I did not expect this slogan to come from Philip Morris International (PMI).

“If you don’t smoke, don’t start; if you do, quit; if you don’t want to quit, replace it with a less harmful alternative.”

The company owns the iconic cigarette brand #1 – Marlboro, but is increasingly building its business on the smoke-free products.  Over the period of ten years PMI also built the # 1 smoke-free brand in the world – IQOS.  Isn’t the slogan counter-productive to the future business growth?

Let’s go back to 1997 when the UN Focal Point on Tobacco or Health stated that every effort should be made to reduce the toxicity of tobacco products. In 2025, the WHO said comprehensive nicotine regulation should minimize the use of the most toxic nicotine-containing products – that is cigarettes. Today few remember that WHO actually encouraged the innovation to replace the toxic products.

Today these innovations are available globally. They expose humans to lower levels of harmful substances compared to cigarette smoke – a huge technological leap forward. 

Countries around the world have always combated cigarette smoking using various strategies. According to the 2024 report by the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1.25 billion adults worldwide use tobacco products. This means a decrease of 19 million since 2022, and this is the first time such a significant decline has been observed.

Which bans and preventive measures had the greatest effect on the reductions?

The decrease can mainly be explained by increasing taxes and prices on cigarettes, banning sponsorships, performing awareness campaigns, and tightening other statutory policies by states. The promotion of smoke-free alternatives has also become one of the most important tools used by governments to reduce smoking. Many of the world-leading countries promote e-cigarettes and heated tobacco devices (IQOS) as less harmful alternatives.

At a time when global attention to harm-reduction strategies related to cigarettes is growing, interest in smoke-free products is also increasing. Philip Morris International (PMI) is among the companies supporting the harm reduction initiative. PMI is one of the major companies that has successfully implemented its strategy in this field.   

PMI’s Role in the Swiss Economy

As it appears, focus on smoke-free products is good not only for consumers, but also for the economies. PMI has a production center and global operations center in Switzerland. It is a leading international consumer goods company, actively delivering a smokefree future and evolving its portfolio for the long term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company’s current product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products.  During 60 years of operation in Switzerland, the Company has made significant contributions to the country’s economy, positively affecting economic sustainability and tax revenues. It should be especially noted that the location of PMI’s operational and research centers in Switzerland makes a significant contribution to the country’s economy and the tobacco industry.

In 2024, PMI’s global net revenue amounted to USD 37.9 billion. The European region accounts for 40.54% of this revenue, which is approximately USD 15.36 billion. The Company, which went down in history as the first factory to produce smoke-free products, invested 1.2 billion euros between 2013–2020 in this factory in Bologna, Italy.

In recent years, as part of its ‘smoke-free future’ strategy, the Company has focused on alternatives to cigarettes, particularly heated tobacco products (e.g., IQOS). The Company has also had an inevitable impact on the country’s labor market. PMI employs about 1,500 people in Switzerland, contributing to the development of a highly qualified workforce in the country.

How Did the Number of Smokers Reduce in This Country? The Successful Swedish Experience

As stated in PMI’s global mission, the goal is to offer alternatives to those who do not want to give up nicotine entirely. As an example of the successful strategy implemented by the Company in Sweden, we can note that according to statistical data, earlier (in 2004), 16.5% of Swedish men smoked regularly. Sweden for many years has used smoke-free products such as snus. Today, Swedish smokers are using lower-risk smoke-free alternatives such as heated tobacco and orally consumed nicotine products. As a result of embracing smoke-free products, the smoking rates went dramatically down with only 5.4% of people smoking today in Sweden. This is one of the lowest rates among European Union countries.

The result shows that Sweden has not only relied solely on bans and awareness campaigns in combating traditional cigarettes, but also promoted the use of lower-risk alternative products for the smoking population, guided by the principle of harm reduction. These products include e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and orally consumed nicotine products (e.g., snus). Better regulation and relative accessibility of these alternatives have helped steer people away from traditional cigarettes. As a result, as noted above, they achieved a successful decrease from 16.5% to 5.4%.

Successful Japan’s Experience

PMI's activity in Japan can also be assessed as a successful strategy. In particular, the Land of the Rising Sun is considered a globally successful example of using smoke-free products. The Company’s heated tobacco product called IQOS has gained a significant market share in Japan, leading to a decrease in traditional cigarette sales. Let us note that the Company started selling smoke-free products in Japan in 2014. From 2014 to 2023, smoking incidence in the country decreased by 45%, whereas the volume of cigarettes sold fell from 186 billion sticks in 2014 to 92 billion sticks in 2023.

Due to the Company’s achievements in the use of smoke-free products in Japan, PMI has strengthened its leadership position in the global market. The increase in IQOS’s market share, innovative products, and a favorable regulatory environment demonstrate the efficiency of the Company’s strategy in Japan. This experience could serve as an example for the implementation and expansion of smoke-free products in other countries as well.

Major Countries Also Confirm the Lesser Harm of Alternatives

Currently, non-combustible heated tobacco products have become more widespread around the world. Back in 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted that PMI’s leading smoke-free tobacco product, IQOS, was significant in terms of protecting public health and authorized its sale in the U.S. After comprehensive scientific studies, the FDA also approved the sale and marketing of 20 types of ZYN nicotine pouches.

So how is the less harm of these smoke-free tobacco products compared to regular cigarettes explained? The reason is very simple. Thus, unlike regular cigarettes, these products do not burn the tobacco but heat it, and as a result, aerosol rather than smoke is generated. According to various studies, the levels of harmful substances in such aerosol is 90–95% lower than in cigarette smoke.

Note that the concept of tobacco harm reduction is widely accepted in developed countries, and those who do not quit smoking switch to less harmful alternatives – heat-not-burn tobacco products, vapes, and nicotine pouches. This category, known as smoke-free tobacco products, is increasingly considered by governments and the public as an effective means of reducing smoking-related harm among adults.

Scientific Approach to the Technological Development of Smoke-Free Products

PMI, which continues to invest heavily in the improvement of smoke-free products, has invested over USD 14 billion in the development of technologies, scientific research, and manufacture of these products over the past 15 years alone, and this figure continues to grow.

It should be particularly noted that the Research and Development Center located in Switzerland forms the ground for PMI’s technological innovations. In Q1 2025, as part of its strategy of switching to smoke-free tobacco products, the Company derived 42% of its total net revenues from this category. Currently, the estimated number of users of the Company’s smoke-free products worldwide is 38.6 million people. This is not just an ordinary figure. It means that after the introduction of cigarette alternatives to the market, 38.6 million people are exposed to less harm due to the use of lower-risk products.

In general, the trend shows that scientific and innovative approaches to harm reduction will prove more effective than the measures taken so far to address smoking. A deeper approach to this issue could lead to a tenfold decrease in smoking-related deaths.

Positive Decisions by Governments Regarding Alternatives Can Accelerate the Reduction of Smoking

Practice shows that the openness of countries to innovation and the proper public awareness of the benefits of alternative smoke-free products are of great importance. From this perspective, harm reduction as humanity’s desire for progress can only be realized through science-based technological innovations and active support from the civil society and regulators.

More and more forward-thinking countries are recognizing that scientifically proven, less harmful alternatives to smoking can play a role in accelerating the decline of cigarette use. Likewise, the positive outcomes achieved in this field can benefit public health and socioeconomic conditions.

Elnur Huseynguluyev

Chief Editor