Technological advancement has been improving our everyday lives as well as public health, from refrigerating food in the 19th century, through seatbelts, to airbags and other innovations. Why would this not apply to tobacco?

Science, innovation and technology applied to tobacco can benefit society. Philip Morris International (PMI) is driving this change. The travel industry can also play a key role to help accelerate the achievement of a smoke-free world, a world where smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke replace cigarettes with better alternatives.

Greek island embarking on its smoke-free journey

The Greek island of Astypalea, also called the butterfly of the Aegean for its distinct shape, wants to be a source of positive energy for all its visitors, inviting them for a relaxing and reinvigorating getaway focused on well-being and enjoying a better quality of life.

Astypalea recently announced its ambition to become the first smoke-free island in the world. The island is encouraging adult smokers to quit and those who would otherwise continue smoking to switch to smoke-free alternatives. The initiative complements the island’s tourism offering focused on well-being, enjoying the purity of nature, the brilliant sunshine, the refreshing breeze and the crystal clear waters of the Aegean.

Hotels embracing smoke-free alternatives

Today, more than 1,000 hotels around the world welcome the use of smoke-free alternatives, like IQOS, which heats tobacco instead of burning it.

Luxury establishments including the Trois Couronnes Hotel in Switzerland, the Grand Hotel Majestic Gia Baglioni in Italy, the Radisson Royal Hotel Saint Petersburg in Russia as well as stylish hotels like the Me and All Hotel in Germany and the Akasaka Urban Hotel in Japan, offer smoke-free alternative-friendly rooms, and in some cases, allow the use of smoke-free products in common areas. Many hotels have converted smoking lounges and rooms into areas for smoke-free alternatives, and provide a trial kit and guidance to their adult smoker guests interested in switching to better alternatives during their stay.

By welcoming smoke-free alternatives, hotels can expand their service portfolio, helping guest attraction and retention. They can give special attention and the feeling of inclusion to users of smoke-free products, as well as creating awareness amongst existing smokers about better alternatives to cigarettes. In hotels where smoke-free alternatives are used and no cigarettes smoked, there’s less lingering smell, no risk of fire from cigarettes, and most importantly – no smoke. Evidence shows that our tobacco heating system does not negatively affect indoor air quality.

Transformation towards a smoke-free future

PMI is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future that will ultimately replace cigarettes with scientifically substantiated smoke-free products.  These are better alternatives for adult smokers that would otherwise continue to smoke compared to smoking cigarettes. In order to achieve this, the company is transforming itself and the tobacco industry by leveraging the opportunities presented by robust science, technology and innovation, and welcomes interest from other sectors like the travel and hospitality industry to join the movement towards a smoke-free future. This is how our vision is becoming reality.

Behind the development of every smoke-free product of PMI is robust science. The company’s scientific assessment program is based on longstanding practices of the pharmaceutical industry and is in line with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance.

PMI’s smoke-free products are available in over 40 markets around the world, and already 5.9 million adult smokers have chosen to switch from cigarettes to this product, representing a significant opportunity for hospitality providers to engage with this growing community.

Philip Morris International will be present at the World Travel Market London 2018. Learn more about the opportunity of becoming smoke-free and the science behind smoke-free products at the Smoke-Free Future stand, stand number: EU1180.