More than 35 million cigars stopped being produced on Monday, May 31 as part of the World CigarLess Day actions.
This day Philip Morris Mexico announced that it stopped for 24 hours the national production of Marlboro, its best-selling brand, and that it is produced in Zapopan, Jalisco, the plant with the largest production of cigars in Latin America.
The objective of this measure is to reiterate the company’s commitment to stop producing cigars in the future, and to focus its efforts and investment in innovation for the design and development of lower-risk products and thus move towards a smoke-free future.
“We are committed to stop selling cigars in the future and to offer alternative products that decrease the risk of harm to the health of adults who choose to use them. Today we want to have a day without cigarettes, but our goal is more ambitious, because we actually want a life without them. We are sure that it is possible to achieve this if we openly dialogue with authorities, smokers, society, the medical community and industry,” said Catalina Betancourt, Vice President of External Affairs at Philip Morris Mexico.
In Mexico, it is estimated that there are 15 million adult smokers according to the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2018, prepared by the National Institute of Public Health and the Federal Ministry of Health.
Therefore PM argues that if the objective of the authorities is to reduce the incidence of smokers and generate an impact on the public health of the country, adults should have access to existing alternatives to tobacco and nicotine consumption.
In this context, there are alternatives such as e-cigarettes, vapers and heated tobacco products that have the potential to be options for smokers to replace the cigarette and reduce the risk of harm to their health, since by eliminating the combustion of tobacco and the generation of smoke, exposure to the toxics produced by smoking-related diseases is reduced.
Countries such as the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and New Zealand managed to reduce the prevalence of smokers thanks to policies to reduce harm to health based on regulations based on evidence that alternative products to cigarettes, added to prevention policies.
“The best thing will always be to quit smoking, but there are many smokers who will continue to do so. We work to offer these smokers lower risk of harm consumption alternatives, such as our IQOS tobacco heating device. We are convinced that a future without cigarettes is possible and that is why we invite the authorities, smokers, the medical community and society in general to have a debate, informed and based on evidence, about it. To ignore the technological advances and innovation that already exist in this industry is to ignore the 15 million smokers who today and tomorrow will light a cigarette,” Betancourt said.
With actions such as the closure of production at its plant, Philip Morris Mexico reiterates its commitment to achieve a cigar-free Mexico and a smoke-free future. In addition, it continues with its Let’s Talk initiative, which aims to raise awareness among adult smokers about the existence of alternatives to tobacco use.
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