Publications
Partners
In a world that demands change, it is imperative that regulators and public health officials hear from those most impacted by a policy of inaction. In the case of tobacco harm reduction, those paying the highest price are adult smokers in need of better options. A new international survey conducted for Philip Morris International (PMI) by independent research firm Povaddo shows that:
People are counting on their governments to keep up with technological advances while ensuring innovative products are appropriately regulated.
- More than half of global respondents (56 percent) believe their government needs to consider the role better alternatives, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products can play in eradicating cigarette use in their country.
- 8 in 10 global respondents (82 percent) agree they would be somewhat or very angry, frustrated, or upset to learn that a breakthrough that could help address a societal issue was not made available to the public due to government inaction.
- 91 percent of those surveyed want public health decisions to be based on science and facts.
- 92 percent want public health policy to be regularly re-examined to ensure it keeps up with scientific and technological breakthroughs.
- The majority of respondents consider that their government is too slow in embracing technological breakthroughs, with 74 percent believing this has negative consequences for public health
The survey results reveal that around 2 in 3 respondents (63 percent) support harm reduction as an appropriate approach to tobacco control.
- 8 in 10 believe adult smokers should have access to and information about a range of smoke-free products. Moreover, nearly three-quarters of adult smokers say they would be more likely to consider smoke-free alternatives if their governments provided information on how they differ from cigarettes.
- 75 percent of adult smokers surveyed would consider using smoke-free alternatives if they were more affordable than cigarettes, the most harmful form of nicotine consumption.
What this adds up to is that the cost of inaction–or even slow, incremental action–is too great. Citizens and constituents say it is past time for policymakers to embrace harm reduction and alternative tobacco delivery technologies as a key component of global tobacco control.
Survey Methodology Povaddo conducted the online survey on behalf of PMI between March 30 and April 20, 2023. The survey was fielded among 30,591 general population adults aged 21 or older in 15 countries: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Tunisia, United Kingdom, and United States. Approximately 2,000 interviews were collected in each country. Data has been weighted by age, gender, and nicotine product use per market to match national statistics. Results are accurate to a margin of error of +/- 1 percent.
This post was sponsored and supplied by Philip Morris International.
