2023-07-13 05:47:00
In the first quarter of this year, smoke-free alternatives accounted for 35 percent of Philip Morris’ global net sales and is targeting a share of over 50 percent by 2025. However, it might take a while for brands like Marlboro to disappear from tobacconists in this country, because the company does not want to actively stop selling them.
The company’s goal is to help smokers switch to less harmful products if they are unable or unwilling to quit, explained Alexander Schönegger, Managing Director of Philip Morris Austria, in an interview with journalists. Ultimately, however, it remains the smoker himself who decides how, when, whether and under what circumstances he switches to smoke-free alternatives.
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Global phase-out in 10 to 15 years?
Social rethinking is decisive for the company’s strategy. “If we stopped selling cigarettes tomorrow, the competition would take our place, but adult smokers would not suddenly stop smoking cigarettes or switch to alternatives.”
Regarding the timetable for the exit, Schönegger said that this would also depend on regulatory circumstances and market conditions in the individual countries. The company recently said that the withdrawal from the tobacco business might take place across the globe in ten to 15 years, but will probably not happen at the same time in the different countries. According to Schönegger, it is clear that Philip Morris has significantly expanded its sales in the area of alternative products in the recent past and that the company will continue on the path it has taken.
The difference to e-cigarettes and “Heets”
In the case of substitute products such as e-cigarettes or tobacco heaters, nicotine is heated, not burned, which means that a large part of the harmful substances from conventional cigarettes are eliminated, emphasized Schönegger. The company builds on the principle of minimizing damage, and large sums of money are invested in science and product development for the transformation process. Since 2008, the group has invested 10.7 billion US dollars in smoke-free products – money that is also generated from the sale of classic cigarettes. The group currently employs 1,500 people in research and development.
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World No Tobacco Day: Snus and e-cigarettes as an alternative?
On World No Tobacco Day on May 31, OÖN-TV spoke to lung specialist Bernd Lamprecht regarding health risks and nicotine replacement products.
Just as harmful? Philip Morris boss refers to studies
Regarding the concerns of critics that alternatives such as e-cigarettes and tobacco heaters also pose health risks, Schönegger referred to studies on the replacement products. Tobacco heaters, which Philip Morris also relies on in Austria, are at least 95 percent less harmful to health than traditional cigarettes. “Due to the fact that the combustion process does not take place, you can assume that products such as our tobacco heater – compared to cigarettes – work with significantly reduced emissions.”
There are so many smokers in Austria
In Austria there are around 1.5 million adult smokers, the smoking incidence is around 21 percent and according to Schönegger in the European average. In 2021, around 3.5 billion euros were gross sales of tobacco products in Germany, and in 2022 the value rose to a good 3.6 billion euros. But that is partly due to the increase in tobacco tax, and the market is tending to recede, said the Philip Morris manager. Incidentally, alternative products are slightly tax-privileged compared to cigarettes. According to Schönegger, the principle of damage minimization can also be found in the explanations of the Austrian Tobacco Tax Act.
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