There was bound to be a degree of scepticism when Philip Morris ran national newspaper adverts in January saying it wanted to give up cigarettes . But for the vaping community that has helped to lead the explosive growth in the e-cigarette business , it naturally raises some fundamental questions – is this a threat or an opportunity for their businesses ? Should they be selling new alternative products developed by tobacco companies ? Can they rely on the scientific research of companies that continue to manufacture cigarettes ? Those questions have been at the heart of the debate in Vapouround Magazine in recent months . At Philip Morris International , we understand and respect the concerns expressed by some . We realise that , because of the history of the tobacco industry , we cannot overnight win over those who doubt our intentions to switch every smoker in the UK to less harmful alternatives . But we would ask to be judged not on our past but on our words and actions today . We have launched our first heated tobacco product into the UK market . We are about to unveil the first e-cigarette developed by our own R & D centre in Switzerland . We have two other “ platforms ” in development that we hope will be offer a real choice for smokers who have not switched to an e-cigarette and would otherwise continue to smoke . We have also asked the government and Public Health England to assess our science and to undertake their own independent research into our products . We are clear that e-cigarettes have been a phenomenal success . According to the Office of National Statistics they have helped more than 1.5 million smokers switch from cigarettes and give up smoking altogether . They have contributed to record breaking falls in smoking prevalence in the UK . That is why we bought an e-cigarette business , Nicocigs , back in 2014 . But we also recognise that , for a certain group of smokers , e-cigarettes do not offer the ritual or experience that they want . After all , government figures show that almost three million smokers have tried vaping and gone straight back to smoking . And , while there have been huge improvements in e-cigarette technology that can help some of those smokers to switch , it is clear that there will be others who want something else . We hope that our four platforms will maximise the chance that every smoker in the country has access to an alternative product so that they can give up smoking , for good . The sooner that happens , the faster we can stop selling cigarettes too . And that is why we are working with vape shops and websites . Why ? Because vape shops are often the first port of call for people looking for alternatives to smoking . Their staff are hugely knowledgeable about the options available and provide the essential one-to-one support that many smokers need . The early results of our collaboration with vape shop owners are very encouraging , and we are keen to expand our network . Our vape shop partners have already seen significant increases in sales particularly among their customers who both smoke and vape . But the IQOS heated tobacco device also provides an option for smokers who simply don ’ t want to vape – and so enables vape shops to expand their businesses faster . We also want to play our part in helping to inform smokers about the relative risk of alternatives . While every person who works in a vape shop knows by heart that , according to Public Health England , e-cigarettes are 95 percent less harmful than smoking , sadly , research shows that half of all smokers do not . So we have offered to put inserts directly into our cigarette packs that inform smokers about the facts and why they should switch . Across every sector of British business , technology is forcing companies fundamentally to change their business models : from car manufacturers to newspaper owners , from taxi companies to supermarkets . And now technology is having the same impact on the tobacco companies . The success of e-cigarettes in Europe and the US , snus in Scandinavia and heated tobacco in Japan and Korea is shaking up the sector in a similar way . Vape shops are at the forefront of that shift . We want to partner with them to ensure that every smoker in the country has the opportunity to switch to a better alternative .
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