Following the announcement of PMFTC Inc., the local affiliate of Philip Morris International (PMI), to deliver a smoke-free future, the company is scaling-up the accessibility of its flagship non-combustible product, IQOS, for Filipino adult smokers 21 years old and above who would otherwise continue to smoke, through the nationwide expansion of its e-commerce distribution.

PMFTC’s heated tobacco devices and heat sticks is now made available in the Visayas Region including Cebu City, Consolacion, Cordova, Lapu-Lapu City, Liloan, Mactan Airport, Mandaue City, Minglanilla, Naga and Talisay in Cebu;  Iloilo City; and Dumangas, Leganes, Oton, Pavia, San Miguel and Santa Barbara in Iloilo province, through delivery from the IQOS e-commerce store.

PMFTC’s initially introduced its heated tobacco line in the National Capital Region last year through the IQOS.COM website, the IQOS Stores located in major shopping malls, and select tobacconists/retail stores. Currently carried by select 7/11 branches in the National Capital Region, the heat sticks will also be available at select branches in South and Central Luzon by end of July.

“Making IQOS accessible in key areas across the Philippines will help fast track PMFTC’s commitment towards achieving our vision of a smoke-free future. This is in line with PMI’s goal to help adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke to move away from cigarettes as quickly as possible and switch to a better alternative,” PMFTC’s President Denis Gorkun said.

PMI is accelerating its transformation by investing more than USD$7 billion on research, development and production capabilities to create smoke-free products. Currently its heated tobacco products are present in more than 64 countries worldwide.

“While cigarette sales today remain a large part of PMI’s business in most countries, those who follow us would have noticed that this is changing quite rapidly. Today, essentially or 99 percent of our research and development budget is spent on new products. We completely stopped investing in the development of combustible cigarettes. Second, 76 percent of our commercial expenditures are fully dedicated to smoke-free products,” he said.” Newly appointed PMI CEO Jacek Olczak said in a press briefing last May.

Burning or combustion has long been identified by public health experts as what causes the production of diseases-causing chemicals in cigarette smoke.

IQOS devices use a patented HeatControl™ Technology that precisely heats, without burning, tobacco-filled sticks wrapped in paper called HEETS™ to release a water-based aerosol. Unlike cigarettes, IQOS does not burn tobacco and therefore produces no smoke and no ash.

Gorkun noted that heated tobacco products are not risk free and that the best option for smokers is still to quit cigarettes and nicotine products. He, however, said that “for adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke, non-combustible alternatives like IQOS are better options.”

IQOS devices and heat sticks are only for adult consumers 21 years old and above who wish to continue using tobacco products or other nicotine-containing products. The IQOS e-commerce website requires age verification upon entry, while presentation of a valid ID is required upon delivery of the product to the consumer.

 Image from IQOS.COM