PMI CEO: New Tobacco Products at 42% of Revenue, Urges Pragmatic Regulation

Key points:

Pragmatic regulatory policy calls: Philip Morris International (PMI) CEO calls for the development of more pragmatic regulatory policies to drive innovation in the consumer goods industry.

Divergent Regulation of Novel Tobacco Products: Varying approaches to regulating new tobacco products in different countries are leading to divergent health and economic impacts.

Promotion vs prohibition: Countries promoting new tobacco products have seen a significant decrease in smoking rates, while countries implementing bans still have high smoking rates.

Innovation and Public Health: PMI's novel tobacco products account for 42% of revenue, urging policy adjustments to improve public health.

According to a report on the official website of Philip Morris International (PMI), CEO Jacek Olczak attended the Semafor Annual World Economic Forum in Washington D.C. on April 25th, where he called for more practical regulation policies in the consumer goods industry. Olczak emphasized that despite global economic fluctuations, the consumer goods sector still holds potential for growth through innovation. However, without adaptive policy frameworks, opportunities for significant breakthroughs in areas such as health, food, and personal care may be missed.

Olkjakc commented that divergences in the regulation of new tobacco products across different countries are leading to disparities in global health and economic impacts related to the tobacco and nicotine industry. He pointed out that some countries that prohibit new tobacco products continue to face higher smoking rates, while countries that encourage these products are making faster progress in reducing smoking rates. Olkjac added that currently, approximately 20% of the world's smokers (over 1.9 billion) are primarily located in over 20 markets where they are unable to legally access new tobacco products, while cigarettes, the most harmful form of nicotine consumption, are still readily available in the market.

Taking Turkey and Brazil as examples, despite implementing advertising bans, high consumption taxes, plain packaging and flavor bans, smoking rates have been decreasing slowly. In Turkey, the smoking rate in 2022 still exceeds 30%, remaining fairly consistent with the rate in 2014. In contrast, countries such as the United States, Sweden, Japan, and New Zealand have seen a decline in cigarette sales and smoking rates with the promotion of new tobacco products. Sweden currently has a smoking rate of 5.3%, the lowest in Europe, and is approaching the World Health Organization's definition of a "Smokeless country". This achievement is partly attributed to the availability of snus(a smokeless tobacco product) and the traditional tobacco control measures in place.

In Japan, since the promotion of heated tobacco products in 2015, the smoking rate of traditional cigarettes has significantly decreased, with new smoking rates among non-smokers and youth reaching historic lows. Orlowski points out that Japan may achieve its goal of completely eliminating traditional cigarettes in the next few years, setting a precedent for the Asian region.

Orychak stated that innovation should be widely accessible and have a practical impact. He pointed out that as of the first quarter of 2025, PMI's new tobacco products accounted for 42% of global net revenue, compared to zero ten years ago. He urged countries around the world to quickly adjust their policy framework to keep pace with technological advancements and fulfill their commitments to improving public health.

The PMI is calling on policymakers in all countries to update regulatory systems in a practical manner, prioritizing the interests of adult smokers and public health goals.