A new global survey has indicated that 77 percent of adults agree that governments should do all they can to encourage people who would otherwise keep smoking cigarettes to switch completely to ‘better alternatives’.
The survey was commissioned by Philip Morris International and conducted by Ipsos.
In a note posted on its website, PMI said that smoking was ranked alongside obesity, alcoholism and opioid use in its importance as a public health issue. Importantly, the multinational survey showed strong support for the role that innovation and technology should play in resolving these global health problems.
“This survey shows that most people around the world agree that smoking is still a serious public health problem,” Dr. Moira Gilchrist, vice president of scientific and public communications at PMI, was quoted as saying. “They want to see action to tap into the opportunity provided by alternatives to cigarettes that are scientifically substantiated. We are in complete agreement with that view. Public opinion aligns with common sense, and the survey confirms what we have heard for more than a decade.”
PMI said the survey results had shown also that 86 percent of respondents believed consumer goods companies had an obligation continually to research and innovate their products in the interest of public health. ‘However, only 35 percent thought that governments have done a good job to ensure everyone has access to the latest innovations and advancements,’ the PMI note said. ‘Clearly, society does not want governments to block promising solutions to public health problems.’
Publication of the study results follows a meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in Geneva last week, where 181 member countries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) met to decide on global tobacco control policy recommendations. None of their discussions were open to the public or media.
‘Although many individual states took progressive positions, the disappointing and unfortunate outcome of the COP will mean that millions of smokers will not know about better alternatives to cigarettes,’ PMI said. ‘This approach is in sharp contrast with public opinion: 92 percent of those surveyed agreed that smokers should have access to accurate information to guide their choices.’
Gilchrist said the science was clear. “The evidence shows that switching to a smoke-free product is a better choice than continuing to smoke,” she said. “We simply cannot keep smokers in the dark about this information. The COP missed an opportunity to put people and science at the heart of its policymaking.”
‘Contrary to common sense, the tobacco industry has been discouraged from innovating and inadvertently encouraged to keep cigarettes at the core of their business models,’ PMI said.
‘Despite this, at PMI we will not waiver from our commitment to provide the world’s 1.1 billion smokers with better alternatives to cigarettes, as well as information about these options.
‘Countries now have the opportunity to implement local regulations that embrace science and technology. Progressive polices can effectively protect overall population health, while still working in the best interests of men and women who smoke.’
“With any other global problem, from the environment to obesity, everyone works together to deliver better alternatives, inform people about them and incentivize them to change behavior,” Gilchrist said. “Why should this common-sense approach not apply to tobacco?”
‘The clear call from society for more information about, and access to, better alternatives to cigarettes did not come without important caveats that we support,’ PMI said. ‘Of those surveyed, 92 percent agreed that these new products must have robust scientific testing prior to being introduced into the market, and 91 percent agreed that once these products have been introduced their impact needs to be monitored to ensure they are reducing the harm caused by cigarettes.
The survey data can be view here.
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