At Philip Morris International (PMI), we have a clear vision for the future. And that is to completely replace cigarettes with scientifically substantiated alternatives that are a better choice for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, in the international markets where we operate. Our future will be smoke-free and to make that future a reality, scientific transparency is imperative.

PMI’s transformation is being built on a foundation of world-class scientific rigor and a commitment to openly share our science with the world. We understand that our science can be viewed skeptically, and skepticism demands evidence. Therefore, we welcome scrutiny, and we invite policymakers, the scientific community, and NGOs to review and verify our scientific findings. This is key to the scientific process.

Gizelle Baker, vice president, global scientific engagement, Philip Morris International

Throughout the pandemic, it has never been clearer that facts and science are vitally important in fostering and advancing public health. And we recognize that facilitating scientific dialogue is crucial not only to our work but also to ensuring a fact-based conversation about the potential that smoke-free products represent for adult smokers and public health. The COVID-19 pandemic forced us, like so many others, to pivot how we communicate — this is particularly daunting when it relates to scientific communications. I’m proud to say we have found a way that works. To accelerate the sharing of facts in today’s world of social distancing and online meetings, we’ve created our Open Science conference series, a space to share our scientific findings openly with the scientific community. I feel privileged to be leading many of the conversations in PMI’s Open Science series. We’ve held five open science discussions so far, and each time take learnings and adjust our approach to facilitate meaningful scientific dialogues.

From my early days as a university student, I wanted to study science and understand how to share findings and information. I wanted to connect with peers. I wanted to learn from others — collaboration is at the core of advancing science. And I am a firm believer that this is the essence of an open science approach, where facts are accessible for everyone, where the scientific community can review, verify, and build on the scientific findings — and where trust is placed on science and on engaging in open conversation. And today at PMI, I get to experience firsthand the importance of adhering to this approach and encouraging an open dialogue, even with our fiercest critics.

Our Open Science series is simple in its mission: publicly present our findings, open ourselves to scientific scrutiny and answer questions about our vision, specifically our research and technology.

Each Open Science event is a live virtual forum (and it’s one of many that we use to share and discuss our research). Working in an online environment has allowed us to stay connected, even if we’re located in different corners of the globe. Our PMI panelists — all experts in their fields — can describe our recent results, explore important details, explain the fundamental principles behind our research, and answer questions from live audiences.

I encourage the scientific community to participate in these kinds of open science events so that a wide cross-section of views are heard and debate is fostered. It’s only through open dialogue that we can truly advance public health.

Gizelle Baker, Vice President, Global Scientific Engagement, Philip Morris International, leads PMI’s Open Science conference series. Dr. Baker has a PhD in Biometry and Epidemiology from the Medical University of South Carolina.