Tashkent [Uzbekistan], October 11 (ANI): Philip Morris International (PMI) is offering a range of less harmful alternatives for smokers and has invested USD 16 billion in research, development and commercialization of such products, Dr Tomoko Iida, Senior Director, Scientific Engagement, South Asia, Indochina, CIS and Middle East & Africa, Philip Morris International, said.

"We have invested 16 billion dollars in research, development and commercialization of these less harmful products," she said, adding that "science has shown us that smoking cigarettes can cause diseases, and it became clear to everyone."

She further added that this was where the company decided that it needed to transform itself, in a world where more than 1 billion smokers still exist.

Speaking with ANI at the Technovation event in the capital of Uzbekistan, she said PMI's decision to transform its business was based on scientific evidence about the health risks associated with cigarette smoking and the need to address the continued presence of smokers globally.

"Science has shown us that smoking cigarettes can cause diseases," she said. We are the company who know about the smokers very well. We know about tobacco leaves, and we have equipped ourselves with the science and research," she said. Iida said nicotine was often misunderstood and stressed that while it is addictive and not risk-free, it is not the primary cause of smoking-related diseases.

"Nicotine, although it's not risk-free and it's addictive, is not the main or primary cause of smoking-related diseases," she said.

She said tobacco harm reduction involved offering less harmful alternatives to adult smokers who continued to smoke.

"In an ideal world, if every smoker quits smoking, that is the best. But we all know that is not always the case," Iida said.

According to her, more than 60 per cent of legal-age smokers do not want to quit smoking, making alternatives an important part of the company's tobacco harm reduction approach. "If you look at countries like Sweden and Japan, we have already started to see the effect of having these alternatives on public health, and I hope we can do that in your country, in India, as well," she said.

Iida said the approach to tobacco-related issues had to take into account the different cultural, social and economic contexts of individual countries.

"Each country has a different cultural sensitivity, a different context when it comes to the tobacco issue," she said.

She cited Japan as an example, saying smoking prevalence there had fallen from around 20 per cent in 2014 to around 10 per cent currently.

"In Japan, it took us 10 years, but smoking prevalence has nearly halved in 10 years," she said.

Iida attributed the change to the availability, accessibility and affordability of less harmful alternatives for legal-age smokers, saying smokers gradually came to understand the functional benefits of switching to such products.

She said tobacco-growing countries could also require a different approach, as tobacco agriculture can be linked to employment and the economy.

"In other countries, as I said, if tobacco agriculture is a very big business or it employs a lot of people, then we have to think: Is there any other alternative crop that they can grow or alternative way of using tobacco leaves for products other than cigarettes?" she said.

On regulation, Iida said governments and regulators needed to work with industry to create frameworks that accommodate innovation and ensure that alternatives are available and accessible to consumers, and that such products are regulated based on scientific evidence.

"The regulation has to be there to accommodate the innovation," she said.

She also stressed the importance of consumer acceptance, saying taste, satisfaction, aroma and ritual could influence whether smokers switch from cigarettes.

"Consumer acceptance is just as important," she said.

Iida said 42 per cent of PMI's net revenue currently came from less harmful alternatives and that the company had a vision of taking the share to two-thirds by 2030.

"Our vision is to build a smoke-free future globally," she said.

She said that in Japan, where PMI has worked on less harmful alternatives for the past 12 years, more than 75 per cent of the company's net revenue already came from such alternatives, adding that the company might very soon be known as a non-cigarette company.

Iida also distinguished heated tobacco products from e-vapor products, saying heated tobacco products use tobacco leaves and should not be treated as the same as vaping products.

She said PMI's experience across South Asia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Middle East and Africa had reinforced the importance of adapting engagement with scientists, healthcare professionals and government officials to local contexts.

"We are really committed to build a smoke-free future," Iida said, adding that she hoped this could happen everywhere "very, very soon, including India". (ANI)