Transformation claims made by PMI on harm reduction (the rhetoric vs the reality)
| Philip Morris International’s claim | The reality |
| ‘We’re trying to give up cigarettes’ and want to help smokers who are seeking a ‘better alternative’.125 126 | PMI is still marketing cigarettes, redesigning pre-existing cigarette brands and introducing new ones and, in 2020, made US$19 bn in gross profit from cigarette sales.16 50 127–132 |
| ‘We have reduced our global cigarette sales by getting smokers to switch to iqos’16 | The change in PMI’s mean annual absolute decline in cigarette sales indicate that PMI’s current claimed reduction and ‘aspirational targets’ restate existing trends, rather than accelerate them.66 |
| ‘iqosis a smokefree product’133 | Research suggests that PMI is playing on terminology in making such claims and that iqos may in fact give off smoke and exposes users to higher levels of toxins than vaping products.51 52 |
| ‘The FDA authorised our electronically heated tobacco system, iqos, as a modified risk tobacco product’.134 | FDA ruling said that PMI could say that iqos is a reduced exposure product but not reduced risk as reduced exposure does not necessarily translate into reduced risk.135 136 |
| (We) ‘do not, and will not, market or sell our products to youth’137 | Marketing expertise suggests that iqosads appeal to youth as does PMI’s use of social media influencer marketing.16 138–140 |
| ‘We support tobacco control regulations’50 | Tobacco companies including PMI are still contesting evidence-based tobacco control policies (eg, standardised packaging, point of sale display bans, flavouring bans) that reduce smoking prevalence, particularly in LMICs.16 141 |
| ‘If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you smoke, quit. If you can’t quit, switch’.34 | These messages do not align with the actions of PMI—its iqosmarketing through social media influencers targets and appeals to youth. It also downplays the phenomenon of dual use when, in reality, most iqosusers continue to smoke cigarettes.16 142–145 |
FDA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; LMIC, low-income and middle-income countries; PMI, Philip Morris International.