The pandemic has hit the US economy and job market hard, battering some industries beyond recognition. That's inspired many job seekers to change careers altogether, according to a new study.
About 61% of US job seekers surveyed -- which includes people who are looking for new roles and people who are unemployed -- have looked for a job in a new industry because of the pandemic. READ MORE AT CNN BUSINESS
According to a Telemundo-BuzzFeed News poll, 60% of Latino voters would cast their ballot for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, while 19% would vote to reelect President Donald Trump.
But as 2016 showed us, you can’t rely on polls alone. READ MORE AT WTTW
Martin King, CEO of PMI America
Please tell us about the kind of family and neighborhood in which you grew up.
I come from a family of six, including two brothers and my sister, and spent the first 15 years of my life in South America. I grew up in Bogota, Colombia, before moving to Cartagena, Colombia—where I have fond memories of sailing out to the different islands back before they became popular destinations for tourists.
I also lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Caracas, Venezuela, where, because my mother was an ornithologist, we camped in every corner of the country, like the Gran Sabana and the Llanos.
I enjoyed working to understand, integrating and absorbing the culture and making great friendships during my time there. To this day, I still look for any and every chance to have an arepa.
Were there any core news stories, you remember, that had an impact on who you are today?
Growing up, I followed everything space-related, especially the Challenger space shuttle which made triumphant strides not only in space exploration and technology, but also by carrying the first black astronauts and female American astronaut into space.
Witnessing how we moved past the adversity from the tragic Challenger explosion, continuing innovation that allowed for dozens of missions, the International Space Station and more taught me a great lesson: setbacks and defeats, no matter their extent, do not end the mission.
Please share how it is that you are fluent in Spanish?
Growing up in South America, I learned Spanish the same time I was learning English. Actually, my parents were worried that I wasn’t learning either but rather a mix of both. I also had the help of conversing with friends and schooling and studied Spanish literature—Jorge Luis Borges is still one of my favorites.
Please tell us about PMI’s smoke-free tobacco platform IQOS.
A few words about Philip Morris International (PMI) first. PMI is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company and its shareholders. PMI is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products and associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the United States.
By smoke-free products we mean nicotine-containing alternatives to combustible cigarettes, some of which do not burn tobacco and others that do not contain tobacco at all. When a cigarette is lit, it burns tobacco at temperatures in excess of 1,112°F and the smoke it produces contains an array of harmful chemicals. By eliminating the burning—as is the case with smoke-free products—the levels of harmful chemicals generated can be significantly reduced compared with cigarette smoke. Of course, this should be substantiated on a product-by-product basis.
It is clear, and we are clear, that no tobacco-or nicotine- containing product is risk-free. The best choice adults who smoke can make is quit using tobacco and nicotine altogether, but the reality is that most will continue to smoke. It is estimated that there are over a billion smokers today—including approximately 34 million men and women in the U.S, according to the CDC. —and the World Health Organization estimates there will still be over a billion smokers in 2025. Adult smokers who would otherwise continue smoking deserve a science-based approach to regulating alternatives that can help them switch completely from cigarettes.
Our aspirational target is that by 2025, at least 40 million adults will have stopped smoking and switched to our smoke-free products. And, we are convinced that it is possible to completely end cigarette sales in many countries within 10 to 15 years. We are confident that the right mix of government leadership and commercial initiative will dramatically accelerate efforts to reduce the health burden of smoking.
We are rapidly shifting our resources to achieve this bold ambition as soon as possible. Almost all our R&D is dedicated to smoke-free products, and most of our commercial investments are already geared toward them. This includes $7.2 billion invested in the research and development of our smoke-free products.
Since we launched our smoke-free products in 2015, we have made very rapid progress: As of June 30, 2020, we estimate that approximately 11.2 million adult smokers around the world have already stopped smoking and switched to our tobacco heating system, IQOS. As of Q2 2020, smoke-free products accounted for almost a quarter of our net revenues.
Unlike cigarettes, the tobacco heating system heats—but does not burn—tobacco and is a fundamentally different tobacco product and a better choice for adults who would otherwise continue smoking.
The product is designed to heat a tobacco plug to a temperature beneath the point at which burning occurs.
IQOS was launched in the U.S. in October 2019, and is commercialized by Altria Group, Inc under an exclusive licensing agreement.
Can you speak of the health benefit/impact, for the transitioning tobacco smoker, of IQOS?
