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Philip Morris expects heated tobacco products to gain ground in 2025
According to Talking Retail, the UK heated tobacco market is projected to exceed £450 million in 2025, reflecting a 5% increase from 2024. Of this, £105 million is currently generated through traditional retail, with forecasts suggesting it will rise to £250 million by the end of the year.
John Rennie, director of commercial operations for the UK and Ireland at Philip Morris, points to a strategic shift towards offering heated tobacco alongside other tobacco-free and reduced-risk products. Globally, Talking Retail reports that Philip Morris International’s tobacco and nicotine alternatives were available in 84 markets by the end of 2023, with a significant number of adults having taken up the company's heated tobacco product, IQOS. These alternatives accounted for 37% of PMI’s total net revenues last year.
According to PMI, IQOS has now overtaken Marlboro cigarettes in net revenues globally. In Europe, heated tobacco unit sales rose by 9.4% during the first quarter of 2024.
Source: Talking Retail, 15 September 2025
Editorial note: This article has been included to provide insight into market trends and industry developments.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will explicitly ban the promotion of heated tobacco products, as well as including them in the generational tobacco ban. Philip Morris has continued to advertise its IQOS devices in shops despite a 2018 government directive prohibiting such activity under existing tobacco laws. You can read more about heated tobacco by reading our dedicated webpage and blog.
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Tobacco warnings need updates to remain effective, researchers say
Graphic health warnings on cigarette packs are becoming less effective, according to new research from the University of Otago. While these images were initially successful in highlighting the dangers of smoking, researchers argue that some people who smoke may now view them as irrelevant or unconvincing. The study found that more relatable warnings—such as those focusing on the financial cost of smoking, its impact on family, or empathetic portrayals of health effects—may resonate more strongly with different groups.
The authors propose five key improvements: tailoring warnings to reflect the varied experiences of people who smoke, using emotionally resonant messages (such as harm to children), shifting focus from just fear to emotions like regret and shame, pairing negative imagery with positive support through pack inserts, and rotating warning designs every six to twelve months to prevent message fatigue.
Source: The Conversation, 14 September 2025
Ozarka E., et al. Managing Fear Responses: A Qualitative Analysis of Pictorial Warning Labels Five Years Post-Plain Packaging. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2025.
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USA: Smoking and nicotine omitted from children’s health plan draws criticism from experts
The Trump administration’s “Make Our Children Healthy Again” plan has been criticised for omitting tobacco and smoking despite their known harms, while simultaneously cutting funding for key tobacco control programmes. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the US.
Brian King, former FDA tobacco official, highlighted that the administration eliminated the very units responsible for tobacco regulation at the FDA and shut down the Office of Smoking and Health at the CDC, which funded state tobacco control efforts. These cuts threaten the progress made in reducing smoking and vaping among youth and undermine efforts to protect children’s health.
Source: NPR, 14 September 2025
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Big Tobacco posts gains in America as nicotine pouch approvals accelerate
American tobacco stocks have delivered an average total return of 43% so far in 2025. The FDA has fast-tracked approvals for nicotine pouches, including 20 flavours of Philip Morris International’s leading brand, Zyn, after a five-year review.
Philip Morris saw shipments of oral smoke-free products rise 32% year-over-year, boosting its stock by over 37% this year, while Altria’s competitor, on!, reported 26% shipment growth and a 27% rise in share price.
The industry’s performance also reflects historic settlements with US municipalities, some of which profited by securitising bonds tied to cigarette sales, providing unexpected financial benefits despite tobacco’s health risks.
Source: The Daily Upside, 15 September 2025
Editorial note: This article has been included to provide insight into market trends and industry developments.
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Malawi’s Tobacco Dilemma: Government inaction Fuels a Growing Health Crisis
Malawi is caught in a difficult position, reliant on tobacco farming which accounts for 15% of the country’s GDP, 60% of its exports, and 23% of tax revenue. Despite the severe health consequences linked to tobacco use, including it being a major contributor to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and COPD, the government remains reluctant to restrict smoking to protect the economy.
Around 831,700 people use tobacco products in Malawi, with tobacco responsible for significant proportions of deaths from ischemic heart disease (18.8%), stroke (12.6%), lung cancer (61.2%), and COPD (34.7%). Smoking also contributes heavily to tuberculosis cases, with about 75% of TB cases linked to tobacco use.
While public health experts call for economic diversification through untapped natural resources like mining the government has quietly rebranded the Tobacco Control Commission to the Tobacco Commission and encourages increased tobacco production to meet growing demand. Civil society organisations continue to pressure for implementation of WHO tobacco control measures, but progress has been slow, with tobacco companies actively opposing anti-smoking campaigns, leaving millions of Malawians vulnerable to tobacco’s health burden.
Source: The Telegraph, 15 September 2025
Editorial note: While governments and industry often present tobacco farming as a pathway to economic prosperity, research consistently shows that smallholder farmers typically earn less from tobacco than from alternative crops. Tobacco is also highly labour-intensive, often relying on unpaid family labour, and many farmers remain dependent on volatile prices and company-controlled supply chains.
See also: Tobacco Tactics - Tobacco Farming
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Spoken contributions
Speaking during the debate in the House of Lords on Plastic Pollution, Lord Brown of Ladyton, Labour, said:
My Lords, beyond health deception, cigarette filters are the single most-littered item on the planet. They are an environmental disaster: they do not biodegrade but break down into microplastics, polluting our rivers and oceans. Banning them would remove the illusion of safety from filtered cigarettes, at the same time preventing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of plastic waste. If we can ban plastic straws, surely we can ban cigarette filters.
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Speaking during the debate in the House of Commons on Crime in City Centres, MP Jessica Morden, Newport East, Labour, said:
I was pleased to see Newport city council announce last week £300,000 for new CCTV in our city centre, and I commend the work of trading standards, whose efforts have seized almost £2 million of illegal cigarettes and vapes. While trading standards and the police are working really hard to tackle this issue, the time-limited nature of shop closure orders means that the shops often quickly reopen. What more can the Government do to strengthen powers to stop this?
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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