IQOS: A Global Vision of a Smoke-free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) have made a business-changing and disruptive decision: building the future of the company on smoke-free products that are a much better choice than smoking cigarettes.

The main objective is to encourage all adult smokers, who would otherwise continue to smoke or use other nicotine products, to switch to smoke-free products the soonest. This vision benefits smokers, those around them (and those who care for them), and is the right thing for both the business and for public health and society at large.

In order to reach this goal, PMI are harnessing the role of science, technology, and innovation by integrating these three components into their business model, dynamics, and overall objectives.

Drive Awareness on Actual Harm of Smoking

There is low awareness on the actual harms of smoking within the Lebanese society. A relatively large segment of society (be it smokers or non-smokers) still believes nicotine is the primary cause of smoking-related disease, due to misinformation and lack of relevant awareness campaigns, coupled with continuous attempts by ATOs to focus on nicotine( as cause of harm) in order to cut the way for alternative nicotine replacement products.

PMI’s objective is to raise the right (scientific) awareness about the role of combustion in generating much of the harmful chemicals that are associated with smoking-related diseases. Nicotine, while addictive and not risk-free, is not the primary cause of smoking-related diseases, which in turn is corroborated by leading scientific and medical experts and entities worldwide (e.g. FDA, PHE, etc.)

Establish the Heat-not-Burn Category

 IQOS, PMI’s flagship HnB product, heats tobacco instead of burning it, thus eliminating the principle of combustion, which in turn leads to its tobacco vapor/aerosol being fundamentally different from cigarette smoke, by containing on average 95% lower levels of harmful chemical compared to the smoke of a burning cigarette. However, it does not necessarily equal a 95% reduction in risk as IQOS is not risk-free.

Based on these significant reductions in the levels of harmful chemicals generated, as well as the totality of scientific evidence available on IQOS to-date, switching completely to IQOS is likely to present less risk of harm than continuing to smoke cigarettes.

Because IQOS heats tobacco instead of burning it, it generates no fire, no ash, and no smoke. It leaves less smell on and around us than cigarettes. It also leaves a less unpleasant aftertaste and a better breath than after smoking a cigarette.

PMI’s various studies on air quality confirmed that IQOS has significantly less impact on indoor air quality than cigarettes. The tobacco vapor that IQOS generates contains mostly water and nicotine, and will therefore leave significantly less stains than cigarettes smoke on everything it will be in contact with.

To date, approximately 15 million adult smokers worldwide have made the switch to IQOS, thus making it a better alternative to smoking for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke. Moreover, it is a sleek device backed with science and an innovative technology that is designed in Switzerland.

This Article is brought to you by Philip Morris Lebanon