The tobacco industry is now facing a massive revolution in nicotine technology. Dr. Yach, a renowned anti-tobacco activist, said that this innovation, when made widely available, could cut the long-term trends of deaths by smoking by up to 3 to 4 million.
The former president of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, Dr. Derek Yach, said that the new alternative nicotine products and technologies provide a significant opportunity in the industry.
Yach, who is widely respected as an anti-tobacco activist and had played the leading role in the enactment of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005, explained that this initiative is an opportunity to utilize resources available in the tobacco industry to counteract the damage that it has caused.
However, many anti-smoking experts questioned whether the goal of such a move was to secure the prominence and success of Philip Morris’ harm-reduction product, iQOS, as well as promote any other Big Tobacco goals.
Philip Morris International, Inc. (PMI) announced in 2017 that it would allocate $1 billion to establish the foundation to aid in the fight against smoking. They also said they plan to set aside an additional $80 million every year for the next 12 years.