LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 19, 2019--
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) announced today 31
projects selected for funding in the second round of PMI
IMPACT, a global initiative supporting third party programs
dedicated to fighting illegal trade and related crimes. The PMI IMPACT Expert
Council reviewed and selected the projects from more than 157
proposals.
The successful applicants come from 23 countries in Europe, Eastern
Europe, Middle East, Asia, North and South America, representing a broad
range of sectors including think tanks, academic institutions,
universities and law enforcement authorities. A total of $21 million has
been allocated for the implementation of the selected projects.
“The projects announced today stand out for their innovative thinking
and systematic approach to addressing the complexities of illegal trade
and its links to a broader range of criminal activities,” stated
Paul Makin, member of the PMI IMPACT Expert Council. “We are looking
forward to seeing these ideas come to fruition and thereby help advance
the global efforts to strengthen security and prevent crime around the
world.”
The selected projects will address multiple aspects of illegal trade –
ranging from tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical products to the
trafficking of rare animal species. Beyond illegal trade, the projects
will tackle a broad network of related crimes such as drug trafficking,
money laundering and modern day slavery.
PMI announced the results of the second PMI IMPACT funding round during
the meeting of the OECD
Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade. “Fighting illicit trade
is in PMI’s DNA and I am delighted that PMI IMPACT is enabling
organizations around the world to really make a difference against
illegal trade, not only in tobacco but across a wide range of sectors,”
stated Alvise Giustiniani, PMI’s Vice President Illicit Trade
Prevention. “It’s only through concerted efforts and broad
public-private collaboration that we’ll be able to implement meaningful
and long-term solutions against illegal trade.”
The projects are expected to be completed over the next two years and
include:
-
Projects that seek to better understand the links and drivers around
organized crime and illegal activities in high risk border areas and
provide analysis and recommendations on how to tackle them;
-
Actions to use innovative digital tools and solutions to create
databases and platforms to allow for the capture and identification of
key trends in illegal trade;
-
Initiatives to raise awareness on the impact of illegal trade and
develop dialogue between public and private sector actors in tackling
the issue; and
-
Programs to tackle specific areas of concern and the links between
different forms of illicit trade as part of global criminal networks.
A list of the selected projects is available on the PMI IMPACT website:
http://pmi-impact.com/updates/secondfundinground
To date, PMI IMPACT has allocated a combined $49 million for the
implementation of more than 60 projects in 41 countries as part of the
initiative’s first and second funding rounds.
Philip Morris International: Building a Smoke-Free Future
Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the
tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace
cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would
otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company and its shareholders.
PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the
manufacture and sale of cigarettes, smoke-free products and associated
electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing
products in markets outside the U.S. PMI is building a future on a new
category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much
better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary
capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and
scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free
products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory
requirements. PMI's smoke-free IQOS product portfolio includes
heated tobacco and nicotine-containing vapor products. As of December
31, 2018, PMI estimates that approximately 6.6 million adult smokers
around the world have already stopped smoking and switched to PMI’s
heated tobacco product, which is currently available for sale in 44
markets in key cities or nationwide under the IQOS brand. For
more information, see our PMI
and PMIScience
websites.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190319005422/en/
Source: Philip Morris International
Iro Antoniadou – Philip Morris International
+41 (0) 58 242 4500
iro.antoniadou@pmi.com