Large tobacco companies are focusing on alternatives to cigarettes in order to continue to do good business in the future. For example, the “Marlboro” manufacturer Philip Morris International (PMI) wants to be “a largely smoke-free company” by 2030. “Lucky Strike” manufacturer British American Tobacco (BAT) wants to generate at least half of its group sales from non-combustible products by 2035; the company is currently at 18 percent. Japan Tobacco International (JTI, “Camel”) is also focusing on smoke-free products. These include tobacco heaters, which only heat up the tobacco but do not burn it. This releases fewer pollutants, which the companies present as a better alternative to cigarettes. E-cigarettes and nicotine pouches are also playing a larger role for the industry giants, as will be shown at the Intertabac trade fair in Dortmund, which starts on Thursday.
Philip Morris has invested more than 12.5 billion dollars (11.3 billion euros) in smoke-free products since 2008. The company is drumming up publicity, and PMI recently addressed the public with the slogan “Germany, stop smoking.” Of course, the companies do not want to stop selling cigarettes any time soon – the business remains lucrative.
Cigarette sales are falling
In Germany, around one in three adults still smokes. Cigarette sales are falling: in 2022 they fell by 8.3 percent, and in 2023 the decline was 2.7 percent to 64 billion cigarettes. The business prospects for manufacturers are bleaking. In addition, politicians are taking increasingly restrictive measures against carcinogenic cigarette consumption. The EU Commission is calling for more smoke-free zones to protect people from passive smoking. Playgrounds, bus stops and train stations should be smoke-free in the future. Brussels is aiming for a “tobacco-free generation” by 2040, with fewer than five percent of smokers.
With this political headwind, the tobacco industry wants to stay on course with alternative products. Philip Morris sold 35.5 billion sticks for tobacco heaters worldwide in the second quarter of 2024, almost eleven billion more than two years earlier. During this period, PMI’s Iqos share of the tobacco market rose from 3.6 to 5.1 percent, according to the company. BAT and JTI are also placing greater emphasis on tobacco heaters, with PMI leading the way with its Iqos brand.
Former politicians drum up support
“In the long term, we want to get out of the cigarette business and only focus on alternatives with reduced pollutants,” says the chief lobbyist for Philip Morris Germany, Torsten Albig. The former SPD politician calls for state support. “Raise taxes on cigarettes, but lower taxes on alternatives with a comparatively low pollutant profile.” He is critical of the current advertising ban on tobacco heaters and e-cigarettes. “Let’s show that the cowboy no longer smokes Marlboro, but uses Iqos – people follow a message like that.”
The big companies are also getting involved in e-cigarettes. There are also tobacco-free nicotine pouches as an alternative to smoking; they are clamped in the mouth to the cheek or upper lip. These nicotine pouches are not legal to buy in Germany, but they are in other EU countries.
Tobacco lobbyist Albig finds this incomprehensible. “A pure ban strategy has never been successful anywhere,” he says, arguing that it fuels the black market. Switching smokers to alternatives could significantly reduce the number of cancers caused by smoking. The example of Sweden shows this: “The cancer rate there is much lower than the EU average because hardly anyone smokes anymore and instead alternatives such as nicotine pouches, which are tax-advantaged there, are consumed.”
The Federal Association for the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products (BVTE) speaks of a “transformation process” in the industry. “We want to reduce the health risks by offering alternative products,” says association head Jan Mücke, calling for a change of course by the legislature. “It should be consistently regulated and taxed according to the harmfulness potential – tobacco heaters and e-cigarettes are relatively highly taxed.”
He believes that the current ban on advertising for tobacco heaters and e-cigarettes is counterproductive. “As a result, we cannot provide consumers with sufficient information so that they can make their own decisions and possibly switch.” Advertising for the harm-reduced products should be possible, demands the former FDP federal politician.
Cancer researcher and politicians shake their heads
Cancer researchers are extremely skeptical about the products. The companies’ alleged commitment to the health of consumers is implausible, says Katrin Schaller from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). The companies are only interested in securing sales and profits.
Schaller warns that the products are sold “as attractive lifestyle products for everyone” and therefore also appeal to non-smokers. “For non-smokers, however, the products definitely mean increased harm.” The harmfulness of the new products is unclear, after all, there are no long-term studies. “It is clear that these products are also bad for your health and addictive – the best thing is to stop using them altogether.”
Members of the Bundestag also dismiss the idea. “Inhalation products can also make people addicted for years,” says CDU politician Tino Sorge. “That’s why large-scale advertising for them would be the wrong approach, also with regard to the protection of minors.”
SPD MP Carlos Kasper is very critical of the preferential treatment of e-cigarettes, tobacco heaters or nicotine pouches: “Just like conventional cigarettes, these alternative products are addictive and harmful to health.” Green Party member Linda Heitmann believes that the term “harm reduction” is just an advertising promise. “And this also carries the great risk that people will find their way back into smoking.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240919-930-236784/1
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