Experts have pointed out various factors contributing to underage smoking and recommended comprehensive measures to address the issue. We are committed to doing our part in helping prevent children from smoking or using nicotine products. The following are the actions we have taken at PMI:
Our marketing practices adhere to all applicable laws and regulations. We have developed robust internal policies and procedures to minimize accidental exposure to our products, particularly among young people. We support regulation to ensure that only adults can purchase tobacco and nicotine products, strict enforcement of minimum age laws, and penalties for adults who sell or provide such products to minors. We provide guidance to retailers to help them understand underage regulations and their role in preventing tobacco and nicotine product sales to minors, even in uncontrolled settings. Responsible marketing practices is a key priority for PMI as of December 2021. Responsible sales and marketing are critical aspects of PMI's operations.
We develop marketing strategies and materials aimed at attracting adult smokers and users of nicotine products, while taking strict measures to prevent young people from showing interest in and accessing our products. Our smokeless products are intended for adult individuals who would otherwise continue smoking or using nicotine products. Individuals who have never used nicotine products before, particularly minors, should not use any tobacco or nicotine products, and non-smokers or non-users should not start using.
In 2019, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation of measures taken to restrict marketing and sales activities of adult products in all commercial activities, and to prevent young people from accessing them. We released the results in a report published in December 2019.
At that time, we made a series of promises and have since followed through on those promises.
We have committed to providing another progress report in two years' time. Therefore, in May 2021, we presented the first significant and comprehensive update in our 2020 annual report. We will fulfill our promise by providing a second update on this subject in the upcoming 2021 annual report, which we plan to release sometime in Q2 2022.
The report covers a wide range of marketing-related topics, including consumer communication and labeling, as well as employee and third-party training. It reiterates our commitment to preventing youth access. Additionally, it describes our efforts to pilot age verification technology, including through the use of such devices.
Since the release of our comprehensive report, we have made further progress and would like to share an overview of it in this brief update.
Firstly, we failed to uphold our commitment to implementing comprehensive marketing guidelines, which regulate the marketing and sales of our products, including smoke-free alternatives. As stated in our annual report, we established two marketing codes, one for combustible tobacco products, which is an enhanced version of the marketing code that has been in place for years, and another for non-combustible alternatives. As part of launching these codes, we trained PMI employees directly involved in the development or commercialization of PMI products to ensure an understanding of our principles and practices and embed them in their work. We are also providing similar training for third parties who sign or participate in contracts with PMI to develop or commercialize PMI products.
We plan to release our code on our website in 2022.
These regulations are subject to a robust governance process established under the newly formed Marketing Review Committee in 2021. The role of the committee includes guiding the entire organization in implementing the regulations.
In addition, we adhere to global guidelines for all of our business activities, even when local laws do not require it, in order to reduce the possibility of our products appealing to minors. Responsible marketing is crucial in this regard, with flavor use being another important area.
Flavor plays a crucial role in encouraging adults who smoke not to quit but to switch to smoke-free products completely. In 2020, we implemented a centralized governance process for new flavored heated tobacco products, electronic vapor products, and combusted products to assess the risk of unintended use before commercialization. The evaluative framework considered, among other things, the flavor dimension of the product, how it is labeled and marketed, and the regulatory and commercial environment.
The third area of progress is a series of commitments we made in our 2019 Responsible Marketing Practices report, many of which have now been formalized in our guidelines. For example:
Youth usage is now included in our annual comprehensive risk assessment, as mentioned in our comprehensive report. Ethical and compliance oversight monitors compliance with our local policies and ensures appropriate action is taken for any confirmed violations. We have officially established various essential principles in the digital marketing field, including requiring PMI subsidiaries to open social media accounts only on platforms where reliable audience data shows at least 75% of adults in the relevant country use the platform. We also require our affiliated companies to review these data at least once a year. We have taken additional measures, such as preventing contact with individuals found to be minors. In the retail industry, we have doubled the assessment of mystery shoppers at selected touchpoints from 2019 to 2021, including age checks. We provide affiliated companies with a clear set of requirements to follow when verifying age during online sales, including age verification upon delivery. As previously mentioned, each PMI subsidiary must conduct a self-assessment at least once a year and confirm their compliance with these guidelines.
Finally, we are constantly working towards fulfilling our commitment that by 2023, PMI's portfolio of electronic vapor products will be equipped with age verification technology. In this regard, we have first piloted age verification technology through our IQOS VEEV electronic vapor product in New Zealand and Corsica, which was launched in November 2021, with the requirement that consumers must undergo age verification before activating their IQOS VEEV device. These pilot projects have provided valuable insights.
We are making rapid progress towards a future where cigarettes are replaced with better alternatives for the benefit of smokers, public health, and society as a whole. As we continue on our journey, we will adhere to our principles and practices and welcome responsible feedback from the public on the commercialization of our products.
Original article link:
PMI calls for restrictions on tobacco and nicotine use among minors.
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