Country Overview
Key Facts
Number of Employees: Approximately 100
Main Brand:
Marlboro
Welcome to Philip Morris China, Philip Morris International’s (PMI’s) local affiliate, based in Beijing.
In December 2005, PMI signed landmark strategic cooperation agreements with China National Tobacco Company (CNTC) for the licensed production of PMI’s Marlboro brand in China and for the establishment of an international joint venture to promote Chinese heritage brands in international markets.
Licensed production of Marlboro in China began in August 2008 at two Chinese cigarette factories. The brand is distributed throughout the country. Beginning in 2008, Chinese brands under cooperation have been launched and distributed in international markets, including the Czech Republic and Poland.
Philip Morris China actively supports the local communities where we operate. This includes sponsoring programs to promote education and help people in need. One example is our partnership with the China Youth Development Foundation to build schools in poor and remote areas of China.
Smoking and Health
Tobacco products, including cigarettes, are dangerous and addictive. There is overwhelming medical and scientific evidence that smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and other serious diseases.
Addiction
All tobacco products are addictive. It can be very difficult to quit smoking, but this should not deter smokers who want to quit from trying to do so.
Secondhand Smoke
Public health officials have concluded that secondhand smoke from cigarettes causes serious diseases in non-smokers, including lung cancer and heart disease. We believe the public health conclusions on secondhand smoke are sufficient to support smoking restrictions in public places.
Effective Regulation
Philip Morris International (PMI) supports comprehensive regulation of tobacco products based on the principle of harm reduction.
To be effective, tobacco regulatory policy must be evidence-based, apply to all tobacco products, and should take into account the views of all legitimate stakeholders including public health authorities, government finance authorities, tobacco manufacturers, and other members of the tobacco supply chain. Regulatory policy must consider the potential to trigger adverse consequences which undermine public health objectives, such as increasing the demand for illicit cigarettes.
While we support comprehensive, effective tobacco regulation, we do not support regulation that prevents adults from buying and using tobacco products or that imposes unnecessary impediments to the operation of the legitimate tobacco market. In that regard, we oppose measures such as generic packaging, point of sale display bans, total bans on communications to adult consumers, and bans on the use of all ingredients in tobacco products.