HONG KONG, CHINA—The government should put in place balanced regulatory measures on heated tobacco products if it wants to introduce alternatives to cigarette smoking, top tobacco firm Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) has said.
PMI Director for Regulatory Strategy and Engagement in South and Southeast Asia James Arnold said the government has to craft regulations on smoking alternatives to allow their entry and sale in the market. Making these products available and accessible, he argued, will help manage the smoking problem of the Philippines.
Data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2015 reported there are 15.9 million smokers in the country.
The government placed heavier taxes on tobacco products in a bid to reduce the number of smokers by raising the cost of cigarettes. Arnold said there could be a better way to wean the population away from cigarettes, and that is by legitimizing alternatives, such as heated tobacco.
Heated tobacco products, according to PMI, are far safer to use than traditional cigarettes.
Operated by batteries, they heat at a temperature that is enough to release nicotine and generate aerosol, but never gets to the point that the tobacco burns. Arnold explained this is in contrast to cigarettes, which are dangerous to the health largely due to chemicals produced when it is lighted up.
“Smokers around the world have options, and when they have options and information, millions can switch. More than 40 million smokers have tried and used e-cigarettes, [while] more than 10 million have switched to our heated tobacco products,” Arnold told reporters.
However, PMI is still assessing the domestic market before bringing their heated tobacco products in the Philippines.
The multinational is also waiting for the government to place the necessary rules and regulations on smoking alternatives, such as the allowable minimum age for purchasing one and health warning labels.
Although the executive order on public smoking ban does not cover smoking alternatives, it does not stop local government units from making their own ordinances against them. Baguio, for one, issued a ban on the use of vape in public.
“Generally, introducing a new product into an unregulated space is not ideal, but it raises real concerns among tobacco regulators that no nicotine product should be unregulated,” Arnold said.
“We know that they [smokers] are ready in the Philippines, but I also know that currently, legislators are trying to figure out what to do with this category. When that gets a bit settled, we will know better how and when,” he added.
In a survey by PMI in July of last year, 60 percent, or three out of five, of Filipino respondents said they are willing to switch to smoking alternatives should they be made more available in the market. However, PMI admitted it has yet to study how much more consumers are willing to pay for these products, which are known to be way more expensive than traditional cigarette.