In September 2021, Swedish Match AB announced that it plans to spin off its cigar business and become an entirely “smokefree” company. The spin-off is targeted for completion by the second half of 2022. As Table 1 illustrates, cigars currently represent 28% of Swedish Match’s revenue, with the remainder of its portfolio mostly comprising oral […]

The first Tobacco Transformation Index™ found that a small group of tobacco companies made public commitments to harm reduction, but none have shifted their focus enough to ensure the accelerated decline of cigarettes and other high-risk products. A review of recently published first-half 2021 reports from six of the major tobacco companies indicates that reduced-risk […]

Improper government policies related to tobacco can lead to increased consumption among the poor, erosion of tax revenues, and, worryingly, a surge in criminal activity that can be difficult to control. Recent articles have exposed inherent conflicts regarding smoking in South Africa. We view the signals there as being explosive, seriously underplayed in the media, […]

Before 2020, I knew very little about tobacco control. My knowledge did not go beyond what most people know – that cigarettes are bad for your health and could kill you. Subsequently, tobacco harm reduction was a foreign concept to me, although it made logical sense. I volunteered in Lesotho with the Peace Corps; the […]

In Part I, I discussed failures in the implementation of the Global Strategy to Accelerate Tobacco Control 2019-2025 (GS2025). As that post indicates, there are many factors contributing to shortcomings on this front. In the current piece, I focus on one where a country, Thailand, which, in my opinion, is still facing challenges in reducing […]