From combustible tobacco product to innovative alternatives: BAT creates pathway to a smokeless world

Dubai: BAT is spearheading a transformative approach to Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR), emphasising the critical need to reduce the negative health and social impacts associated with traditional combustible cigarettes.

As part of its purpose to create A Better Tomorrow by building A Smokeless World, BAT is committed to offering scientifically substantiated, smokeless nicotine alternatives, such as nicotine pouches, vaping and heated products. These innovations, the company says, are underpinned by substantial investment in research and development, driven by 1,750 R&D specialists across the eight R&D sites globally to refine and advance these products based on the latest available science and consumer preferences.

In an interview with Gulf News, Wael Sabra, Area Director for BAT Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa – West, which covers 17 countries in South Asia, Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and Caucasus, spoke about a collaborative, science-based approach to regulations, encouraging global and regional authorities to adopt pragmatic, risk-proportionate measures with regards to these smokeless alternatives. This strategy not only seeks to reduce the harm associated to conventional cigarettes but also to support adult smokers, who would otherwise continue to smoke, in transitioning to alternatives with reduced risk potential, ultimately contributing to improved public health outcome. The Middle East, with its increasing awareness of THR, is seen as a crucial region in BAT's global strategy.

Gulf News: What is BAT’s strategy to combat the adverse effects of tobacco consumption?

Wael Sabra: Our purpose at BAT is to create a world where smoking is a thing of the past. It’s important to highlight that we always advise consumers: if you’re not a smoker, don’t start smoking. And if you are a smoker, the first thing we advise is to quit. However, approximately one billion adult smokers still remain, and we recognise that some adult consumers are unable to quit or might not want to quit. This is where we encourage those consumers, who would otherwise continue to smoke, to switch completely to alternative nicotine products. BAT invests around £300 million annually in R&D for our smokeless products, offering multi-category portfolio of smokeless alternatives, such as nicotine pouches, vaping and heated products to adult consumers around the world and establishing scientific evidence behind their reduced risk profile compared to cigarettes. Our ambition is to build a smokeless world, and we have an opportunity if we recognise the public health potential of THR, grounded in scientific research and a firm commitment to public health - the solutions are available today.

As part of BAT’s corporate evolution, can you shed more light on what THR involves and how it can benefit public health?

THR is a public health policy that was first described by the US Institute of Medicine, which aims to minimise the population level harm associated with using tobacco. THR stems from a widely acknowledged proposition that most of the harm associated to tobacco is caused by inhaling the smoke produced by its combustion, not nicotine. Its purpose is to enable adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke to switch to alternative forms of tobacco and nicotine products that have a lower profile of risk as compared to cigarettes – thereby eliminating the “smoke” or combustion of tobacco. In line with the concept of THR, our purpose is to create A Better Tomorrow by building A Smokeless World, recognising the role these smokeless alternative nicotine products play in reducing the public health burden associated with smoking.

As an industry, we are playing our role to offer our consumers high-quality smokeless products, backed by scientific evidence, to enable adult smokers to switch. Further, we believe that the governments around the world can help adult smokers in making informed decisions to switch by adopting risk-proportionate regulations for these smokeless products. BAT is one of the leading voices globally in educating consumers, public health and media community and policy makers around THR, and we believe a collaborative, stakeholder-inclusive approach towards regulating these products is crucial in advancing public health agenda.

Are there any challenges that you’ve faced on BAT’s transformational journey in the Middle East or that you foresee particularly?

The challenges we face are not just limited to the Middle East but are global. One major challenge is the perception associated with alternative nicotine products. Many people lack confidence in the science behind these products. For instance, an Ipsos study involving 27,000 smokers across 28 countries revealed that 74% of smokers believe that vaping is at least as harmful as smoking cigarettes. This misconception is also prevalent in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with 77% and 79% of respondents, respectively, holding the view that vaping is as harmful, or more harmful than smoking tobacco products.

Another global challenge is the prevalence of unregulated or illicit products. These products often do not comply with local standards and pose significant risks to consumers as they are not being tested appropriately before being put out to the consumers. We believe that evidence-based regulations, proportionate to the relative risk of the smokeless products when compared against combustible tobacco products, coupled with strict enforcement of the regulations, is the best way to advance THR globally.

When I travel around the world, I often see vaping products that are non-compliant with the local standards. For example, they have confectionery, candy-like flavours that may appeal to the youth, with noncompliant packaging, ingredients that have not been properly tested and being marketed in unethical manner. Strict enforcement and sensible regulations can help curtail this.

But isn’t vaping as harmful as smoking cigarettes?

Actually no. There are many credible global third party health bodies that have supportive views on smokeless alternatives. For example, the reputed Public Health England’s e-cigarette evidence report concluded that “vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking and switching completely from smoking to vaping conveys substantial health benefits over continued smoking. Based on current knowledge, stating that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking remains a good way to communicate the large difference in relative risk unambiguously so that more smokers are encouraged to make the switch from smoking to vaping.”

