PRESS RELEASE
The paper calls for immediate steps to make cigarette smoking a public health priority in the U.S. and to better understand adult smokers, who feel judged, ignored, and left behind
WASHINGTON, DC – America likes to believe it has solved the problem of smoking. It hasn’t. Results of a new national survey, released today, show that 79% of Americans say more must be done to combat smoking-related harm. Philip Morris International’s U.S. business (PMI U.S.) agrees, as detailed in The Forgotten Smoker: Modern Solutions to America’s Oldest Public Health Challenge. This white paper makes the case for policymakers, public health authorities, and medical professionals to recenter cigarette smoking as a public health priority.
The paper (and its accompanying website) offers a set of practical, evidence-based policy recommendations to help reduce smoking-related harm, counter misinformation, and expand access to regulated, FDA-authorized alternatives for legal-age adults who smoke. It describes today’s “forgotten smokers,” who are more likely to be disconnected from standard anti-smoking campaigns.
The paper also highlights widespread misperceptions that discourage adults who smoke from considering the less harmful, FDA-authorized, smoke-free alternatives now on the market.
“We continue to be encouraged by the declining smoking rates in the U.S.; however, millions of our neighbors, co-workers, and family members are still facing real health risks from cigarettes,” said Stacey Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer of PMI U.S. “The Forgotten Smoker calls for a renewed public health focus on adults who smoke by addressing misinformation, recognizing the varying levels of health risk across combustible and noncombustible products, and expanding access to FDA-authorized nicotine alternatives—while helping prevent youth tobacco use.”
Recommendations from the white paper include:
- Meet adults who smoke where they are: 52 percent of adult smokers surveyed feel discriminated against. It is time to treat cigarette smoking as a persistent public health challenge—not a moral failing—and invest in strategies that work for longtime, highly dependent adults who smoke.
- Let the science lead: Misperceptions about nicotine and the role of combustion in smoking-related disease impede progress. Public and medical understanding of the science behind tobacco harm reduction is essential—and long overdue.
- Expand access to FDA-authorized smoke-free alternatives: Despite recent progress, there remains a backlog of smoke-free product applications at the FDA. Adults who smoke deserve access to the science-based, smoke-free options still awaiting FDA review. Authorization of new products must coincide with the agency’s continued youth access prevention and enhanced enforcement against illicit products.
- Combat nicotine misinformation: To accelerate progress, the FDA should clearly communicate, especially to medical professionals, which products it has authorized and what the science says about their relative risk profiles, so adults who smoke can make informed choices.
- Implement risk-based taxation: Tobacco taxes are the most regressive in the country. Tax policy should be structured to discourage use of the most harmful products (combustible cigarettes) and encourage adult smokers to switch to lower-risk alternatives. Price is a powerful lever of persuasion.
“The FDA has recognized that tobacco and nicotine products exist on a continuum of risk—but too often that science hasn’t trickled down to the people who interact with smokers every day, including medical professionals,” said Keagan Lenihan, Chief External Affairs Officer, PMI U.S. “If we’re serious about ending cigarette smoking, the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., we need the FDA to assess and authorize better alternatives to combustible cigarettes in a timely fashion and take a leading role in educating healthcare providers, policymakers, and the public about tobacco harm reduction and the role smoke-free products can play. This is how we will move this issue out of the shadows and solve it once and for all.”
Povaddo, an independent research firm, conducted the national online survey among 2,000 U.S. adults (aged 21+) between February 27 and March 10, 2026. PMI U.S. commissioned the survey.
Topline findings point to a stubborn barrier: confusion about nicotine and the relative risks of combustible versus noncombustible products, as well as strong support for action:
- 52% of adults surveyed incorrectly believe nicotine directly causes cancer.
- Confirming the prevalence of misinformation in this arena, 73% mistakenly believe all tobacco and nicotine products are equally harmful to the user, while 70% believe they all pose the same risk to public health.
- 53% agree that adults who still smoke should be encouraged to switch from cigarettes to smoke-free nicotine alternatives.
- 81% say it is important for public health agencies like the FDA to provide scientifically substantiated information about the relative harms of tobacco and nicotine products.
- 63% agree that FDA reform is needed to keep pace with newer smoke-free products.
PMI U.S.: Invested in America
Philip Morris International Inc.’s U.S. businesses are invested in America’s future and advancing a smoke-free nation. The businesses are committed to providing the approximately 30 million legal-age consumers who smoke cigarettes with better, smoke-free alternatives and to ensuring the products are marketed responsibly. From PMI’s global headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and other locations.
