Most smokers will never quit and need better alternatives to cigarettes, a Philip Morris International (PMI) executive said on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at a Cape Town event on tobacco harm reduction.
“The vast majority of people, of smokers out there… do not quit. They continue smoking, using one of the most dangerous tobacco and nicotine products out there,” said Tommaso Di Giovanni, PMI vice president for communications and engagement.
“It’s time to look at this with new eyes, with a new paradigm.”
Di Giovanni argued that nicotine is addictive but “relatively harmless compared to many other substances” created by cigarette combustion, which he called the primary cause of smoking-related diseases.
The “Technovation: Cape Town” gathering brought together PMI executives, public health experts and consumer advocates to discuss accelerating a “smoke-free future” by encouraging smokers to switch to less harmful alternatives.
Speakers discussed alternatives, including e-cigarettes, pouches and heated tobacco products that avoid burning tobacco and creating harmful chemicals.
“We have alternatives that do not burn and do not create that chemical factory you have in cigarettes or cigars,” Di Giovanni said.
PMI has invested heavily in these products based on a vision “where everyone can move out of cigarettes and use better products,” he added.
Di Giovanni cited Japan and Sweden as markets where alternative product adoption contributed to significant smoking rate declines.
Panel discussions covered leveraging collective action, strategies for adopting smoke-free innovations, developing health regulation, ensuring accurate consumer information and building trust through scientific evidence.
Participants examined South Africa’s proposed Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill as a case study for African policy, questioning stakeholder inclusion and balancing public health goals with harm reduction approaches.
Di Giovanni concluded by calling for continued dialogue, even with those who disagree, to accelerate positive change for smokers.
At the conference, Yael Ossowski, deputy director of the U.S.-based non-profit Consumer Choice Centre, said that consumers globally should have a wide array of choices for tobacco harm reduction alternatives, and restrictive regulations often impede access to potentially life-saving products.
“Whether it be Malawi, Zimbabwe, or any other country on the continent, [consumers] need to have a wealth of choices available,” Ossowski stated.
He argued that denying access to alternatives available in other countries deprives individuals of “innovative change or improvements to their health.”
Ossowski emphasised that consumers are capable of making informed decisions.
“Consumers make decisions every single day. We vote with our wallets, we vote with our feet,” he said, adding that when deprived of options, consumer choice is diminished.
“If you can have the full plethora of choice in using whatever product you want to transition away from smoking, you should have that right and that ability.”
He identified several significant regulatory barriers preventing smokers from accessing reduced-harm tobacco alternatives.
“Number one, it’s going to be price,” Ossowski said, criticising regulations that equate the taxation of safer alternatives like nicotine pouches or heated tobacco devices with traditional cigarettes.
“That is just nonsensical… we’re penalising people for making a healthier decision.”
Lack of information due to advertising bans in many countries was cited as another major hurdle.
“Consumers have zero information. None. And if we don’t have access to that information as a consumer, how am I supposed to know what to choose?” he questioned.
Regulatory hurdles that prevent products available in one country from being accessed in another, simply due to differing approval processes, also limit consumer choice.
Regarding youth access, Ossowski stressed the need to differentiate between protecting children and allowing adults to make informed choices.
“We all want to make kids safer… but for adults who want to make an active choice when it comes to a safer, let’s say, non-smoke-related item, they should have that right,” he said.
He warned that “blanket bans” intended to protect youth often end up harming adults by limiting their options.
To amplify consumer voices, Ossowski highlighted the power of individual stories.
“One of the best practices is individual stories,” he explained.
Sharing experiences of people who successfully quit smoking using alternatives can make an impact and help others learn.
The Consumer Choice Centre engages in media campaigns, op-eds, video production, and social media advertising to disseminate information and advocate for consumer perspectives, ensuring that views beyond public health bodies or governments are heard.
The centre also focuses on real-time monitoring of policy debates to inform the public about potential laws or restrictions affecting consumer access to harm reduction products.
By Winston Mwale, AfricaBrief