My Reflections on BAT’s Smokeless World
Surprise. Disbelief. Outright suspicion. These might be some of the reactions if the Chief Executive of a tobacco and nicotine company told you they were actively working towards a world without cigarettes. Yet that is exactly what I, and BAT, are trying to do.
It won’t happen overnight. Despite the wellknown health risks associated with cigarettes, the number of adult smokers globally has remained at around one billion since 1990.[1,2]
People still choose, for a variety of reasons, to smoke. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. New Smokeless Products, while addictive, have emerged that are better alternatives to smoking.
Crucially, through significant investment and product development over many years, these new products have become much better at meeting consumer demand and encouraging adult smokers to make a complete switch. That is, at its core, what we mean by Building a Smokeless World and creating A Better Tomorrow™.
The best choice any adult smoker can make will always be to quit smoking altogether. For those who would otherwise continue to smoke though, Smokeless Products provide a compelling alternative to cigarettes. We believe people deserve a choice.
What is the difference between these new products and cigarettes? They don’t burn tobacco and so avoid the creation of the smoke which contains high levels of harmful chemicals associated with smoking-related diseases.
By not burning (or combusting) tobacco, significantly fewer and lower levels of toxicants are produced by these new products, compared to conventional cigarettes.‡ By replicating the pleasure of smoking, but without the combustion, we believe these products offer adult smokers a better alternative experience to smoking.
From a business perspective, it will take more time, money and resources for a Smokeless World to become a reality. Our commitment though is clear: today, we have a multi-billion-pound Smokeless Products business. By 2035, I want Smokeless Products to account for at least 50% of our revenue globally. We also want to have 50 million adult consumers# of our Smokeless Products by 2030.
"Today, we have a multi-billion-pound Smokeless Products business. By 2035, I want Smokeless Products to account for at least 50% of our revenue globally."
Tadeu Marroco
Chief Executive
We cannot do this alone. Achieving an accelerated reduction in the number of adult smokers globally will require governments, regulators, and public health authorities to agree that adult smokers should be given better choices. Unfortunately, many countries restrict our ability to offer these smokeless alternatives for sale.
For our part, we have invested billions of pounds into product development and science behind these Smokeless Products. More needs to be done, but it’s clear that these products represent far better alternatives to cigarettes. They are better choices for adult smokers.
The benefit of a consumer choice-led approach is just that; adults can make a choice. The choice between a cigarette and, if we’ve done our job, products that are both enjoyable and pose less risk*†.
Will every smoker choose one of these Smokeless Products to completely replace cigarettes? I don’t know. But we are certainly trying to get as many adult smokers, who would otherwise continue to smoke, to do just that. It is what is meant by Tobacco Harm Reduction, a concept which the Omni™ will explore in detail.
Why is Tobacco Harm Reduction something that we at BAT would want to draw attention to? Because we believe it is an issue of such importance that we have built our purpose, vision, and mission around it.
"Our ambition is to reduce the health impact of our business, and this is front and centre of our corporate vision ‘to build A Better Tomorrow™ through a Smokeless World’."
Tadeu Marroco
Chief Executive
Our Purpose, Vision and Mission
Critically, what’s contained in the Omni™ is grounded in science, both our own and that of third parties.
My hope is that you find the information contained in the Omni™ insightful and thought provoking. We believe we are at a moment when there is a real opportunity to create A Better Tomorrow™. It won’t be easy. We acknowledge that.
All I ask is that you look carefully at the science and become familiar with what kind of regulatory actions are driving significant declines in smoking rates in a number of countries around the world.
We are also open to discussion. For Tobacco Harm Reduction to become a reality, we must work constructively with key stakeholders to reduce smoking-related disease through new product offerings.
Footnotes
# The number of consumers of Smokeless Products is defined as the estimated number of Legal Age (minimum 18 years) consumers of the Group’s Smokeless Products - which does not necessarily mean these consumers are solus consumers of these products. In markets where regular consumer tracking is in place, this estimate is obtained from adult consumer tracking studies conducted by third parties (including Kantar).
In markets where regular consumer tracking is not in place, the number of consumers of Smokeless Products is derived from volume sales of consumables and devices in such markets, using consumption patterns obtained from other similar markets with adult consumer tracking (utilising studies conducted by third parties, including Kantar).
* Based on the weight of evidence and assuming a complete switch from cigarette smoking. These products are not risk free and are addictive.
† Our products as sold in the U.S., including Vuse, Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak, and Camel Snus, are subject to FDA regulation and no reduced-risk claims will be made as to these products without agency clearance.
‡ Comparison with smoke from a scientific standard reference cigarette (approximately 9mg of tar) in terms of the average of the 9 harmful components the World Health Organization recommends to reduce in cigarette smoke.
References
[1] Reitsma, M.B., et al., Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet, 2021. 397(10292): p. 2337-2360 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01169-7
[2] Word Health Organization, WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2021: addressing new and emerging products. 2021. Available at: https://www.paho.org/en/node/82149 (Accessed: 22 July 2024)
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Smokeless Products: An Introduction -
01. Our Vision: A Need for Reappraisal -
02. The Big Questions -
03. Impact of Smoking -
04. Our Smokeless Science -
05. Our Smokeless Products -
06. THR: A Global Transformation -
07. THR: Global Regulation -
08. THR: Scientific Engagement -
09. Our Future Outlook -
10. References -
11. Our Published THR Science
