Harm reduction: the vast gap between the tobacco industry's rhetoric and practices

For the past twenty years or so, multinational tobacco companies British American Tobacco (BAT), Japan Tobacco International (JTI), Philip Morris International (PMI), and Imperial Brands have been communicating about their transformation into "harm reduction" players, highlighting "new products" (electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco, nicotine pouches) presented as less harmful than conventional cigarettes. This is part of the Transparency and Truth project.[1], In June 2026, OxySuisse published an analysis of this discourse based on available data. The organization highlights facts that contradict the manufacturers' institutional positioning: continued significant investment in cigarette production, the allocation of industry-funded research, and the deployment of marketing strategies that extend beyond the target audience of adult smokers. The report also puts into perspective the financial stakes for tobacco companies through the new products they promote. According to PMI's own estimates, these products generate a net profit margin approximately 2.6 times higher than that of cigarettes.

The place of conventional cigarettes in the industry's economic model

PMI declares its intention to "accelerate a decisive step for global health: a world without cigarettes," BAT states that it has set itself "the goal of building a smoke-free world by actively encouraging smokers to switch from cigarettes to smoke-free products," JTI speaks of a future based on "reducing the health risks associated with smoking," and Imperial Brands indicates its intention to "make a significant contribution" to this risk reduction through its next-generation products. Since tobacco companies entered the e-cigarette market, followed by the launch of IQOS heated tobacco in Switzerland in 2015 by Philip Morris, and then the development of nicotine pouches, the industry has been communicating about a gradual transition away from conventional cigarettes.

The available data indicate a more nuanced trend. The decline in PMI's cigarette sales, averaging 4 % per year between 2014 and 2019, has slowed to 0.7 % per year since 2020. JTI, for its part, has recorded a steady increase in its cigarette sales since 2021, driven in particular by the growth of brands such as Camel (+4.3 %) and Winston (+5 %) in 2025; at the same time, Marlboro (PMI) reached a record market share of 11 %. Remaining a "leader" in the cigarette market is an objective repeatedly stated by companies in the sector, notably by JTI in 2025, by PMI in 2019 and 2021, and by BAT in 2021. PMI justifies its continued involvement in this market by the need for "responsible leadership"; The report notes that the adjective "ethical", which until 2020 accompanied the term "responsible" in the standardized formula of the annual PMI report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, no longer appears there.

In its financial communications, PMI continues to present the cigarette market as a growth driver, warns of the risk of "cannibalization" of this market by smokeless products, and mentions the "negative effects of taxes" on its cigarette sales. The company also identifies declining cigarette consumption as a factor that could jeopardize the financing of its transition to smokeless products. The industry also supports tobacco production through organizations such as the International Tobacco Producers Association, which the report describes as a front group opposing public health policies.

On the industrial front, PMI invested 250 million Swiss francs in modernizing a site in Russia between 2015 and 2018, BAT opened a new factory in Jordan in 2019, and JTI announced in March 2026 the construction of a 300 million euro production facility in Romania. The product range also continues to expand: PMI launched more than 450 new types of cigarettes between 2016 and 2020, and new 25- and 30-cigarette pack sizes were introduced to the Swiss market in 2026.

Funding for research geared towards the interests of industry

The industry emphasizes its investments in research and development, asserting complete transparency: PMI, for example, states that it publishes its scientific work "transparently" on its website. Tobacco companies have platforms dedicated to their scientific work and promote their infrastructure, such as PMI's research center in Neuchâtel, where hundreds of scientists work and where numerous patents are filed. This communication is accompanied by internal publications, such as PMI's "white papers," and funding for organizations presented as independent, including the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (now Global Action to End Smoking), whose mission is to fund research, smoking cessation support, and agricultural diversification.

The report notes that the industry has been investing in research for decades, with over $300 million spent on these activities between 1953 and 1998, with the stated goal of influencing public policy and bolstering its scientific credibility. Three-quarters of heated tobacco studies are industry-funded and, according to the report, carry a high risk of bias; a systematic review indicates that industry-funded studies are 59 times more likely to conclude that there is a reduced risk than independent studies, which generally fail to reach a consensus.

A few years ago, in 2013, a study by the University of Zurich in Switzerland on plain packaging was funded by PMI with the stated aim of opposing this measure and challenging its effectiveness. This study was published precisely when Australia was facing legal action following the implementation of plain packaging and when other countries, notably France, were also considering adopting this provision.

Another study commissioned by Swiss Cigarette from the University of Lucerne, whose results were reported in the media before the 2022 vote on the "Tobacco-Free Children" initiative but never published, concluded that there was an economic benefit linked to the premature deaths of smokers. In 2017, PMI also intervened with the University of Lausanne to request the retraction of a study establishing that IQOS emissions were similar to smoke. The report also mentions the existence of confidentiality clauses in some research contracts, preventing researchers from disclosing the very existence of projects conducted with industry without its prior consent.

Regarding the scientific references used by the industry, the report notes that while the FDA allows PMI to state that IQOS "reduces exposure" to certain toxic substances, it also specifies the absence of clinical or epidemiological evidence of risk reduction, a detail not included in the company's communications. Several figures presented as independent scientific authorities are identified as having ties to the industry, including oncologist David Khayat, a consultant for PMI; former WHO official Derek Yach, the first president of the Smoke-Free World Foundation; Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, who received funding from Juul (a company since acquired by PMI); and Dr. Ricardo Polosa, a consultant for BAT. The report also mentions the case of Dr. Delon Human, who, through the Swiss companies Health Diplomats and Euroswiss Health, spearheaded several initiatives promoting harm reduction internationally. Euroswiss Health is behind the study that established the figure of 95 % of reduction in the harmfulness of electronic cigarettes, which has since been widely questioned.

The effective scope of new product marketing

PMI states that it reserves its products for adults and has implemented "very strict controls" to limit access for young people; Imperial Brands acknowledges the importance of ensuring its products are not appealing to non-smokers, particularly young people; BAT affirms that it designs its devices, flavors, packaging, and marketing for adults, relying on age verification technologies. In Switzerland, Swiss Tobacco and Swiss Cigarette adopted a Codex in 2018 committing companies to marketing their products responsibly.

The report notes that the marketing of so-called "reduced-risk" products, in practice, targets a broader audience than just adult smokers, with campaigns identified as also targeting young people. A significant proportion of consumers of these products were not previously smokers, particularly among young people. In Switzerland, 15- to 24-year-olds are overrepresented among users of nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes, the latter now being the primary entry point into nicotine consumption for minors and potentially serving as a gateway to conventional cigarettes. The report attributes this appeal to the presence of flavorings and sweeteners in these products, a phenomenon described as "sweetening," which in Switzerland translates into fruity flavors in nicotine pouches, e-cigarettes, and heated tobacco, as well as flavored capsules (mint, fruit) in some e-cigarettes. Age control mechanisms on brand websites are also considered insufficient, with access generally based on a simple declaration of age without identity verification, as is the case in many countries selling these devices online, including France.

In view of these elements, the booklet published by OxySuisse invites us to dissociate the discourse of transformation put forward by the tobacco industry from the reality of its practices, and calls on public health actors to define for themselves the contours of a reduction of risks based on independent data.

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Molineaux H, Canevascini M, Diethelm P, Lonchampt S, Solleder M, Risk reduction in the service of increased profits. Analysis of the tobacco industry's deceptive narrative. OxySuisse; 2026, Available at: transparencyandtruth.ch/ressource/reduction-des-risqueset-nouveaux-produits-du-tabac-le-double-jeu-de-lindustrie/.

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