BAT Touts Mexico as Key for Smokeless Latin America
British American Tobacco (BAT) views Mexico as a strategic market to lead the transition towards a “smokeless world” in Latin America, according to James Murphy, the company’s global director of research and science. Speaking at the presentation of BAT’s OMNI platform, a scientific compendium on the benefits of non-combustible products, Murphy stated the goal is for Mexico to become a benchmark for tobacco harm reduction in Central and South America.
Murphy highlighted that Mexico has approximately 17 million adult smokers, representing a 16% prevalence rate. He lamented that the country’s current prohibition on products like vapes and nicotine pouches prevents smokers from fully transitioning to less harmful alternatives. He warned that this ban has led to an estimated three million users consuming illicit products from a large black market, which creates significant social consequences.
The OMNI platform was created to present scientific evidence gathered over the last decade and to foster dialogue with scientists and authorities about the benefits of smoke-free products. According to BAT’s data, markets that have embraced such products, like the UK, France, Canada, and New Zealand, have seen significant reductions in smoking prevalence, far exceeding the global average.
Murphy suggested that for Mexico to achieve similar results, a combination of factors is needed: consumers seeking these products, regulators permitting them, and manufacturers producing them to high standards, all within a society that accepts the principle of tobacco harm reduction. “Here is all the scientific evidence, here is all the evidence from the leading harm reduction markets,” Murphy said, positioning the OMNI platform as a tool for this discussion.
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