ITGA Crop Monitor: October 2020_nº5
ITGA: AN OVERVIEW OF THE EMERGING MARKETS OF NEXT GENERATION PRODUCTS
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is estimated that there are at least 1.1 billion smokers globally, and more than 8 million people die from tobacco-related causes each year. Through the years, it has been possible to see a gradual decline in smoking rates although the progress remains slow. To improve this progress, the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World released the first Tobacco Transformation Index, with the main goal of accelerating the necessary transformation of the global tobacco industry, thus supporting the reduction of harm caused by tobacco use.
Overall Index Rating (Source: Tobacco Transformation Index)
The Transformation Index creates value by highlighting the differences across the world’s 15 largest tobacco companies, which account for approximately 90% of global cigarette volumes, based on their actions in support of this transformation. Thus, the Index specifically assesses the tobacco companies’ activities concerning four key points: phasing out high-risk tobacco products; developing and responsibly offering reduced-risk alternatives to support current users to move away from high-risk products; preventing access and marketing of such alternatives to all non-smokers and non-users of high-risk products, especially youth; and, ensuring consistency of tobacco harm reduction activities across all markets of operation, within regulatory guidelines.