2020 CONCORDIA ANNUAL SUMMIT

Leading Industry Transformation with Purpose

Main Stage

• Reflecting on the state of the world today, four words come to André Calantzopoulos’ mind: uncertainty, polarization, hyperpartisanship, and ideology. Perhaps most worrying for Calantzopoulos is the recent weaponization, politicization, and distortion of science, which has led to widespread suffering. 
• Philip Morris International (PMI) believes that a future in which cigarettes are obsolete is within reach. In many countries, asserted Calantzopoulos, cigarette sales can feasibly end within 10 to 15 years. More than 11.2 million people around the world have already stopped smoking and switched to PMI’s main smoke-free product. However, misinformation about smoking cessation and smoke-free products continues to abound. According to Calantzopoulos, unscrupulous politicians keen to advance their political agendas are skewing scientific findings and deliberately keeping the public uninformed; as a result, many adult smokers remain confused about healthier alternatives and are continuing to use cigarettes.

“The tendency of individuals to put their self-centered impulses ahead of community wellness remains on display,” André Calantzopoulos