2Firsts CEO Zhao Tong was invited to give a keynote speech at the Dortmund Tobacco Exhibition Forum: The role and value of news media in reducing harm from new tobacco products

2Firsts CEO Zhao Tong was invited to give a keynote speech at the Dortmund Tobacco Exhibition Forum: The role and value of news media in reducing harm from new tobacco products

 

Alan Zhao, co-founder and CEO of 2Firsts, was invited to attend the Dortmund Tobacco Exhibition online and delivered a speech entitled "The Role and Value of News Media in New Tobacco Harm Reduction" to global industry personnel, aiming to propose that the lack of news reports has hindered the development of new tobacco harm reduction and reduced the effectiveness of government decision-making. He called on all parties to support the media to report on the industry more comprehensively and objectively.

 

On September 20, German time, the Dortmund Tobacco Exhibition entered its second day. In this day's industry conference, entrepreneurs, scientific research experts, media professionals and industry associations from all over the world were invited to attend the conference to discuss key topics such as the development of new tobacco products, the cutting-edge dynamics of technological innovation and the evolution of market trends.

 

Alan Zhao, co-founder and CEO of 2Firsts, was invited to attend the conference online and delivered a speech entitled "The Role and Value of News Media in NGP (New Tobacco) Harm Reduction" to global industry personnel, aiming to propose that the lack of news reports has hindered the development of new tobacco harm reduction and reduced the effectiveness of government decision-making. He called on all parties to support the media to report on the industry more comprehensively and objectively.

 

In his speech, Zhao Tong pointed out that insufficient news coverage is hindering the progress of NGP harm reduction. He emphasized the key role and value of the media in providing comprehensive information, promoting industry transparency and driving policy making.

Zhao Tong attended the Dortmund Tobacco Exhibition online | Source: 2Firsts

 

Mainstream media pays insufficient attention to the NGP industry

 

Zhao Tong first mentioned that the mainstream media has not reported enough on the NGP industry, and the global NGP market worth tens of billions of dollars is almost difficult to be fully presented in the mainstream media. He emphasized that comprehensive market coverage by the media is essential to understanding the complexity of the NGP industry and addressing related challenges.

 

Taking the illegal e-cigarette oil in the Southeast Asian market as an example, Zhao Tong mentioned that last year 2Firsts received news that some e-cigarette companies illegally added harmful substances to the e-cigarette oil sold in the Southeast Asian market. There was no global media report on this matter. Faced with this situation, 2Firsts sent personnel to Southeast Asia to purchase relevant product samples and handed them over to independent laboratories for testing. In the end, 2Firsts announced the test results, confirming the misconduct of these companies. Without the investigation and reporting of 2Firsts, the incident might still remain a "rumor", and the health threats faced by consumers would be difficult to enter the public eye.

 

Without news, there are no facts, and without facts, there are no good decisions

 

Tong Zhao believes that the lack of news coverage will lead to the problem of "information islands". Without news, there are no facts. The lack of circulation of industry information will hinder innovation and discovery. He specifically mentioned the challenges faced by nicotine consumers, including the exaggerated publicity of the number of e-cigarette puffs on the market and consumers' misunderstanding of the relative safety of NGP products.

In terms of policy making, Tong Zhao said that in the absence of a comprehensive understanding of the facts, the effectiveness of public decision-making by legislators and law enforcers will be affected. For example, if regulators simply ban new tobacco and ignore consumers' reasonable demands for harm reduction, it will give rise to the rise of an underground gray market, resulting in the government not being able to collect taxes and consumers using products whose quality cannot be guaranteed. Tong Zhao shared the situation of the underground e-cigarette market he investigated in Thailand on the spot.

Zhao Tong attended the Dortmund Tobacco Exhibition online | Source: 2Firsts

 

Calling on the government, enterprises, and media to work together to build a "harm-reduced future"

 

At the end of his speech, Zhao Tong expressed his confidence in the "harm-reduced future". He called on the government, enterprises, and media to work together:

 

Influential media should pay more attention to the e-cigarette industry and highlight the positive role of the media in NGP harm reduction.

 

The government should improve communication with the media when formulating policies and enforcing laws.

 

New tobacco companies (especially large companies) should have more transparent information. Many companies prefer to remain silent and avoid media contact. But efforts to reduce NGP harm require more information transparency, which is also part of corporate social responsibility.

 

2Firsts will promote the realization of a global NGP information sharing network

 

Zhao Tong said that 2Firsts will continue to leverage its influence and resource advantages to work closely with global governments, manufacturers, and media to jointly build a global NGP information sharing network. With the power of media communication, we can enhance the public's more comprehensive and objective understanding of NGP, promote the high-quality development of the industrial economy, support more effective public decision-making, and thus accelerate the development of the global NGP harm reduction process.

 

David Yu, the US regional director of 2Firsts, was invited to host the meeting. After Zhao Tong's speech, David mentioned that at this Dortmund Tobacco Exhibition, 2Firsts had a 4-person reporting team at the exhibition site, and a team of nearly 10 people in the back reported remotely. In the past day and a half of the exhibition, 2Firsts published nearly 30 live reports in Chinese and English, with a total of nearly 100,000 readings. As Zhao Tong said, the emergence of 2Firsts has achieved a kind of information accessibility and information equality, which is particularly important for small and medium-sized enterprises. Sufficient information helps them make more innovative products and business decisions.

David Yu is presiding over the meeting | Source: 2Firsts

 

Zhao Tong's speech was highly praised and widely discussed by the participants. Many participants appreciated the positive role of 2Firsts in promoting global harm reduction efforts and looked forward to further exchanges and cooperation.

 

As the world's leading atomization technology media and think tank, 2Firsts will continue to participate in and organize more research and discussions on the new tobacco industry, promote the high-quality development of the industry, and meet the early realization of harm reduction goals.

 

If you want to communicate with Zhao Tong (Alan Zhao), please contact: alan@2firsts.com