Reduce the Harm
of Tobacco Products
Millions of adult smokers are seeking new options, including those that reduce risk, and their preferences are evolving rapidly.
We’re Moving Beyond SmokingTM, taking action to transition millions of adult smokers away from cigarettes to potentially less harmful choices – believing it is a substantial opportunity for adult tobacco consumers, our businesses and society. This is one of our most urgent responsibility priorities.
To achieve our Vision, we are developing a portfolio of satisfying, smoke-free alternatives while working to create the conditions for tobacco harm reduction to succeed through external engagement, science and advocacy. This includes advocating for a harm reduction future in which the industry is operating within science-based regulation, underage tobacco use continues to decline, and adult smokers who can’t or won’t quit are moving to smoke-free alternatives that are authorized by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). We know that millions of adult smokers 21+ are interested in completely switching from cigarettes to a smoke-free tobacco product. And we need to be sure that all adult smokers, regardless of background, demographics or financial means, have equitable opportunities to reduce the harm of smoking.
Our 2025 Goals
- Accelerate investments in innovation, science and regulatory support for new smoke-free product platforms.
- Establish harm reduction, not prohibition, as the proper framework for tobacco regulation in the United States.
- Provide access to expert quitting information for those who have decided to quit.
We're building a diversified business model with smoke-free products to further our harm reduction goals and achieve our Vision to responsibly lead the transition of adult smokers to a smoke-free future.
Importantly, we'll work within the framework that government, public health and regulatory bodies have established to communicate about reduced harm choices. And for any tobacco consumer who wants to quit, we offer access to a breadth of information from experts on how to do so successfully.
Did you Know?
Significant majorities of U.S. stakeholders support harm reduction, not prohibition, as the right path forward for tobacco policy:
80% of adult cigarette smokers 21+;
78% of health care professionals;
70% of policy professionals; and
68% of general population adults 21+
surveyed feel harm reduction** is a better approach than prohibition** for the FDA to focus on when it comes to tobacco.*
FDA's Regulatory Authority over Tobacco Products
The FDA regulates all aspects of the manufacturing, distribution and marketing of tobacco products. With the FDA's expansive authority to define the tobacco marketplace, the Agency is in the leading position to create a mature, regulated tobacco marketplace that successfully reduces the harm caused by cigarettes by:
- timely scientific review and authorization of potential reduced risk-tobacco products;
- actively enforcing existing regulations and taking action to eliminate illicit markets;
- monitoring manufacturers' post-market surveillance data and quickly identifying and remediating emerging issues (e.g., uptick in underage use of a newly authorized product);
- helping to correct nicotine misperceptions and communicate the relative risks of different products to encourage adult smoker transition to smoke-free products; and
- investing in proven tactics to prevent and reduce underage tobacco use.
However, for tobacco harm reduction to succeed, we need a fully functioning regulatory system. 2024 marks 15 years since Congress granted the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products. We supported FDA regulation because we believed science- and evidence-based federal regulation would help address societal concerns about tobacco products, promote public health and benefit adult tobacco consumers. While we still believe federal regulation is critical for harm reduction to succeed, we have a long way to go to realize its promise.
Adult smokers seeking potentially reduced harm products have a right to accurate, science-based information about those products, yet consumers are misinformed about the role of nicotine. The FDA has authorized only a handful of smoke-free products, woefully insufficient to meet the growing adult tobacco consumer demand. And the marketplace is being overrun by illicit disposable e-vapor products that are flouting FDA regulation and contributing to underage use.
To make harm reduction a reality, we are engaging extensively with the FDA and other key stakeholders to advocate for policies and actions that will turn the tide on illicit vapor activity and accelerate a positive impact on public health. Through our efforts and those of others, we hope to see faster progress from the FDA in authorizing smoke-free products, informing adult smokers about the benefits of switching to smoke-free alternatives and enforcing the law by ridding the marketplace of illicit e-vapor products. These changes won't happen overnight, but we're committed to doing our part by engaging and leading responsibly.
Did you Know?
