White Paper Highlights Urgent Need for FDA to Educate Doctors on Tobacco Harm Reduction

A new white paper from Philip Morris International’s U.S. businesses (PMI U.S.) points to a serious knowledge gap among America’s healthcare providers when it comes to tobacco harm reduction. The report, Getting Smart on Reduced Harm, draws on a nationwide survey of more than 1,500 medical professionals and reveals that nearly half mistakenly believe nicotine itself causes cancer.

This misunderstanding is more than academic. It is limiting the ability of doctors and nurses — the trusted advisers for millions of patients — to give accurate counsel to adults who smoke. The evidence shows that while nicotine is addictive, it is not the primary cause of smoking-related disease. Rather, it is the burning of tobacco that releases the thousands of harmful chemicals linked to lung cancer, heart disease, and COPD.

“Science is clear: FDA-authorized smoke-free products are far less harmful than cigarettes,” said Dr. Matthew Holman, Chief Scientific and Regulatory Strategy Officer at PMI U.S. and former director at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “The next step is for the agency to share this science with the healthcare professionals who adults are most likely to turn to for help.”

The survey also found that nine in ten providers want the FDA to communicate directly with them about authorized smoke-free alternatives, and 95% said they would share this information with their patients. Yet the United States lags behind many countries in making smoke-free products accessible, in part because of regulatory bottlenecks and communication gaps.

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, now an adviser to PMI U.S., put it bluntly: “Science ought to be dictating our policy. And sadly, from a health standpoint, science hasn’t dictated policy in the area of tobacco consumption, especially with authorized smoke-free products.”

The report calls on the FDA to step up its role, ensuring that medical professionals receive unbiased, science-based guidance that empowers them to help adult smokers transition away from cigarettes. For the 30 million Americans who still smoke, the consequences of inaction are measured in lives cut short.