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Tag: Kingsley Wheaton

  • BAT Releases 352-Page Omni Update at GTNF 2026

    BAT Releases 352-Page Omni Update at GTNF 2026

    British American Tobacco released a printed 352-page update to its Omni platform, a compendium of scientific research, evidence, and case studies supporting the company’s approach to tobacco harm reduction. Chief Corporate Officer Kingsley Wheaton announced the release at GTNF 2026 in Lisbon, describing Omni as a resource intended to advance discussion among scientists, public health authorities, regulators, policymakers, and investors.

    “Omni is our platform for gathering evidence based around tobacco harm reduction,” Wheaton said. “What we are launching today is a significant update to it, bringing in the latest case studies, the most current scientific research, and the real-world evidence from markets where smoke-free products are already reaching adult smokers at scale.”

    The updated Omni is organized across 10 chapters covering what BAT describes as the key questions facing the company, the science supporting its smokeless products, and the global tobacco harm reduction evidence base developed over the past decade.

    Wheaton said the platform is intended to be more than a conventional corporate publication. “It’s almost easier to say what Omni isn’t instead of what it is,” he said. “It isn’t a book, a report, or a website, although it can look like all three. It’s a manifesto and a mandate. A manifesto to change and a mandate for action, as we worked toward becoming a predominantly smoke-free business.”

    He said the objective is to encourage scrutiny and discussion rather than present a finished position. “The purpose of Omni is not to tell you what to think. It’s to ignite the conversation with stakeholders, a resource built to be scrutinized, challenged, and built upon. Not a closed document but rather an open one. Because if we’re asking regulators and scientists and public health authorities to engage with the evidence on harm reduction, the very least we owe them is to make that evidence physical, current, and rigorous.”

    BAT says Omni is intended to support its broader A Better Tomorrow strategy and its goal of building a “Smokeless World,” in which smokers who would otherwise continue smoking migrate to smokeless alternatives. The company says the resource is designed to allow readers to move between sections according to their interests while examining BAT’s progress, the scientific evidence surrounding smokeless products, and the wider tobacco harm reduction evidence base.

  • Europe Risks Becoming Another Australia, BAT Boss Says

    Europe Risks Becoming Another Australia, BAT Boss Says

    Kingsley Wheaton, BAT’s Chief Commercial Officer, warned that Europe’s planned sharp tax hikes on cigarettes and alternative nicotine products risk fueling illicit trade similar to the crisis that has been created in Australia. Similar to his remarks last week at GTNF 2025 in Brussels, Wheaton told Euractiv that high excise taxes and strict regulations have pushed 80% of Australia’s tobacco market underground, resulting in taxpayer losses of AUD 9 billion ($5.9 billion) since 2019 and flourishing organized crime responsible for extortion, fire bombings, and murder.

    The warning comes as the European Commission pursues a revision of the Excise Tax Directive, proposing a 139% increase in cigarette taxes and steep rises for e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches. The EU aims to become smoke-free by 2040, targeting tobacco and nicotine consumption below 5%. While BAT acknowledges that smokeless products are not risk-free, Wheaton argued they are far less harmful than smoking and should remain accessible and affordable even as cigarette prices rise.

    Wheaton urged policymakers to focus on progressively taxing cigarettes while maintaining access to safer nicotine alternatives, alongside responsible packaging, retail licensing, and nicotine ceilings, however, the Commission continues to repeatedly reject any warning that comes from cigarette-producing companies.

  • BAT’s Wheaton Calls for Policymakers to Embrace Harm Reduction at GTNF Opening

    BAT’s Wheaton Calls for Policymakers to Embrace Harm Reduction at GTNF Opening

    Brussels, October 6, 2025 — Kingsley Wheaton, Chief Corporate Officer of BAT, opened the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) with a call for policymakers to embrace harm reduction and real-world evidence as the basis for future regulation.

    “Right now, we stand at a crossroads,” Wheaton said. “One where the choices we make — as individuals, as companies, and as an industry — will shape the future of public health, policy, and perception.”

    Speaking under the GTNF’s theme, “Real World Evidence: The Race to Reduce Harm,” Wheaton argued that Sweden’s near smoke-free status demonstrates the effectiveness of tobacco harm reduction. He credited awareness campaigns, consumer access to smokeless products, and progressive regulation for driving smoking rates to among Europe’s lowest.

    “Sweden is on the verge of achieving something extraordinary: a smoking rate of just 5.3%—less than a quarter of the EU average,” he said. “This isn’t just a number. It’s a public health milestone. And it’s a powerful validation of a strategy that many dismissed: harm reduction.

    “Despite decades of global anti-smoking campaigns, 1 billion people still smoke. At BAT, we believe quitting is the best choice any smoker can make. But for those who won’t quit, offering scientifically substantiated, reduced-risk alternatives is essential. Sweden proves this approach works.”

    In his remarks, Wheaton touted the success of BAT’s Omni program, the company’s global platform and manifesto for tobacco harm reduction launched in 2024. He said Omni is both a movement and a communications framework through which BAT promotes its vision of a “Smokeless World,” aiming to make smokeless products mainstream and push for regulatory environments that support harm reduction.

    “With Omni, we’re launching a platform for science, dialogue, and collaboration to accelerate progress toward a smokeless world,” Wheaton said. “This transformation took belief—belief that we could be part of the solution. And today, I’m proud to say: we were right to believe in it.

    Wheaton also criticized prohibitionist policies, pointing to Australia’s illicit market as evidence of unintended consequences when safer alternatives are restricted. He urged EU policymakers to adopt proportionate, risk-based regulation that recognizes harm reduction as part of tobacco control.

    “How can policymakers not see what’s right in front of their eyes?” Wheaton said. “When safer alternatives are blocked, the void is filled by danger, not progress. It’s time to rethink, recalibrate, and reclaim the narrative. So perhaps it’s time to ask: What if the most effective way to end smoking isn’t to fight nicotine, but to reimagine it? What if the companies that once sold cigarettes can now lead the charge to make them obsolete?

    “The WHO continues to ignore and sideline harm reduction, clinging to outdated dogma while real-world evidence piles up. This is not just intransigence, it’s negligence. It’s time for policymakers to stop pretending this evidence doesn’t exist. Seventy percent of policy experts still believe nicotine is the primary cause of smoking-related diseases, like cancer. That’s not just inaccurate, it’s dangerous. If we’re serious about closing the Tobacco Harm Reduction deficit, we must engage directly with regulators, health authorities, and policy experts to ensure that safer alternatives are not just available, but understood, accepted, and encouraged.”

    The GTNF is the world’s leading annual conference discussing the future of the tobacco and nicotine industries. It is the global exchange for views and ideas between public health experts, government representatives, the industry, and investors.

  • BAT Announces Management Board Changes

    BAT Announces Management Board Changes

    BAT today (September 11) announced upcoming changes to its management board. After 23 years with the group, including 11 as general counsel and board member, Jerome Abelman will step down as Director, Legal and General Counsel on effective December 31. Paul McCrory, currently Director, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, will become Director, Legal and General Counsel Designate on October 1 before assuming the role fully on January 1, 2026. McCrory has been with BAT for over 18 years and joined the board in 2023.

    From October 1, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs will transfer to Kingsley Wheaton, Chief Corporate Officer. CEO Tadeu Marroco thanked Abelman for his leadership and welcomed McCrory to his new role, citing his deep experience and collaborative leadership.