Delivering a smoke-free future

10 Feb 2022 · 2 min read
How long will Philip Morris International be in the cigarette business?
Employees in Malaysian office

We’ve built the world’s most successful cigarette company, with the world’s most popular and iconic brands.

Now we’ve made the decision to go smoke-free.

We are building PMI’s future on smoke-free products that—while not risk-free—are a far better choice than cigarette smoking.

Indeed, our vision—shared by all at PMI—is that these products will one day replace cigarettes.

The Future Reimagined

1:41

Future reimagined thumbnail
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The Future Reimagined

"Classical music building"

Imagine a business turning its back on what made it so well known in the first place.

Imagine reinventing yourself to become something so different to what you once were.

Imagine making a decision that results in the disruption of the very industry you operate in.

At Philip Morris International, we've done exactly that.

Our goal, deliver a smoke-free future and transform for good.

"Music builds"

Replace cigarettes for good.

Why? Because it's the right thing to do.

"Music slows"

It's a well known fact smoking is harmful, yet there's still 1.1 billion smokers out there, and according to the WHO, that number will be the same in 2025.

Quitting tobacco and nicotine altogether is always the best decision, but many don't.

So for adults who don't quit, access to less harmful smoke-free alternatives can be part of the solution.

Since 2008, we've invested more than $9 billion in the research and development of smoke-free products.

We've hired hundreds of talented, innovative scientists, engineers, and change-makers to see our goal through.

We are the only company within the traditional international tobacco sector to have committed to phasing out cigarettes.

We don't need to imagine a smoke-free future, we're delivering one.

Icon for Philip Morris International appears on screen.

Delivering a smokefree future.

Smoke-free alternatives are addictive and not risk-free

 

 

We are doing this because we should …

We understand the millions of adult smokers who smoke cigarettes. They are looking for less harmful, yet satisfying, alternatives to smoking. We will give them that choice.

We have a commitment to our employees and our shareholders, which we are fulfilling by pursuing this path to sustainable success.

We have a commitment to society, which expects us to act responsibly. We are doing just that, by delivering a smoke-free future.

… and because, with the backing of scientists, we now can.

More than a decade ago, we set ourselves the goal of creating less harmful alternatives to cigarettes.

Thanks to the inventiveness and perseverance of our scientists and thousands of others at PMI—and an investment to date of over USD 10.5 billion in science-based innovation—we have done exactly that, developing breakthrough products that are smoke-free and enjoyable.

These will be the PMI icons of our smoke-free future.

Millions of adults worldwide have already switched to our smoke-free products and given up cigarettes completely, and this is just the beginning. A smoke-free future is within our grasp.

PMI's vision of a smoke-free future (without cigarettes)

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A view from inside The Cube, PMI’s research and development facility in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
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PMI's vision of a smoke-free future (without cigarettes)

Jacek Olczak, CEO of Philip Morris International, speaks to camera:

This company is about the progress.

This company wants to change the world.

If we can get there, this is going to be phenomenal.

[Classical music]

Text on screen reads: We've built the world's most successful cigarette company,

but we have thoroughly transformed,

taking great strides towards realizing our vision of replacing cigarettes for good.

Stefano Volpetti, President, Smoke-Free Inhaled Producs & Chief Consumer Officer for PMI, speaks to camera:

This company has had the courage,

the visionary leadership,

to establish a new direction, to disrupt the category.

Text on screen reads:

It's why we've invested more than $10.5 billion to date

and employed over 1,500 scientists, engineers and R&D experts to develop our smoke-free products.

Michael Voegele, Chief Digital and Information Officer for PMI, speaks to camera:

I think it’s a unique challenge, being part of a team that revolutionizes the industry.

Text on screen reads:

It's our ambition that within the next two years, more than 50 percent of our net revenue will come from smoke-free products.

Jacek Olczak continues speaking:

The big aspirations address the problem of smoking,

going smoke-free,

over 50 percent of revenues coming from this product.

This is very ambitious and that calls for a progress.

Marian Salzman, Senior Vice President, Global Communications for Philip Morris International, speaks to camera:

We’ve said yes to people when they want to ask us questions.

We’ve told them the truth when they’ve posed the questions.

Text on screen reads:

With the right regulatory encouragement and support from civil society

we believe many countries can end cigarette sales within 10 to 15 years.

Jacek Olczak continues speaking:

If you compare it to many other industries

which also were going for some transformation driven by the product,

nobody is coming that close, as we are.

Text on screen reads:

Innovation, science and technology drive our transformation,

helping us deliver a better, smoke-free future.

Philip Morris International logo appears.

Text on screen reads:

It's always better to quit tobacco and nicotine altogether, but those who don't, deserve access to and accurate information about better alternatives to cigarettes.

Music ends.

A focus on life sciences will accelerate transformation …

… if conversations and debate center on data and scientific evidence—not on rhetoric and dogma, which will only mislead adult smokers and dissuade them from switching away from cigarettes, the most harmful form of nicotine delivery. 

… if governments create regulations that acknowledge these smoke-free products are better than continued smoking and encourage adults who would otherwise continue to smoke to switch to them. 

… if people—not politics—are at the center of policymaking. 

We’re creating a PMI that will be remembered for replacing cigarettes with a portfolio of revolutionary products.

In these fast-changing times, you can always choose to do nothing. Instead, we’ve set a new course for the company—we have chosen to do something really big.