Help for the puffers
RISKY BUSINESS: GLOBAL GIANT’S SMOKE-FREE TOBACCO DEVICE ARRIVES Reduces health risk for smokers but uptake in SA has been slow so far.
In an industry-defining moment, global tobacco company Phillip Morris International (PMI) recently launched the IQOS ILUMA smoke-free tobacco device in South Africa.
The gadgets use tobacco-heating technology to deliver the same satisfaction one would get from a cigarette, but without the smoke.
While the technology is still fairly new, PMI says the smokefree device has reduced risk compared to cigarettes due to the eliminated harm of inhaling smoke.
Known for its famous brands Marlboro and Chesterfield, PMI still holds a significant global market share in the cigarette industry. However, nearly 10 years ago, the company embarked on a mission to provide smokers with a lower risk alternative.
Scary, but rewarding
Branislav Bibic, vice-president of PMI Sub-Saharan Africa, described the transition as a daunting and risky move. “It was scary in the first few years, and some people thought that we were crazy to do that,” Bibic said.
“We are still the global leader in the cigarette industry with the biggest global cigarette brand, Marlboro. So disrupting that stable and profitable business was a risky move.”
Bibic said the company invested resources in developing their smoke-free devices to provide tobacco lovers with a reduced-risk alternative.
“While the best option for anyone is to quit tobacco and nicotine products completely, the reality is that many don’t,” he said.
“This is why we offer alternative products to adult smokes that are a better choice than continued smoking,” he added.
Despite the move being a calculated risk, Bibic believes it was necessary, explaining that the transition to smoke-free tobacco products was inevitable.
“Once the technology [takes off], it cannot be stopped. So if you try to slow it down or post pone the inevitable, you’re just giving space to competitors to catch up on your technological innovation. Strategically speaking, it was an obvious choice.”
Reinvention
“At that scary moment, we could have put it [the product] in a drawer and tried to hide, which would be irresponsible to consumers because they deserve to know it exists,” he said.
PMI said it’s been 10 years since tapping into smoke-free technology. “We have transformed as a company and we have triggered and driven transformation of the industry,” said Bibic.
Thus far the IQOS smoke-free devices have been well-received in countries like Japan, however, the uptake in South Africa has been relatively slow.
Despite a gradual start, Bibic is confident the country will even-smoke-free tually embrace a future. “Our objective is a world without cigarettes, where cigarettes are replaced by smoke-free alternatives that are a better choice than smoking,” Bibic said.
Regulatory concerns
Smoke-free tobacco products are still fairly new to South Africa, with the country being the first in the Sub-Saharan region to receive the latest IQOS ILUMA product. As expected with budding technologies, there’s no sufficient regulatory framework available to govern the industry.
PMI director of EA strategy and policy Neetesh Ramjee said that gaps in legislation shouldn’t get in the way of innovation, adding that the last time relevant SA law changed was around 2007-8.
Ramjee noted that heated tobacco products were taxed differently to cigarettes, charged 25% less. He said that PMI engaged with National Treasury to propose risk-proportionate taxation as an alternative, explaining smoke-free products were different from cigarettes and should be categorised differently.
“I think 25% is a step in the right direction, but if you look at a spectrum of risk where you’ve got cigarettes being the most harmful and not using any tobacco or nicotine products being the least harmful… heated tobacco products are on the lower spectrum of that risk.
“We believe that the taxation should also be there [low]. So higher risk, cigarettes – higher taxation. Lower risk, these smoke-free alternatives – lower taxation. It’s an important part of our business that we get the taxation right,” Ramjee said.