At the launch of the initiative, the Malawi government announced that it was committed to promoting the implementation of policies, regulations and programmes aimed at reducing health risks associated with tobacco smoking.
However, in a statement by Philip Jakpor, ERA/FoEN’s Head of Media & Campaigns, the environmental rights group said public health experts have, since it was first made public in 2018, raised concern about the report dubbed “No fire, No Smoke— Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction,” insisting that it was a publicity stunt by a major tobacco manufacturer to promote its so-called “safer nicotine products.
According to ERA/FoEN Deputy Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, “we are in solidarity with public health experts that this is another self-promotion by the tobacco industry deceptively flavored to lure unsuspecting public and government to believe it was concerned about the health risks of smoking.