Smoke and mirrors: How big tobacco manipulates science in Japan

COMMENTARY / Japan

Smoke and mirrors: How big tobacco manipulates science in Japan

A whistleblower reveals how he came to view Philip Morris’ promise of a smoke-free world as deceit

Japan is the world's biggest market for Iqos, a heat-not-burn tobacco product marketed by its maker Philip Morris as a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes — a claim not backed by independent scientific research. | Bloomberg

By Shiro Konuma
Special to The Japan Times

Jun 6, 2025

This story was updated on July 3, 2025, to include a statement from Philip Morris International in response.

In April 2019, I joined Philip Morris Japan as director of medical and scientific affairs. I’m a doctor — and a smoker — and after 25 years working in global health for the Foreign Ministry, I was attracted by the smoke-free vision of Philip Morris International, the world’s largest tobacco company.

Philip Morris, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, states that it is building its future on “smoke-free products that — while not risk-free — are a far better choice than cigarette smoking.” Products such as its Iqos “heat-not-burn” device, which heats tobacco without setting it alight, offer a better alternative for adults “who would otherwise continue smoking cigarettes,” the company says, claiming that this amounts to “tobacco harm reduction.”