In December 2016, PMI submitted applications seeking authorization from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to market a version of the IQOS system in the United States as a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP). On July 7, 2020, the FDA authorized its marketing as an MRTP. In doing so, the agency found that issuing an IQOS exposure modification order is appropriate to promote the public health. Specifically, the FDA authorized its marketing with reduced exposure information.
• The IQOS system heats tobacco but does not burn it.
• This significantly reduces the production of harmful and potentially harmful chemicals.
• Scientific studies have shown that switching completely from conventional cigarettes to the IQOS system significantly reduces your body’s exposure to harmful or potentially harmful chemicals.
The agency also concluded that the available scientific evidence demonstrates that it is expected to benefit the health of the population as a whole, taking into account both users of tobacco products and persons who do not currently use tobacco products. The decision further builds on the emerging independent international scientific consensus that IQOS is a better choice than continuing to smoke, and follows the FDA’s April 2019 decision authorizing its commercialization in the U.S.
Notably, FDA authorization does not mean that IQOS is “safe” or “risk-free” and “authorization” does not imply FDA approval or endorsement as the agency does not “approve” tobacco products
Which are the policies related to nicotine that affect the LatinX communities being considered in Illinois?
Illinois currently has four bills introduced that would ban the sale of flavored tobacco products—each without an exemption for smoke-free alternatives authorized under FDA’s premarket tobacco products application pathway, through which the agency must find products to be appropriate for the protection of public health in order to authorize their sale.
PMI believes the best way any government, anywhere can answer questions related to smoke-free products—ranging from harm reduction potential to youth use—is for manufacturers to share their evidence with regulators and for governments to make science-based decisions. Ultimately, it is important that any regulation encourages those who would otherwise continue smoking to switch to science-based smoke-free alternatives, while avoiding unintended consequences, such as adoption by youth and nonsmokers.
The FDA has powerful tools to minimize unintended consequences via its pre-market tobacco product application and modified risk tobacco product authorization pathways. As demonstrated through FDA’s recent decision concerning IQOS, authorization via either of these pathways comes with stringent post-market surveillance and monitoring requirements, the results of which must be regularly reported to the agency.
As consideration is given on how to regulate innovative alternatives to smoking, it is imperative to focus not just on unintended consequences, but also on the intended audience of these products: the approximately 34 million American men and women who smoke today. They have a right to choose alternatives authorized through an FDA regulatory pathway.
As the General Assembly considers how best to regulate alternatives to cigarettes in Illinois, it is important to remember that 15.5 percent of adults in Illinois smoke cigarettes. The best thing adults who currently smoke can do to protect their health is to stop using tobacco and nicotine altogether. Those who do not quit deserve better choices—an opportunity to switch away from cigarettes, the most dangerous form of tobacco use.
Do you have any pictures for publication of IQOS?
As the thrust of this piece is a profile on Martin and PMI’s smoke-free vision, attached please find a headshot of Martin and our research and development facility, known as ‘The Cube,” in Neuchatel, Switzerland.
In addition, light of existing federal and state regulations governing tobacco products we do not generally provide product images to media. For more information about our smoke-free vision, please visit www.pmi.com.
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Amazon wants the whole country to know it’s hiring.
The e-commerce juggernaut is hosting a virtual career day next week with the goal of filling 33,000 corporate and tech jobs nationwide.
Registration for Amazon Career Day is free and available on the company’s website, CLICK HERE.
Mingling is harder in a socially-distanced world, but if you're adaptable you can still make connections.
As a result, the coronavirus pandemic has put an end to many of the usual methods many of us rely on to develop our network.
The good news is that networking is still perfectly possible in a socially-distanced world. We just need to be flexible in how we approach it. READ MORE AT MANAGEMENT TODAY
Read biographies of featured guests for "Defining Latinx" Webinar to be held tomorrow at 3pm CST.
Dr. Sylvia Martinez, Associate Professor, Indiana University, Co-Author "Understanding the Latinx Experience: Developmental and Contextual Influences"
Sylvia Martinez is an Associate Professor at Indiana University, jointly appointed in the department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, and the Latino Studies Program. Broadly, her research focuses on the K-16 Latinx educational pipeline and Latinx ethnic identity development.
She is the co-author of the recently published book, Understanding the Latinx Experience: Developmental and Contextual Experiences (2019, Stylus Publishing).
