Commentary

Tobacco Industry Claims About Transformation are Inconsistent With Combustible Cigarette Innovations: The Case of Flavor Capsule Cigarettes

Details

Citation

Moodie C, Thrasher JF, Barnoya J, Mejia R, Barrientos-Gutierrez I, Zavaleta A & Chaloupka F (2022) Tobacco Industry Claims About Transformation are Inconsistent With Combustible Cigarette Innovations: The Case of Flavor Capsule Cigarettes. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntac224

Abstract
First paragraph: Tobacco companies maintain that they do not target their products at those under the minimum legal age of purchase, with some multinationals such as Philip Morris International (www.pmi.com/our-transformation/delivering-a-smoke-free-future) also publicly announcing their vision for a smoke-free future, and others, such as British American Tobacco (www.bat.com/strategy#) and Japan Tobacco International (www.jti.com/news-views/building-brighter-future) implicitly suggesting a move away from cigarettes by indicating a focus on reduced-risk products. It is argued that such rhetoric is solely about profit maximization, and the adoption of harm reduction in tobacco companies’ public relations initiatives and marketing communications cannot be achieved if new users and nicotine addicts are being brought into the market.1 Critical investigation of transformation claims suggests there is no evidence of substantial progress towards eliminating the production and sale of combustible tobacco products, or the design and marketing of youth-appealing products, or opposition to policies aimed at protecting the public.2 We add to this debate by describing how the promotion of flavor capsule cigarettes, a product with high youth appeal and one which is helping drive combustible tobacco sales, is antithetical to youth protection and industry transformation.

Keywords
Public Health; Environmental and Occupational Health

Notes
Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Online

Journal
Nicotine & Tobacco Research

StatusIn Press
FundersMRC Medical Research Council
Publication date online31/10/2022
Date accepted by journal17/10/2022
URLhttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/34765
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP)
ISSN1462-2203
eISSN1469-994X

People (1)

People

Professor Crawford Moodie

Professor Crawford Moodie

Professor, Institute for Social Marketing

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Research programmes

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