Recognizing the importance of making informed decisions.
We know we must do our part in ensuring all consumers of our tobacco and other nicotine-containing products understand the associated risks when making the decision to use them or not.
That's why we're open about our positions on smoking, nicotine product use and health, and why we consistently adhere to our six core principles in all markets where we do business.
JTI recognizes that cigarettes are a legal but controversial product. People smoke for pleasure but there are real risks that come with that pleasure. Accordingly, JTI believes that tobacco products should be appropriately regulated.
JTI also believes in the freedom of adults to choose whether they want to smoke and that no one should smoke unless he or she understands the risks of doing so. These risks distinguish tobacco from most consumer goods and they place upon the industry a real responsibility. It's a responsibility for which JTI expects to be held accountable, together with governments and the rest of society.
Smoking is a cause of serious diseases including lung cancer, coronary heart disease, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
This conclusion has been drawn from studies which, taken as a whole, show that smokers are at a greater risk of developing these diseases compared to non-smokers and that stopping smoking reduces this risk over time.
While smoking is a cause of these diseases among smokers, there are other risk factors for the individual smoker, including lifestyle, occupation, environment and genetic predisposition. All relevant risk factors need to be taken into consideration when investigating the cause or causes of a disease in any smoker.
If you want to avoid the risks of smoking, you should not smoke.
External links:
World Health Organization
Many smokers report difficulty quitting smoking. The reasons they offer vary. Some say they miss the pleasure they derive from smoking. Others complain of feeling irritable or anxious. Others speak simply of the difficulty of breaking a well-ingrained habit. Given how many people – including smokers – use the term ‘addiction’, smoking is addictive.
But no matter how smoking is described, people can stop smoking if they are determined to do so. No one should believe that they are so attached or ‘addicted’ to smoking that they cannot quit.
Over the past decades, millions of people – all over the world – have given up smoking. Most have done so by themselves. Recent studies have shown that the majority of ex-smokers have quit without treatment programs or other assistance (see Chapman, R., MacKenzie, S., The Global Research Neglect of Unassisted Smoking Cessation: Causes and Consequences, PLoS (Public Library of Science) Medicine, 2010.). Other former smokers have used the many smoking cessation products or programs that are available.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS, also known as secondhand smoke) is a mixture of smoke that drifts from the burning end of a cigarette between puffs and smoke exhaled by nearby smokers.
In poorly ventilated areas, ETS can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat. It may also worsen childhood respiratory tract infections and some childhood respiratory conditions, such as asthma. Furthermore, several studies have linked ETS with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Based on the current science, JTI does not believe the claim has been proven that ETS is a cause of diseases such as lung cancer, coronary heart disease, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Many people have concerns about exposure to ETS. All smokers should show consideration for those around them. JTI strongly advises against smoking when children are present.
JTI promotes practical and effective solutions, such as separate smoking and non-smoking areas, which accommodate the legitimate interests of smokers and non-smokers.
External links:
World Health Organization
U.S. Surgeon General Report
Nicotine is a chemical compound that occurs naturally in tobacco. It is produced in the tobacco root and accumulates in the leaves of the plant.
Nicotine mimics one of the natural chemical messengers that cells in the human body use to communicate with each other. These cells are found in the brain, the nervous system, the heart and muscles.
When inhaled into the lungs, nicotine enters the bloodstream and is quickly distributed in the body, reaching the brain in about 10 to 20 seconds. Once it does so, it binds to specific brain receptors causing the release of dopamine, a chemical messenger. Dopamine plays an important role in inducing pleasure and reducing stress.
Nicotine does not remain in the body for long. One or two hours after inhalation, nicotine in the blood drops to around half of its initial concentration.
Nicotine can cause short-term effects such as increased blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and dizziness.
No. Nicotine does not cause lung cancer. The scientific evidence indicates that nicotine is not a carcinogen in humans and that nicotine exposure does not increase the risk of developing cancer in humans. The risks of smoking-related diseases arise from other chemicals in tobacco smoke, which are by-products of the burning of tobacco.
Nicotine is addictive. At high levels, it is also toxic but not at the levels typically obtained by using tobacco products and e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes that contain nicotine and heated tobacco products are alternatives to cigarettes for adult smokers. They can provide a satisfying experience similar to smoking, while reducing exposure to harmful substances in cigarette smoke. While health risks cannot be completely eliminated, these products have the potential to reduce the health risks associated with smoking.
We offer a variety of e-cigarette products for adult smokers and vapers that can provide an experience as satisfying as smoking traditional cigarettes. We believe that any regulatory limits on nicotine levels in e-liquids should not prevent consumers from obtaining levels of nicotine that are as satisfying as those from smoking or heated-tobacco product use.