Jorge Valdivia, Art Consultant & Curator
Jorge Valdivia is a Chicago native who grew up in La Villita, a Mexican-American enclave on the city’s Southwest Side. Valdivia is an arts consultant with a special focus on curating performing arts festivals and events. His work has led him to work with organizations like the National Museum of Mexican Art. There he serves as the performing arts consultant where he is the lead curator of the Sor Juana Festival, celebrating the artistic accomplishments of Mexican women. This is the only festival in the country with such a unique scope and focus. His work has earned the National Museum of Mexican Art a reputation as a leading presenter of Mexican/Latinx performing artists.
Valdivia is also a consultant and co-curator of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA). There he co-curates their work with Mexican theater. He also developed their social ambassadors program and helped increase visibility of Destinos Fest between 300 - 1500%. By supporting the entire CLATA team, Valdivia has helped make Destinos Fest one of most reputable Latinx theater festivals in the country.
Prior to his work as a consultant, Valdivia served as General Manager of Radio Arte•WRTE 90.5FM and as Director of Performing Arts for the National Museum of Mexican Art.
In 2002, Valdivia founded Homofrecuencia, the country’s first Spanish-language radio program to focus on LGBT issues. Two years later, Valdivia and the producers of Homofrecuencia continued to break new ground by organizing and sponsoring the first prom for queer prom in Chicago, creating a critical safe space for young people who have been routinely ostracized from “traditional” high school dances.
Today, Queer Prom has become an annual event at the National Museum of Mexican Art serving between 200-350 young people every year. Valdivia’s leadership and dedication to the launch of these initiatives have empowered a new generation of LGBTQ youth to define their own identities and to position themselves at the forefront of the LGBTQ rights movement.
In 2009, Valdivia was honored by the Mayor’s Commission on Human Relations and inducted into Chicago’s Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame for his work with Latinx LGBTQ youth and bring visibility to the Latino LGBTQ community through media and arts.
Since 2013, Valdivia has served as Ambassador of the Chicago Community Trust’s On The Table campaign helping bring visibility to the annual forum designed to elevate civic conversation, foster new relationships and create a unifying experience across the region.
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Your professional worth is not tied to your job title, whether you’re earning a paycheck or if you’re currently employed. Period.
For far too long, we’ve felt embarrassed of being unemployed, or experiencing a layoff, or even asking for help in a job search. Now is the time for that to end. READ MORE AT FORBES
Are you currently job searching? Whether you are looking for a new job or a side gig due to the current economic situation or making a career change to find a better fit, job searching can be difficult and frustrating. Career coaching clients are often overwhelmed with all of the information – and sometimes contradictory advice – that's found online. READ MORE AT U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
As one of the groups to feel the disproportionate effects of job loss and health impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic, Latinos have come to rely on media and social channels more than ever to educate, inform, and entertain.
Latinos continue to be key factors in stimulating the country’s economy with their immense buying power, which increased by 69% in just nine years, outpacing non-Hispanics, which increased by 41% during the same time. READ MORE AT WHNT19 NEWS
With most things in life, organization is key. This is especially true when it comes to a job search. Try these for yourself and take some stress out of job hunting.
Put your best foot forward by staying organized in your job search. The journey to success starts long before your first day on the job. READ MORE AT VERIZON
According to a new study by a leading political research group, about one in three Latino business owners have taken an economic hit from the pandemic. Coronavirus-related job losses have affected at least 29% of Latino families.
While Americans overall are struggling in the COVID economy, Latinos are generally more economically vulnerable than the general population. READ MORE AT THE MIAMI HERALD
The coronavirus pandemic has canceled countless conferences and trade shows and put the kibosh on traditional in-person networking events. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t successfully grow and leverage your network. Use these tips to network virtually with success. READ MORE AT ADVERTISING SPECIALTY INSTITUTE
Business schools aren’t successfully attracting Latino college students after they’ve started college. That’s according to recent findings from the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey, or IDEALS.
The survey found that of the roughly 50% of Latino students who changed their major during college, none changed their major to business. Furthermore, of the 85 Latino students who entered college undecided about their major, only one went on to major in business. READ MORE AT SI NEWS
The push for diversity, inclusion and workplace equity isn't a fad; it's a sea change that all businesses need to be a part of. It's not enough for companies to use social media or websites to embrace Black Lives Matter, gender equality and similar causes. What matters is weaving diversity and inclusion seamlessly into the company culture.
