‘There’s no reason why anyone should smoke anymore’

An alternative smoking product has arrived in Bristol.

At the end of June, IQOS opened its doors in Cabot Circus and Cribbs Causeway with its heated tobacco products, which aim to provide existing smokers with a “less harmful” alternative.

“It’s good for people who don’t want to smoke anymore, but can’t get off the cigarettes,” says Peter Nixon, Managing Director of Philip Morris International, the company behind the new product.

According to Nixon, IQOS products provide a “close experience” to cigarettes in their taste and nicotine content but deliver these characteristics with less of the risks associated with tobacco smoke.

Managing Director of IQOS, Peter Nixon, says he has been to Bristol “three or four times”

The NHS says that tobacco smoke contains thousands of harmful chemicals such as tar and carbon monoxide. When inhaled, these elements can increase the chances of cancer, respiratory and circulatory issues.

Tobacco smoke also contains nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance. Usually, nicotine addiction is what makes quitting smoking hard.

To offer an alternative to smoking tobacco, Nixon’s IQOS products skip out on the smoke, allowing consumers to get their nicotine fix through heating the substance.

The company’s move to Bristol follows an independent report by Frontier Economics that found the city could be the first in England to become smoke-free by 2024. Nixon says he “genuinely believes” this could be the case with the help of alternatives like IQOS.

Another decision to set up shop, Nixon says, came from the company’s research; which through the exploration of general attitudes, demographics and nation-wide focus groups, found Bristol smokers to be “very receptive to alternatives:” “it seems they embrace new technologies faster.”

According to Nixon, IQOS products contain a higher level of nicotine than other cigarette alternatives such as e-cigarettes. While he openly acknowledges that nicotine is not an entirely risk-free substance, he maintains that IQOS products are a better option than smoking, given its harmful effects.

IQOS in Cabot Circus is located on the second floor

“It isn’t a product which we say is risk-free. We’re saying that if you smoke and you’re going to continue to smoke, this is better.”

“Because the worst thing you can do for your body is smoke. It really is.

“If you can give up completely and go to no nicotine and no products at all, you should do it – for your health. No doubt. But if you can’t, it’s better to get off the cigarettes and onto something which is not as bad.”

The company has planned to expand beyond Cribbs Causeway and Cabot Circus already, with two more shops to open on the Triangle and in Clifton Village.

But grand expansions aside, the company, who also produce Marlboro cigarettes, cannot advertise the products due to their tobacco content, something which Nixon believes should change:

“I think we should change the laws. There should be the ability for me to tell smokers about this product.”

“For me, the Marlboro smokers or the Silk Cut, or whoever: I don’t want them to smoke anymore. I want them to switch to something else; vaping or a heated tobacco product – but they don’t know about it.”

So, would Nixon consider stopping the retail of Malboro altogether? “Sure. I think once we get a critical mass moving across to these new products, we will stop selling cigarettes.”

There are lots of misconceptions around the harm of e-cigarettes. Watch this video to learn more about the impact of smoking vs vaping.

Get your free Personal Quit Plan now to find the best way for you to quit smoking https://t.co/9UHAlTzkjW pic.twitter.com/jXQww3AHUx

— NHS Smokefree (@nhssmokefree) December 28, 2018

Despite having the inability to market the product, Nixon is adamant that with or without Phillip Morris, the world without cigarettes is an “inevitability:”

“I think in the UK, there’s no reason why we should have cigarettes here in 10 years. I think they’ll be a thing of the past.

“If they were invented now, they’d be banned. There’s no reason why they should exist in the future with the technology which we have. There’s no reason why anyone should smoke anymore.”

But for Nixon, who says he now enjoys being an IQOS user after giving up smoking three and a half years ago, remains unsure if he would ever give up nicotine:

“Maybe – I don’t know. I have some days where I don’t use it [the IQOS product] and some days where I do, so I think I could, but I don’t – I enjoy using it. So, for me, I think I’ll probably always use something – let’s see. Maybe I’ll stop completely one day, but it’s not something I’ve really planned.”

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