Nicotine delivery from e-cigarettes is dependent on e-liquid composition, user behavior and device characteristics and therefore the amount of nicotine in an e-liquid does not necessarily reflect the amount of nicotine in the vapor that an e-cigarette user inhales.
Nevertheless, several regulatory bodies have implemented a limit on nicotine levels in e-liquids. For example, in the EU, e-liquids may not contain nicotine more than 20 mg/ml. Key scientists in the field of tobacco and e-cigarettes have criticized the 20 mg/ml limit for nicotine as too low to match the nicotine delivery from cigarettes and a disproportionate approach to the risks and benefits offered by vapor products.
We agree with this opinion, but strongly believe that effective safeguards must be in place to prevent youth access to all products containing nicotine. All nicotine containing products are intended solely for adult consumers. We also strongly believe that clear and conspicuous warnings about nicotine levels in e-cigarettes must be visible to consumers before they use the product. Additional information about any e-liquid constituents, such as nicotine salts, that may affect the amount of nicotine inhaled should also be provided to adult smokers before they use the product.
We closely monitor scientific and regulatory developments in this area and continue to contribute to the development of e-cigarette product standards.
Depending on the chemical environment, nicotine exists in different forms. It can combine with other substances forming nicotine salts or it can exist in a form that does not combine with other substances. In this form, it is referred to as nicotine base or freebase nicotine. In tobacco, most of the nicotine occurs as nicotine salt.
E-liquids can contain either salt or base forms of nicotine or a mixture of the two. In fact, to date, most e-liquids contain nicotine in both forms. Recently, e-liquids marketed as containing nicotine salts have become popular. Common types of nicotine salts used in e-liquids are nicotine benzoate and nicotine lactate.
E-liquids containing nicotine salts can provide a sensorial experience that some adult consumers perceive as more enjoyable and satisfying versus vaping liquids without nicotine salts. As with various levels of nicotine, we offer both nicotine salt and nicotine base e-liquids to meet different consumer sensory preferences.
Scientific studies conducted on nicotine absorption from cigarette smoke indicate that nicotine absorption in the lung occurs at a constant rate due to the natural condition of the lung, irrespective of the form of nicotine, salt or base. As a result, it is unlikely that nicotine absorption in the lungs is facilitated by the form of nicotine in e-liquids or e-cigarette vapor.
Based on limited scientific data, some have suggested recently that compared to nicotine base, nicotine salt is less likely to evaporate from the microscopic liquid droplets in e-cigarette vapor. If true, this could influence how much nicotine reaches the lungs. Nevertheless, the detailed mechanisms and science of nicotine absorption in vapers are not fully understood and further experimental studies are needed.
The JT Group has a long history of developing products with the potential to reduce the health risks associated with smoking.
Over the past few years, many adult smokers have chosen to use such products, in particular non-combustible products, which numerous public health bodies have actively endorsed for their reduced-risk potential.
JTI develops both non-combusted tobacco products, such as heated tobacco products, snus and nicotine pouches, that dramatically reduce exposure to known harmful constituents in tobacco smoke and that we believe have the potential to lower the health risks of smoking.
We at JTI are committed to:
bringing outstanding RRP to market as additional choices for existing adult smokers; and
providing information to adult smokers about the potential health benefits of these new products.
JTI is currently conducting studies to evaluate scientifically its RRP. These include chemical and toxicological analyses of product emissions as well as human clinical studies. The results of our studies are available to the public on our science page. JTI is also committed to presenting its data at scientific conferences and publishing in peer-reviewed scientific literature.
We strongly believe that public health bodies, regulatory authorities, the scientific community and the tobacco industry should collaborate to develop policies that will give consumers access to and information about all RRP. We look forward to offering these exciting new products, with all of the real benefits that we believe they present, to the adult smoking population.
Tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide (TNCO) pack prints.
Tobacco smoke is a complex mixture and consists of both particulate and gas phases. The particulate phase is comprised of tar, nicotine and water. The gas phase includes carbon monoxide.
The amounts of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide (TNCO) produced by a cigarette vary from product to product and depend on how it is smoked. In many countries, legislation requires TNCO smoke yields to be printed on cigarette packs.
To determine these TNCO yields, cigarettes are smoked in specially designed machines and the smoke is tested for these components, and others, in accordance with validated methods, such as those developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
JTI believes that TNCO pack prints can be informative to consumers, allowing them to compare machine-derived TNCO yields between products and to select specific products according to their preferences.
However, TNCO pack prints do not, and were never intended to, indicate the levels of tar, nicotine or carbon monoxide that an individual smoker will inhale. The amount of smoke an individual smoker takes in depends on the way he or she smokes as well as the type of cigarette.
There is no safe cigarette. Products with lower TNCO pack prints compared to other products are not necessarily any less harmful for the individual smoker.