What A Better TomorrowTM Means
To BAT’s Director of Research and Science, Dr. James Murphy, A Better TomorrowTM means everything.
A Better TomorrowTM is why I joined BAT around 20 years ago and it is why I come in to work every day and give my all – there is no place I would rather be. Being able to contribute to tobacco harm reduction on a global scale means everything. Before I joined BAT in 2005, I completed my postdoctoral studies on synthetic organic polymer chemistry at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan. So, science has always been a passion of mine and I am thrilled to be leading BAT’s extensive research and development programs, which support the company’s commitment to reducing the health impact of its business by offering adult tobacco consumers a range of alternative tobacco and nicotine products.
Tobacco Harm Reduction is a public health strategy designed to minimize the negative health impact of smoking. It is widely accepted that most of the harm associated with smoking is caused by the toxicants in the smoke produced by the burning of tobacco. The majority of risk associated with cigarettes comes from the burning of tobacco – not nicotine. And the key thing to understand is that alternative tobacco and nicotine products don’t burn tobacco. Nevertheless, these products are not risk free and contain nicotine which is an addictive substance.
For those adult smokers uninterested in quitting tobacco products altogether, a potentially effective way to reduce the individual health impact of smoking is to transition to alternative tobacco and nicotine products. Rather than taking products away from adult smokers, there should be a greater focus on providing them with a broad and innovative portfolio of potentially reduced risk products. BAT’s portfolio of alternative tobacco and nicotine products are backed by science. In 2022, BAT invested more than £2bn (2.4 billion USD) in New Categories. The goal is clear: to have 50 million adult consumers of our non-combustible products by 2030.
It really is an exciting time to be part of BAT because I know the things that can be accomplished with THR. That’s not to say that it isn’t challenging at times. I understand that it will take time to reach our goals, but I am inspired by the progress we have made and will continue to make.
Alternative tobacco and nicotine products will continue to evolve to meet the preferences of adult consumers. That is why science and innovation are at the heart of our strategy and will lead us in the future as well.