing number of public health experts around the world, many of them strong opponents of cigarettes, recognise that innovative non-combustible tobacco products can benefit public health.
Philip Morris International (PMI) has invested US$2 billion (S$2.7 billion) — a significant portion of it in Singapore — over recent years in scientific research and development of potentially reduced-risk products.
Our goal is to provide adult smokers who do not want to quit smoking with less-harmful alternatives to conventional cigarettes. Experts agree that nicotine, while addictive, is not the primary cause of smoking-related diseases.
When a cigarette is lit, the burning of tobacco and other materials produces thousands of chemicals, of which more than 100 are recognised widely as being associated with the development of smoking-related diseases.
PMI’s heat-not-burn tobacco products are designed to significantly reduce or eliminate the formation of these chemicals.
We are working with scientists and governments around the world to scientifically confirm the potential of these products to reduce harm and regulate how they are sold. Our research findings to date are encouraging.
Our conclusions regarding the risk reduction potential of our products will be based on the results of the scientific assessment programme, including the relevant clinical studies.
Our studies have been frequently published in peer-reviewed journals, shared with regulators and are publicly available on our newly launched website www.pmiscience.com.
The United States and the European Union have already proposed or adopted frameworks allowing separate categories for innovative and “emerging” tobacco and nicotine products. Singapore, a global leader in tobacco control and a centre of scientific excellence, has the opportunity to offer its estimated 600,000 combustible cigarette smokers access to potentially less harmful products.
I encourage the Singapore Government to continue to value science-based regulation, monitor market developments and remain open to innovative technologies while the promising scientific evidence is developing.
