"Cigarettes should only exist in museums": It will take a decade to completely eliminate tobacco smoke.

For over thirty years, a strong anti-tobacco campaign has been resonating across the globe. Cigarette manufacturers face increased excise duties and taxes, while tobacco advertising is banned in nearly all countries. Yet, despite these efforts, the number of smokers has continued to rise. This paradox was the focus of discussion at the Techovation Smoke-Free conference hosted by PMI, which brought together scientists, business leaders, and journalists from dozens of countries, as reported by Orda.kz.

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“Completely quitting smoking is an idealistic approach. We all know how ideal behavior, upbringing, etc., should look. Humans are imperfect; we aspire to the ideal but cannot always achieve it,” asserts Jacek Olczak, CEO of Philip Morris International.

To support his statement, Olczak cited statistics indicating that nine out of ten smokers struggle to break this harmful habit despite their desire to quit. He adds that this reality compels the search for new methods towards a smoke-free future for humanity.

“I smoked cigarettes myself for over 20 years, two packs a day. I tried to quit many times, constantly hearing from my wife and my doctor about the need to stop smoking. Only about 12 years ago did I find an alternative. Now, I am confident that in 10 years, there will be markets without cigarettes. We will only see cigarettes in museums, where they belong,” declares Olczak.

According to Fred de Wilde, President of Southeast Asia, CIS, and the Middle East, new, smoke-free technologies should serve as alternatives to complete cigarette cessation. Innovations have always contributed to solving global issues, and cigarette consumption has long been one of those problems. This affects not only the smokers themselves but also those around them, and consequently, the entire public health system.

0 About ten years ago, a new concept was proposed to reduce tobacco consumption. It consists of three points:

Don’t start smoking.
If you start — quit.
If you can’t quit – find a less harmful alternative.

Following this path, manufacturers began introducing smoke-free products to the market — heated tobacco systems, nicotine pouches, etc.

After 10 years, millions of people in dozens of countries have embraced this alternative. In Japan, for example, 50 percent of smokers have switched to smoke-free alternatives. As a result, cigarette sales in this country have halved. In Sweden, half of smokers have already quit cigarettes. Official data from the Swedish Public Health Agency shows that only 4.5% of adults born in Sweden smoke. This figure is even below the internationally recognized threshold of five percent established by the WHO for a country to be considered smoke-free. Meanwhile, in India, Turkey, and Vietnam, where the sale of smoke-free products is banned, cigarette sales continue to rise.

“We know that smoking alternatives are scientifically substantiated and less harmful. This is a path to reducing the scale of smoking. Positive outcomes contribute to strengthening public health and socio-economic benefits,” argues Fred Reuter, Executive Director of the Center for Consumer Choice.

People are hesitant to switch to new options, and many countries ban the sale of systems because they cater to this perspective. However, the reduction of harm and the economic benefits for healthcare are leading more countries to choose less harmful alternatives and decrease smoking rates.

“Currently, we are investing $1.5 billion a year into research and development. This allows us to stand alongside technology companies,” emphasized PMI CEO Jacek Olczak from the conference stage.

Ten years after the emergence of smoke-free alternatives, the goal of completely quitting cigarettes is becoming increasingly attainable.

Author: Ulan Gapparov