Business Talk – British American Tobacco’s Edward Makgotlho on evidence-based harm reduction in the tobacco industry

In this Business Talk with Michael Avery interview, Dr. Edward Makgotlho discusses how British American Tobacco is focused on harm reduction in the tobacco industry.

Makgotlho is the Area Head of Scientific Affairs, Sub-Saharan Africa at BAT and an expert in regulatory affairs and public health.

In this current role, he is committed to advancing tobacco harm reduction and supports this with a robust background in medical microbiology and immunology.

Using this knowledge, he has successfully led complex scientific initiatives and fostered meaningful collaboration among diverse stakeholders.

Makgotlho has served as the Area Head of Science Affairs since 2023, before which he held multiple other notable positions.

These include a Senior Medical Manager (Essential Health: Anti-Infectives) for Pfizer, a Regional Medical Liaison for Amgen, a Medical Science Liaison for Bayer Pharmaceuticals, and a Molecular Diagnostics Specialist for Roche.

Across these roles, he successfully implemented innovative health solutions and regulatory frameworks while actively involved in developing regulatory strategies to facilitate the transition to smokeless alternatives.

He supports these pursuits with a Ph.D. in Infection and Immunity from the University of Wuerzburg, Germany, and has received accolades for his efforts – such as the Best Trainer and Customer Service Excellence Award from Roche Diagnostics (2015), the Best Academic Publication in Basic Sciences from the University of Pretoria (2009), and the prestigious Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Scholarship.

The interview

In this Business Talk interview, Makgotlho discusses how he got into the tobacco industry and provides an overview of how tobacco harm reduction processes work.

He touches on the latest studies on the efficacy of smokeless alternatives such as electric cigarettes and the current policies that are managing these advances.

Makgotlho also unpacks what evidence-based harm reduction policies would look like in South Africa, and how British American Tobacco is addressing concerns around smoking alternatives acting as gateway products.

He concludes the interview by outlining how British American Tobacco is combating negative investment stigma and what he’d say to a regulator or policymaker who still sees all nicotine through the same lens.

Watch the full interview with Edward Makgotlho below.