HR executives can play a crucial role by implementing initiatives and leading the C-suite and managers away from unconscious bias or inadvertent racism or bigotry. READ MORE AT SMART BRIEF
In light of recent unsettling events throughout the country surrounding racial injustice, the topics of diversity and inclusion have sparked a discussion not only in communities, but also in the workplace. While the topic can quickly become heated, it’s challenged everyone to examine their own beliefs and actions – including employers. READ MORE AT WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL
Hispanic or Latina women account for nearly 50 percent of COVID-19 cases among pregnant women, further indicating the devastating effects of the pandemic on the minority community, CDC data shows.
Per CDC data collected from Jan. 22 through Aug. 11, there have been 16,798 pregnant women with COVID-19 in the U.S. A little over 14,100 pregnant women provided information about race and ethnicity, of which 6,447 were Hispanic or Latina. In contrast, nearly 3,000 were Black and about 3,600 were white. READ MORE AT BECKER'S HOSPITAL REVIEW
Google is launching a professional certification program allowing people to earn the equivalent of a four-year degree in six months.
Google is launching new certificates that offer a way for people to fast-track their career toward digital jobs in high-demand fields.
Google Career Certificates can be earned through completing six-month courses. To start, the programs being offered include: READ MORE AT SEARCH ENGINE JOURNAL
Read biographies of featured guests for tomorrow's Real Estate Industry Networking event to be held at the rooftop terrace of The Dawson in Chicago.
FEATURED GUESTS
Karla Mina, Real Estate Broker, Compass Realty
Karla Mina, an agent associated with the Compass Residential Brokerage, Lincoln Park, is a triple threat within the local real estate industry. In addition to her recognition as a successful agent, Karla is highly active in local real estate organizations, and has cemented herself as a go-to authority on local industry analysis. She was named a member of the Coldwell Banker International Sterling Society in 2013 and earned the agency’s top residential real estate sales producer designation in the Lakeview office for 2014.
She has further asserted her status as a poster child for real estate, through a number of on-air news/lifestyle programs, and publications, including Chicago Agent Magazine, HGTV’s “Designed to Sell” and “House Hunters,” in addition to ABC News, LXTV’s “Open House”, and host of WGN’s "Market Overdrive." Mina is also deeply rooted in the local community and industry, serving and Founder of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Global Warriors Advisory Board and most recently named, Volunteer of the Year.
Lidia Felix, Senior Loan Officer, Bay Equity Home Loans
Lidia is a Senior Loan Officer at Bay Equity Home Loans. She is a graduate of DePaul University and has nine years of experience in the mortgage industry.
Lidia, has a diverse set of skills that she has learned over the years. She started as a loan processor and worked herself up to Senior Loan Officer. She uses her depth of knowledge in the mortgage industry to help her clients achieve the dream of homeownership.
She works closely with under served communities to help them overcome challenges of obtaining a mortgage. She reaches out to the community by hosting free homebuyer seminars. She is dedicated to providing the best quality service to help her clients every step of the way.
Sharon Aguilera, Owner/Attorney, Genitum Law Group
Sharon is the owner of Gentium Law Group LLC and Gentium Properties LLC. She advises clients leasing, acquiring and financing residential and commercial real estate. From her interest in architecture she was able to see that real estate, like law, is primarily about deal making and client relationships.
Sharon has prior experience with representing clients in naturalization, permanent residence, nonimmigration visas and deportation proceedings among others. Sharon is actively involved with the Women’s Council of Realtors and The Chicago Association of Realtors, where she is a part of the 77 Diversity Committee representing the Near West Side. She is a Board member of The Spanish Coalition for Housing and The State Legislative Contact for State Representative Elizabeth Hernandez.
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Hispanics are experiencing the largest homeownership gains of any ethnic group in the U.S., a turnaround for the population hardest hit by the housing bust that could help buoy the market for years.
The homeownership rate for Hispanics has increased more during the past several years than any race or ethnic group, including whites. The rate, which hit a 50-year low in 2015, has risen 3.3 percentage points since then, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. READ MORE AT THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
While the lure of new Netflix shows may be tempting to help pass the hours spent at home, why not invest in yourself during this downtime and sign up for an online course? Whether you're looking to learn skills to further your career, or just pick up a new hobby, there are countless resources out there.
Here, we round up 10 online learning platforms which offer a range of courses and classes on everything from business and finance, computer science and tech, to photography, design, cooking and more. READ MORE AT TATLER
