The End of Smoking Begins With Better Choices
COMMENTARY
I’ve dedicated my entire career to improving public health for a simple reason: I lost my beloved grandparents to cancer and heart disease — both preventable illnesses that can be caused by smoking.
I worked as a public health scientist for over 20 years at the Food and Drug Administration, including five and a half years as the top scientist at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. My goal over the past decade has been to maximize moving adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes while minimizing underage use of tobacco products.
People might be shocked that a public health scientist would work for a tobacco manufacturer. But if you want people to stop smoking cigarettes, tobacco companies must put all of their focus on developing innovative smoke-free alternatives to replace cigarettes. That’s why I joined Philip Morris International — because that is their long-term goal, one that I fully support.
PMI is the only major tobacco manufacturer committed to ending cigarette sales. Today, more than 36% of our total global net revenue comes from smoke-free products, with a goal to raise that to more than 66% by 2030.
According to public health data, cigarettes are still the #1 cause of preventable death in the U.S., and yet 28 million Americans continue to smoke. PMI is here to change that, and I’m here to help make that vision a reality.
However, PMI cannot achieve this public health goal alone.
Here are three things we know will accelerate the end of cigarettes in America:
MAINTAIN GUARDRAILS AGAINST UNDERAGE USE
The 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey data revealed a continued overall decline in youth use of tobacco products, with current combustible product use reaching an all-time low and e-cigarette use returning to levels that were observed nearly a decade ago. All of us — regulators, policymakers and tobacco companies — must maintain our efforts to guard against underage use by prioritizing enhanced age-verification technologies, retailer compliance and responsible marketing.
MORE OPTIONS FOR ADULT SMOKERS
A wider range of FDA-authorized smoke-free alternatives can help more adults stop smoking. The FDA can help end smoking faster by prioritizing review of smoke-free tobacco product applications that could be labeled as modified risk due to reduced exposure to toxicants or reduced risk of disease.
IMPROVE COMMUNICATION OF THE FACTS
U.S. public health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA, must provide adult smokers with accurate information about how smoke-free alternatives differ from cigarettes by avoiding the combustion of tobacco.
I hope we can reframe our thinking and collectively agree: “If you don’t use tobacco products now, don’t start. If you smoke, quitting is the best choice. If you don’t quit, change to a better alternative to cigarettes.”
Together we can help end smoking.
Find out more about how we can accelerate a smoke-free future at PMI.com/RethinkDisruption
Matthew R. Holman, Ph.D., is a former FDA public health scientist. He’s now vice president of U.S. Scientific Engagement & Regulatory Strategy at Philip Morris International. Despite decades of warnings from the U.S. Surgeon General, more than 30 million of our friends, family members and neighbors continue to smoke. Holman wants them to be informed about smoke-free options that are significantly better than combustible cigarettes. You can reach him on LinkedIn.
This commentary was produced in partnership with and paid for by Philip Morris International