In addition to that, the US FDA has published a webpage explaining the relative risks of tobacco and nicotine products acknowledging that these products exist on a “continuum of risk,” confirming that e-cigarettes are a lower risk alternative for adults that smoke, and that there is a health benefit associated with switching completely from cigarettes to e-cigarettes.

Moreover in 2023, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) recognised that “[nicotine vaping products] reduce the harm associated with smoking tobacco and using other tobacco containing products. Evidence suggests that long-term use of e-cigarettes is significantly less risky to an individual’s health than smoking regular cigarettes.”

How are global developed markets faring in their THR journey, and how can the Middle East benefit from it?

The Middle East, particularly the GCC, is on the right track in advancing THR and we are witnessing encouraging progress. We believe there are more opportunities that can be looked into from global success stories in the countries which are on the brink of becoming smoke-free nations.

Like Sweden’s transformation into the world’s smoke-free leader, with smoking incidence now plummeting to just 5.6%, compared to 15% in 2008, exemplifies profound impact of embracing THR. Sweden’s experience highlights the importance of three aspects in THR; accessibility, acceptability, and affordability of these smokeless alternatives.

Another example is New Zealand, where the government’s endorsement and adoption of THR into their public health policies is helping them achieve its smoke-free ambition. Within five years – after vapour products were regulated as a consumer product – New Zealand witnessed an accelerated 43% decline in its daily smoking rates. The smoking prevalence as of 2022/2023 is at 6.8%. The New Zealand government also ran a “vaping to quit smoking” public information campaign that shares a wealth of information and myth busting around vaping.

These examples show how a collaborative approach, guided by robust science, can advance THR as a public health priority.

Do you think that the latest measures in some parts of the world on strict laws/policies around anti-smoking and anti-nicotine alternatives are the way forward?

I don’t think so and this understanding is based on what I have seen in some parts of the world where strict measures led to unintended consequences. For example, during COVID-19, South Africa implemented a complete ban on cigarette sales, which led to more than 75% increase in the consumption of illicit cigarettes because consumers kept on smoking, just not the legal products.

Similarly, in Australia, where currently a prescription is required to buy vaping products, there are about 1.3 million adult vapers in the country, with less than 10% legally accessing the products. This means 90% of consumers are turning to the illicit market for vaping products. In India, despite a ban on vaping, the estimated 6 million vaping consumers are still using illicit products.

These examples show that strict bans on tobacco or nicotine alternatives drive consumers to access unregulated products that have not been properly product stewarded. A more pragmatic approach is to understand the consumer need, regulate the product category based on the risk associated as compared to traditional cigarettes, educate consumers to make an informed decision and strict enforcement. That would be a more effective way to address the issue, in my view.

How would you describe the importance of this region to BAT globally, and how is the Middle East contributing to BAT’s evolved corporate strategy?

BAT has a proud heritage of over 60 years in the Middle East, and the region is very important to us. In the last few years, we’ve expanded our scope to support North Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, and South Asia from the Middle East. This region offers encouraging economic growth, digital-savvy societies, and immense talent, making it a key area for BAT’s operations.

We are proud to have a team of over 450 employees across the Middle East, representing more than 36 nationalities, with over 33% of management roles held by women. Our people strategy in the Middle East is centered on empowering, inspiring, and upskilling our diverse workforce while fostering inclusivity. We are committed to developing future leaders and offering them a global platform like BAT to accelerate their careers both locally and internationally.

In the Middle East, on average, 20% of the adult population are smokers, which makes smoking one of the notable challenges to public health. This means that THR is particularly relevant, and we see substantial opportunities in educating adult smokers and working with policy makers to showcase the benefits THR could bring in the region.

As a global business, we are committed to growing our contribution towards the economic and talent development of the Middle East.

As the Area Director, what is your vision of BAT in the Middle East in the next 5 years?

My ambition and hope are three-pronged; First, I hope that BAT continues to be the trusted partner of choice for the governments across the Middle East, working hand-in-hand to showcase the robust science behind our smokeless alternatives, and advocate for the evidence-based case studies from around the world on different country’s journey on THR to support public health, ultimately supporting the governments in developing pragmatic regulations. Second, we want to continue contributing to the region’s economic growth. Lastly, as an Arab myself, I want to utilise BAT’s best practices to help develop local talent and give them opportunities to gain global experience. BAT operates in over 170 markets globally with over 46,000 employees, and I see this as a platform to help young professionals from the Middle East grow and succeed on the global stage.

What is your message to those who don’t smoke and those who do?

For those who don’t smoke, my message is simple: don’t start. For those who do smoke, my recommendation is to quit entirely. However, if you are not able to quit smoking or are not willing to, then I encourage you to completely switch to smokeless nicotine products backed by scientific evidence that shows their reduced risk potential to smoking cigarettes.

- In collaboration with BAT