Philip Morris International: Central Asia needs to balance the relationship between e-cigarettes and cigarettes, and new tobacco products are only sold to adult smokers

Philip Morris International: Central Asia needs to balance the relationship between e-cigarettes and cigarettes, and new tobacco products are only sold to adult smokers

Philip Morris International stressed that providing new tobacco products to adult smokers is key to reducing cigarette consumption, especially in Central Asia, while ensuring that products are sold only to proven adult smokers.

According to Kaktus.Media on December 23, Philip Morris International (PMI) recently held an international conference on technology innovation in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

PMI introduced its development history at the conference, especially the turning point when it launched its first heated tobacco device in 2014. The company's executives presented data on the abandonment of smoking and the switch to new tobacco products in various regions around the world, and pointed out that countries such as Sweden, Switzerland and Japan have performed well.

Fred de Wilde, President of Philip Morris International for South Asia, Southeast Asia, CIS, Middle East and North Africa, revealed the commercial benefits of PMI's promotion of the concept of "If you don't smoke, don't start; if you smoke, quit; if you don't quit, change" in an interview with Kaktus.Media. He pointed out that the promotion of new tobacco products is not only beneficial to the company, but also helps to improve public health.

PMI presented a two-year study at the conference, which covered 37 medical institutions from Europe and Asia and a total of 900 participants. The results showed that people who use new tobacco products have improved their health comparable to those who quit smoking, while the health of those who continue to smoke has significantly deteriorated.

When talking about legislation in Central Asia, the person in charge pointed out that local control of e-cigarettes is based on the original intention of preventing minors from accessing products, but if adult smokers are not provided with suitable alternatives, it may lead to an increase in cigarette consumption. In this regard, PMI emphasized that its products are only sold to registered and confirmed adult consumers to ensure strict control of the sales process.