IQOS: a history of transformation and innovation in the market

Have you heard about IQOS and its innovative tobacco heating system? We know that there are still many people who bring to mind concepts like "tobacco company" or "cigarette manufacturer" when they think of Philip Morris International. However, for over a decade now, PMI has been much more than that.

Our company has been undergoing a transformation for years because we made a decision to lead a unique change in the tobacco industry: progressing towards a smoke-free future and gradually replacing traditional cigarettes with smoke-free alternatives.

There's no doubt that the most healthy choice is always and above all to stop smoking completely and never pick up this habit, but if you're already an adult smoker and you're going to keep smoking, it's important to know that not all products that contain or are used with tobacco are equal. Read on and you'll understand why IQOS, PMI's smoke-free product, is a better alternative than continuing to smoke.

The idea of heating tobacco rather than burning it is not new. In fact, the history of tobacco heating products goes back several decades, as it emerged during the 1980s. However, although the idea has been around since then, early brands were not able to turn it into a real or satisfactory alternative for adult smokers.

IQOS began this adventure by listening to users. The more than one billion adult smokers around the world who, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) forecasts for the next few years, are going to continue smoking, were demanding more innovative alternatives from the tobacco industry. That's why at Philip Morris we put our noses to the grindstone, choosing to transform the foundations of our lifelong business so that we could offer all of them a better choice than to keep smoking.

With that mission in mind, in 2014 we launched the first IQOS devices in Japan and Italy, after which they were progressively marketed in other countries until we reached the 61 markets in which IQOS is currently available. But in fact, the beginning of IQOS's story goes back further. In 2008 we began to work in earnest to make the idea of a world without tobacco smoke a reality. The advances that IQOS devices now represent in the market are the result of many years of careful scientific research and development.

Since 2008, Philip Morris International has invested more than $7 billion and spent over 10 years on scientific research and product development. At the same time, more than 400 scientists and engineers worked together to develop and evaluate smoke-free products.

Today, 12.7 millions adult smokers worldwide have already switched to IQOS*. There are many reasons why adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke or use other nicotine products have decided to join IQOS. Our devices, unlike cigarettes, do not burn tobacco and therefore do not produce smoke, fire, or ash.

What's more, on average IQOS emits 95% lower levels of harmful chemical substances than cigarettes*.

These benefits, among others, contribute to making IQOS a better option than traditional cigarettes. If you also want to leave smoke behind and join the IQOS community, find your IQOS device online at iqos.com or at any IQOS point of sale, which you can easily locate using the store finder.

Don't wait any longer to join a smoke-free future!