PMI: Committed to the decline of cigarettes
We’re often asked if we’re serious about ending the sale of cigarettes.
The answer? Unequivocally yes, we are.
Accelerating the decline in cigarettes
Music begins.
Moira Gilchrist, Chief Communications Officer, PMI, speaks:
‘Philip Morris international unilaterally stopping to sell cigarettes tomorrow won't change a thing.’
Text reads: ‘We’re purposefully phasing out cigarettes.’
Moira Gilchrist speaks: ‘Our transformation makes sense because what we're working on is reducing the demand for cigarettes over the long-term.
When I started with the company back in 2006, all of our revenue was coming from cigarettes, every single dollar. Fast forward to now and all people need to do is look at the published data.’
Text says: The increasing number of adult smokers switching to our heated tobacco products has contributed to the fall in cigarette sales.
Moira Gilchrist speaks: ‘Many people have been somewhat surprised by our transformation and the pace of change.’
Text shows the Cube R&D Center in Neuchatel, Switzerland with text on the side saying: ‘In 2024, leading smoke-free product surpasses leading cigarette brand in net revenue’ Footnote text at the bottom of the screen says: ‘(Source: PMI Q4/FY Earnings 2024).
Moira Gilchrist speaks: ‘It's perhaps difficult for them to fit that into their narrative of the tobacco company that they knew from, let's say the 1980s or 1990s. But the facts are out there, and they're clearly verified and verifiable.’
Text reads: ‘38.6 million adults globally are using our smoke-free products.’
Footnote reads: ‘(Source: PMI Q4/FY Earnings 2024)’
Moira Gilchrist speaks: ‘Every quarter, when I see the results being shared, I feel really proud.'
Text reads: ‘It’s time to make smoking history.’
Phillip Morris International logo appears.
PMI recognizes that a decline in the sales volume of our cigarettes—and more broadly, our combustible product portfolio—is an imperative component of our ambition to deliver a smoke-free future.
And we’re making rapid progress toward that goal.
Data from our publicly available disclosures reveal a steady downward trajectory in the sales volume of our cigarettes over the past decade.
Cigarette shipment volume has fallen from 927 billion units in 2012 to 617 billion units in 2024.
The slight rise in 2024 was explained by Chief Financial Officer, Emmanuel Babeau, at the 2024 Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Results: “The growth in the cigarette market can be largely attributed to growth in markets where smoke-free products are not permitted, such as Turkey, Brazil and India. Excluding such markets, we observe a low single-digit decline, consistent with historic trends.”
This clearly refutes disinformation spread by some anti-tobacco organizations that our cigarette shipment volume is rising.
Investing in a world without cigarettes
Our aim is to ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free alternatives.
Since 2008, we have invested over USD 14 billion in these innovative products, in research, product development, production capacity, scientific substantiation, and studies on adult smoker understanding.
It’s an investment that’s paying off—with the increasing number of adult smokers switching to our heated tobacco products contributing to the decline we’re seeing in cigarette shipment volume.
PMI’s cigarette shipment volume has fallen from 927 billion units in 2012 to 617 billion units in 2024.
As of March 31, 2025, approximately 32.2 million adult smokers were using our leading heated tobacco product, of whom 72 percent had switched completely and stopped smoking.1
The shipment volume of our heated tobacco units—the consumable element of our leading
smoke-free product—has risen from 7 billion in 2016 to 140 billion in
2024.
These figures are the facts, transparently published every year by our company and available for everyone to access.
We’re always clear that while the best choice for any smoker is to quit tobacco and nicotine altogether, scientifically substantiated smoke-free products are a better choice for those adults who would otherwise continue smoking.
Why doesn’t Philip Morris International just stop selling cigarettes?
The answer is simple: Even leaving aside our duty to investors and the fact that some major markets don’t legally allow us to sell smoke-free nicotine products, the following two things would happen if PMI immediately stopped selling cigarettes—both of which would significantly impede our efforts to end smoking:
- Firstly, our adult consumers who smoke would switch to competitor brands. There are plenty out there. Worst case, they would turn to the illicit market, purchasing products that are smuggled or otherwise illegally sold.
- Secondly, PMI would lose access to the very people we aim to help: Current adult smokers. It’s not enough to simply develop and deliver better products. We need to be able to connect with these adults and educate them about the potential of tobacco harm reduction. Only then can we help those who would otherwise continue smoking to make a better choice.
As a result of this approach, we expect to be a substantially smoke-free business by 2030, with more than two-thirds of our total net revenues coming from these innovations.
“Philip Morris International unilaterally stopping the sale of cigarettes tomorrow simply won’t change a thing,” says Moira Gilchrist, PMI’s Chief Communications Officer. “Because that doesn’t eliminate the demand for cigarettes. The demand will remain, and others will simply fill it, whether competitors or participants in the illicit market.
“Our transformation makes much more sense, because what we’re working on is reducing the demand for cigarettes over the long term, thereby making sure that the decline in cigarette smoking continues—and even hopefully accelerates further.”
Through our commitment to delivering smoke-free innovations, we are making significant strides in bringing a world without cigarettes to fruition.
“The numbers are impossible to ignore,” says Stefano Volpetti, PMI’s President, Smoke-Free Inhaled Products & Chief Consumer Officer. “They paint a clear picture of the change we’re driving—firstly, in delivering a range of better alternatives to adult smokers and, secondly, in accelerating the end of cigarettes.
“Our science substantiates that PMI’s smoke-free products—while not risk-free—are a much better choice than cigarettes for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke.
“With support from the industry, stakeholders, and civil society, we believe that cigarette sales can end in many countries within 10 to 15 years. That would be a monumental achievement for the world’s one billion smokers, for global public health, and for our company.”
1 Important note: This information should be read in conjunction with the Philip Morris International Inc. earnings release dated February 6, 2025, as well as the accompanying glossary of key terms, definitions, explanatory notes, select financial information and reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures, both of which are available on our Investor Relations pages. “PMI,” “We,” “Our,” & “Us” refers to the entire Philip Morris International family of companies.
