When a company announces it’s building a $600 million manufacturing plant that will create hundreds of high-wage jobs and generate millions in tax revenue, it’s usually greeted as good news.
However, when Philip Morris International announced a Zyn nicotine pouch plant was coming to Aurora, Colo., the reception was mixed.
At a news conference announcing the Swedish Match investment (PMI acquired the company in 2022), Gov. Jared Polis touted the economic success. “We are really excited to help make Colorado the very best state to do business in,” he said.
And Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman touted the numbers: An estimated 500 direct jobs with an anticipated average annual salary of around $90,000, well above the average salary of $58,458 per year in his community.
However, some Colorado public health professionals say Colorado should reject the investment because of its owner.
“From the perspective of economic development, the elected leaders laud the arrival of PMI in Aurora. From the public health perspective, we shouldn’t,” wrote Dr. Jonathan Samet of the Colorado School of Public Health.
Claude Bacon of Owensboro, Ky. says the critics have got it wrong.
“Aurora, Colorado, can expect a responsible and philanthropic corporate citizen bringing legacy-making business and careers that will positively impact their community for decades to come,” Bacon said. “They can expect a company that takes care of its people, and creates a real, positive quality of life.”
Bacon speaks from experience. He’s the president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation, where Swedish Match first opened its plant in 1973.
It employs 1,100 people. Just days ago, the company announced it is expanding operations with a $232 million investment and an additional 450 direct jobs.
“I’m excited to see this incredible new investment and the 450 great job opportunities it is creating for families in Owensboro and the surrounding region,” said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear when he announced the news.
While many people think of the upscale, tech economy of Colorado as a home to white-collar jobs (the state has the second-highest percentage of residents with bachelor’s degrees in the country), the percentage of high school grads going on to college began declining in 2021. More residents are looking for skilled labor positions that require less than a college degree but still provide a good income.
Those are jobs the Zyn factories provide, Bacon said.
“They’re hiring production staff, engineers, technicians and quality control,” he said. “Not to mention the construction jobs from building the new facility.”
Still, Bacon acknowledged there are people who have a negative reaction when they hear the name Philip Morris International because of the tobacco industry’s history. Asked what he would say to Colorado residents reluctant to see the company come to their community, he had one word.
“Listen.”
He pointed to comments from Stacey Kennedy, CEO of PMI’s U.S. business, and the company’s mission of ending the sale of traditional cigarettes. “This project marks a significant milestone in Philip Morris International’s vision for a smoke-free future,” Kennedy said when announcing the Aurora plant.
“We believe Colorado is like-minded in its commitment to innovation, economic opportunity and public health, and we’re eager to work with the state and its talented workforce as we expand our U.S. manufacturing presence,” she added.
At the center of the debate is whether prohibition — ending all tobacco or nicotine consumption — is a realistic strategy, or if the goal should be harm reduction — acknowledging people are going to use nicotine and drastically reducing the negative health effects when they do.
“Prohibition has never worked in public health. Rather empower consumers and patients with the truth and accurate risk assessments of products.” That’s the view of Dr. Kgosi Letlape, former president of the World Medical Association, during an international summit on tobacco harm reduction last year.
“It is the ethical duty of health professionals to assist consumers in this journey, to help prevent tobacco-related disease and save lives.”
Gov. Polis also took a pragmatic view in statement to a local public radio station. “As long as it is legal, from marijuana to nicotine pouches to liquor to mushrooms, we are proud to have good jobs here rather than in other states.”