Reduced Risk Cigarettes

print page

We do not believe that the risks of smoking can be completely eliminated. However, for those adult smokers who have made the choice to smoke, we are committed to making our best efforts to develop cigarettes that have the potential to reduce the risks of smoking. It's what smokers want, it's what society expects and it's the right thing to do.

What we believe

We believe it is in the common interest of public authorities and cigarette manufacturers to make such reduced risk products a success.
We believe that there is therefore a need to engage in dialog with governments to discuss these issues. We need to work with public health bodies, regulatory authorities and the scientific community to develop policies and frameworks for the development of reduced risk cigarettes.
We believe that public health authorities have a primary role to play in defining the parameters of potential reduced risk products, and we would like to contribute to this definition process. In order to make such products successful, smokers should have the opportunity to adequately evaluate them, based on considerations of taste, price and potential benefits.

What actions have we taken?

We have invested resources over the years, looking for ways to make products that address people's legitimate health concerns about smoking. To date, despite research efforts, we have not developed a product, which could be defined as any 'safer' than those already on the market and which meets the taste expectations of our consumers. Part of the problem is that the worldwide scientific community cannot agree which components of cigarette smoke might be responsible for diseases amongst smokers and what would be the most appropriate means of testing the products. It is also the case that there is insufficient understanding of how cigarettes contribute to smoking-related diseases in the first place.

The only modifications in cigarette design which have met with a degree of acceptance within the scientific and public health communities have been cigarettes with lower tar yield, the publicly recognized principle being that exposure to less smoke ought to be better for the smoker.

In addition, work has continued into the development of products, which heat tobacco rather than burn it. The smoke from these new types of product is much simpler in chemical composition. What we need now is to agree a program with public health bodies to establish the criteria for regulating such potentially reduced-risk products.

We are fully aware of our responsibilities as cigarette manufacturers. Whilst recognizing that there is no such thing as a 'safe' cigarette we will continue our efforts to develop reduced risk cigarettes.