About Andre Calantzopoulos
André Calantzopoulos, Executive Chairman of the Board at Philip Morris International, has continued to advocate for the company's transition away from combustible cigarettes toward smoke-free alternatives. He has stated that the company's goal is to "replace cigarettes as soon as possible" with products that do not involve combustion, such as heated tobacco and e-vapor products. Calantzopoulos has argued that "the problem in cigarettes is not nicotine" but rather the combustion process, and that scientifically validated smoke-free products are "a much better choice than cigarettes" for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke. He has cited the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authorization of IQOS as a modified risk tobacco product as validation of this approach.
Calantzopoulos has called for greater collaboration between the private sector, governments, and public health organizations, saying that "cigarette sales can end within 10 to 15 years in many countries" with the right regulatory frameworks. He has criticized what he describes as "ideologically driven resistance" from some public health organizations and has urged them to "put evidence at the center of our decisions." He has also emphasized the importance of science and facts in public discourse, stating that "science and facts are being held hostage and distorted by politics." Additionally, Calantzopoulos has committed PMI to disability inclusion by joining The Valuable 500 initiative, and has said the company has "no plans" to enter the cannabis business, citing the need to focus on its smoke-free mission.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Andre Calantzopoulos's recent appearances.
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Transcript (6 segments)
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Andre Calantzopoulos0:11
We were impacted in certain of the developing markets like Indonesia and the Philippines where daily consumption reduced because people have daily salaries. So when they don't have daily jobs because of the restrictions, clearly consumption is depressed. And obviously an important part of the business that is duty-free sales, due to the lack of traveling, was impacted. So if all this comes together over the next six to 12 months, I think we will see an overall recovery of the business, but we can't precisely say when.
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Interviewer0:48
Meantime, a report crossing this week that the Biden administration is considering mandating that cigarette makers...
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Andre Calantzopoulos1:13
...horizon because if you do it too early, like any abrupt measure, you may have unintended consequences like illicit trade. And I want to remind everybody that the problem of cigarettes is not nicotine. Yes, nicotine is addictive, so if cigarettes have much lower levels of nicotine, they're still at the very high risk of morbidity and mortality because you still have combustion. So our view has always been that it must be authorized and made available. I think with the right measures, then what we're discussing here on the supply side, we can phase out...
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Interviewer2:10
Seen his competitors invest in...
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Andre Calantzopoulos2:12
Clearly there are two routes to cannabis products. One is pure pharmaceutical products that have therapeutical claims and go through the FDA and other agency process, and then products like CBD where we are evaluating their efficacy and also their toxicity because clearly CBD is not a zero toxicity product. So we have to know what is the right, say, dose to have efficacy without creating toxicity. We are doing this evaluation...
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Interviewer3:11
Company investing or British American Tobacco. The story with Philip Morris International is IQOS. This is a device that heats tobacco but doesn't burn it. It is portrayed by regulators and the companies themselves as a healthier alternative to cigarettes. It's also why he's trying to paint Philip Morris as an ESG play. They're holding an ESG webinar and you'd think it would be antithetical, but he's trying to make the case that they are trying to be better here.
