A Better Tomorrow™ means Building a Smokeless world.
A smokeless world built on smokeless products where, ultimately, cigarettes have become a thing of the past. A world where smokers, who would otherwise continue to smoke, have migrated from cigarettes to smokeless alternatives. A world where Tobacco Harm Reduction is both understood and accepted. A world where smokers make a Switch to Better.
Our goal is to be a predominately smokeless business by 2035.
Innovation is the driving force behind our transformation. Smokers are most likely to switch to a product that delivers comparable enjoyment. At BAT, we make significant investments in research and development to deliver innovations that meet or anticipate consumer preferences.
We decided on a multi-category approach to support Tobacco Harm Reduction through consumer choice. Consumers preferences vary across the globe and no single product category would meet the preferences of every smoker who would otherwise continue to smoke.
Our portfolio of smokeless products consists of Vapour Products, Heated Products and Oral Nicotine Pouches.
We have published the results of 250+ scientific studies for our smokeless products in peer-reviewed journals. In summary, and based on this weight of evidence, our scientific judgment and belief is that our alternative smokeless products are less risky*† than smoking.
*Based on the weight of evidence and assuming a complete switch from cigarette smoking. These products are not risk free and are addictive.
†Our vapour product Vuse (including Alto, Solo, Ciro and Vibe), and certain products, including Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak, and Camel Snus, which are sold in the U.S., are subject to FDA regulation and no reduced-risk claims will be made as to these products without agency clearance.
Scientific Assessment
Most smokeless tobacco and nicotine products are relatively new and do not have long-term epidemiological data, generated over decades, to determine the long-term health risks. Drawing on work by the US Institute of Medicine, BAT developed a scientific assessment framework that guides its approach to researching the effects of its new alternative tobacco and nicotine products, compared to cigarettes. This framework incorporated a weight of evidence approach that integrates various disciplines – preclinical, clinical and population studies to assess the risk reduction potential of smokeless tobacco and nicotine products.
Nicotine plays an important role in Tobacco Harm Reduction, as nicotine’s effects is one of the reasons why people smoke. Although nicotine is addictive, it is not the primary cause of smoking-related diseases. It’s the toxicants released by the burning of tobacco that causes the vast majority of harm associated with smoking. Many public health organisations have stated that the harm caused by smoking could be reduced by encouraging as many smokers as possible, to switch completely to smoke-free sources of nicotine.
Our commitment goes beyond simply conducting the science, we believe it is as important to share it with the wider scientific community, which is why we publish details of our scientific research on this website and submit the results of our research to peer-reviewed scientific journals.