The tobacco industry is reforming its business and seeking greater acceptance

In the world There are 1.3 billion tobacco usersAccording to a report published in November last year by World Health Organization (WHO). According to this organization, 20 million fewer than a year ago, and the figure is expected to drop to 1,270 million by 2025. Of these 1.3 billion people, 80% live in low- and middle-income countries.

in Spain, tobacco sales According to the tobacco market statistics of the Ministry of Finance, they reached 11,300 million euros in 2021, an increase of 2.2% compared to the previous year. There are 3.975 million ‘cigarettes’ by volume (burning, rolling or pipe). There were 3.976 million a year ago, so consumption hasn’t dropped. According to INE’s European Health Survey in Spain (EESE), the number of daily smokers was 19.8%.

Faced with this scenario, the tobacco industry transition. “And she’s not alone,” she called Sasha SadanThe ESG director of the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority, according to the English translation) gave a speech during the forum. parallelism With the transformation of this industry, like others energy or meat. But tobacco “comes from a different place,” Sadan warned. the distrustful past society in this industry. 1994 casewhen CEOs of major tobacco companies unanimously declared in the United States House of Representatives: “Nicotine is not addictive.”

Now industry strategy passes through the concept damage reduction. Just read the motto of this year’s conference: ‘Harm reduction is permanent’. This idea is used to describe policies to minimize negative consequences Consumption of a substance causes the health of the individual or society. industry wants avoid the “stigma” of nicotine because, as he claims, not the main reason A report from the Spanish Ministry of Health warns of the “high toxicity and addictive capacity” of cigarettes.

michelle mintonA researcher at the Competitive Enterprise Institute agreed that “more research is needed” on the effects of nicotine. Duration Paul NewhouseThe director of the Center for Cognitive Medicine, Division of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the United States, explained the possibility of using it in the following situations. dementia and problems sanity.

What they get from the industry the problem with tobacco is burning (act of lighting a cigarette). And with this premise, they carry decades of investment and development to search for products alternative to traditional cigarettes. And there is already a wide range of the most popular ones, for example electronic cigarette or vapingup to swedish snu (a kind of ground tobacco put between the gums), nicotine patches, snuff, or chewing tobacco. As they advocate, it is always aimed at existing smokers only, not potential new consumers.

“The heart of the transformation is to change the portfolio (from cigarettes to vape), but the goal is to produce products that reduce the impact on consumers’ health,” he said at one of the congressional hearings. Flora OkerekeHead of Global Regulatory Forecast and Outlook british american tobaccoone of the four largest tobacco companies worldwide that pulls the strings of this business Philip Morris International (PMI), Japan Tobacco International (JTI), and Imperial Brands.

According to WHO, every year More than 8 million people die from tobaccoOf these, 7 million are from direct consumption and about 1.2 million are the result of exposure to secondhand smoke. There is one more trick: Tobacco kills half of those who use it, according to this organization is dependent on the UN. However, the industry assures that the ban will not reduce the number of users and therefore the deaths. “The ban won’t work. You have to understand the risk of smoking. There are things more harmful than cigarettes. fast food‘ said the counselor. Peter Sadbury’s photo.