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The recent launch of the glo Hyper X2 in Japan and subsequent launches in 19 key markets globally is BAT’s best performing glo product launch to date, with more rollouts planned. Photo credit: BAT
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BAT’s glo products are currently available in 25 markets internationally. Photo credit: BAT
Heated tobacco products (HTP) are an increasingly hot commodity, receiving attention from consumers, manufacturers, tobacco harm reduction experts, regulators, and anti-tobacco activists alike, albeit with different approaches.
Regarded as a reduced risk tobacco product providing an alternative choice to those who want to switch from smoking combustible cigarettes but perhaps do not want to switch to vapes, HTP’s popularity is reflected in the numerous options offered by transnational tobacco companies and smaller manufacturers.
Glowing results for glo
British American Tobacco’s glo is one of the leading HTP brands in the market and part of BAT’s portfolio of non-combustible, reduced-risk products which include vapor products under the brand Vuse and modern oral tobacco products under the Velo brand. In a few short years BAT built two billion-dollar brands in Vuse and glo.
A company spokesperson told Tobacco Asia, "BAT has a clear purpose to build ‘A Better Tomorrow’ by reducing the health impact of our business. We have taken a multi-category approach and are proud to offer smokers the widest range of alternative products."
“In the first half of 2022 we passed the milestone of 20 million non-combustible consumers across all New Categories, and with 1.1 billion smokers globally, will continue to invest and progress in our transformation journey.”
BAT’s glo products are currently available in 25 markets. In 2021, total consumable volume grew 79% to 19.1 billion sticks while revenue increased 34.4% to £853 million largely driven by the higher volume. In 2022, glo’s volume share rose 1.6% to 19.5% year-to-date in September in the top nine heated tobacco product markets (Japan, South Korea, Italy, Hungary, Greece, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, and Czech Republic. Russia will remain in the top nine markets until the transfer of BAT’s Russian business is complete.)
In Europe, glo’s volume share grew by 4% to 20.4% in the top seven markets (Italy, Hungary, Greece, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, and Czech Republic.) The recent launch of the glo Hyper X2 in Japan and subsequent launches in 19 key markets globally is BAT’s best performing glo product launch to date, with more rollouts planned. This is but one example of the potential for HTP in markets around the world.
Conflicting regulations and a “tobacco-free” target
Another example that highlights the popularity of HTP is the European Commission’s decision to extend a flavor ban to HTP after witnessing their growing popularity among European consumers. This flavor ban would seem to be somewhat contradictory to the EU’s target of creating a “Tobacco-Free Generation” by 2040, as it would make a less harmful alternative to combustible cigarettes less attractive.
BAT said by heating tobacco rather than burning it, HTPs offer a scientifically substantiated reduced-risk alternative to cigarettes, with flavors playing an important role in helping adult smokers to switch. Reducing the number of alternative options on the market will only make it more difficult for adult smokers to do so.
“We believe that regulation should be based on the best available data, which recognizes the difference between traditional cigarettes and smokeless, reduced-risk products, like HTP.”
EU countries have until July to transpose the Delegated Directive into their national legislation. After a three-month transition period to use up all of the current supply of flavor-heated tobacco products, the new regulations will take effect in full on October 23, 2023.
The role of science and tobacco harm reduction
Despite HTP’s growing popularity, the products are still illegal in many countries with many others gearing up to follow suit. In many countries HTP’s are neither legal nor illegal, existing in a legal gray area where consumers are using the products with-out any regulatory oversight.
A factor contributing to this difference in approach to regulating HTP could be differing views on tobacco harm reduction and HTP’s role. For example, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say HTP are harmful and not proven to help smokers quit, even though it does concede that “emissions created from heated tobacco products generally contain lower levels of harmful ingredients than the smoke from regular cigarettes.” The World Health Organization’s (WHO) stance on HTP treat them the same as conventional tobacco products, as do many public health agencies and anti-tobacco activists. In Heated tobacco products: a brief released in 2020 by WHO’s Regional Office for Europe, the agency says “there is insufficient evidence to conclude that HTPs are less harmful than conventional cigarettes. In fact, there are concerns that while they may expose users to lower levels of some toxicants than conventional cigarettes, they also expose users to higher levels of other toxicants.” It would seem WHO, and other similar governing agencies, are ignoring the body of scientific research that is readily available showing “sufficient evidence” that HTP are, in fact, less harmful than cigarettes. By doing so, and dismissing tobacco harm reduction as a viable path towards people’s better health and wellbeing, they are demonstrating clear disregard for science in service of activist ideology.
“We support the aim of governments to reduce smoking rates, and the harm caused by cigarettes. To achieve this, a holistic approach that recognizes the importance of tobacco harm reduction and the role for alternative reduced risk tobacco and nicotine products is essential,” said BAT’s spokesperson.
“Science plays a pivotal role in building trust in and understanding of our products, and encouraging adult smokers to switch to less-risky alternatives. We recently published a year long, peer-reviewed study of glo, which showed smokers who switched exclusively to glo achieved significant and sustained improvements in several indicators of potential harm compared to those who continued to smoke. This, coupled with the growing body of science behind each of the New Categories can be used as proof points by governments to demonstrate the importance of products, such as tobacco heated products, in contributing to tobacco harm reduction.”