Significant majorities of U.S. stakeholders agree that the FDA should support harm reduction strategies for adults who can’t or won’t quit smoking:
90% of health care professionals;
81% of policy professionals;
79% of adult cigarette smokers 21+; and
75% of general population adults 21+
surveyed agree that the FDA should support harm reduction strategies for adults who can’t or won’t quit smoking by authorizing smoke-free tobacco products for them to switch to.*
Nicotine Misperceptions & The "Risk Cliff"
Persistent misperceptions regarding the role of nicotine and the relative risks of different tobacco products prove to be a significant obstacle to adult smokers' switching to potentially reduced-harm products.
As the FDA states on its website: "Many people who use tobacco products have misperceptions about nicotine and the risks of various tobacco products.
Despite science that shows that e-cigarettes generally have lower levels of harmful ingredients than cigarettes, many adults believe that e-cigarettes are just as harmful or more harmful than cigarettes.
Research has found that some adults who perceive e-cigarettes to be as or more harmful than cigarettes are less likely to switch from cigarette smoking to exclusive e-cigarette use."4
Did you Know?
Large portions of U.S. stakeholders misunderstand nicotine and look to the FDA to address their misperceptions:
82% of general population adult 21+;
81% of policy professionals;
73% of adult cigarette smokers 21+; and
65% of health care professionals
surveyed incorrectly agree that nicotine is a carcinogen, a cancer-causing chemical, and
92% of health care professionals;
92% of policy professionals;
89% of adult cigarette smokers 21+; and
85% of general population adults 21+
surveyed agree that the FDA has a responsibility to correct misperceptions about nicotine, including the misperception that nicotine causes cancer.*
The FDA and other public health authorities agree that there is a broad "continuum of risk" among tobacco products, with cigarettes at the highest end of that spectrum and complete cessation at the lowest end.5 While there may be differences in risk profiles between specific smoke-free products, it will take years of epidemiology to quantify those differences. The body of evidence does, however, indicate a profound risk differential between combustible and smoke-free product categories.
Data suggest that a two-dimensional "Risk Cliff" model is a useful description of the relative risk between combustible products (such as cigarettes and cigars) and smoke-free products (such as moist smokeless tobacco, heated tobacco, e-vapor and oral nicotine pouches).
When the FDA announced its Comprehensive Plan in 2017, then-FDA Commissioner Gottlieb stated FDA policy should be used as a vehicle to "move addicted smokers down that continuum of risk to these less harmful [innovative] products."6 The then-Commissioner also shared his concerns regarding the widespread misperceptions around nicotine among the American public.
The FDA, the public health community and tobacco manufacturers all have a role to play in addressing misinformation that hinders progress on harm reduction. We believe it is our responsibility to help create the conditions for harm reduction to succeed – through education, awareness and advocacy – as we build a strong portfolio of smoke-free products that satisfy adult smokers’ evolving interests and preferences.
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* Altria Client Services Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) Engagement Survey fielded nationwide from October 31, 2023 through November 20, 2023 among n=1,503 general population adults 21+ (MOE +/- 2.3%), n=406 adults 21+ who smoke cigarettes (MOE +/- 4.8%), n=300 other health care providers (MOE +/- 5.6%), and n=300 policy professionals (MOE +/- 5.6%). Results have been weighted by age, gender and tobacco product usage to match current U.S. population data.
** Harm reduction - an approach that focuses on lowering the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes through cessation support, abstinence education, and moving adults who can’t or won’t quit cigarettes to FDA-authorized, less harmful smoke-free tobacco products. Prohibition - an approach that focuses on ending all tobacco use by banning products or flavors, requiring the removal of nicotine in tobacco products, or imposing high taxes to make buying tobacco products cost prohibitive.
1 Altria Client Services Consumer Market Insights Data
2 O'Brien, E. K., Nguyen, A. B., Persoskie, A., & Hoffman, A. C. (2016). U.S. adults' addiction and harm beliefs about nicotine and low nicotine cigarettes. Preventive Medicine, 96, 94-100. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.12.048
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