Good Conversion Practices for PMI’s Smoke-free Products
PMI offers a variety of quality, scientifically substantiated smoke-free products that are much better choices than continued smoking. Our vision is that our smoke-free products will one day replace cigarettes.
1. Cigarette smoking causes serious diseases and is addictive. Without question, the best decision any smoker can make is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
2. Minors should not use tobacco or nicotine in any form.
3. PMI’s smoke-free products are for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke or use other nicotine products.
4. We do not offer PMI’s smoke-free products to people who have never used tobacco or nicotine products or who have quit using tobacco and nicotine products. Our smoke-free products are not alternatives to quitting and are not designed as cessation aids.
5. PMI’s smoke-free products are not risk free and contain nicotine, which is addictive. Switching to a smoke-free product is, however, a better choice than continuing to smoke.
6. We support our adult smoke-free product users in their journey to full conversion through education and guidance.
7. For consumers to experience the benefits of smoke-free products, they must switch completely and abandon smoking permanently.
8. We inform consumers of all relevant safety information about our smoke-free products.
Safety Warnings & Instructions
Tobacco and Nicotine
· Tobacco sticks used with IQOSTM, as well as all VEEV™ pods and VEEV NOW devices , contain nicotine, which is addictive. The best way to reduce tobacco- and nicotine-related health risks is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
· IQOS and VEEV are not risk-free.
· Some users of nicotine-containing products may experience abdominal pain, chest pain, choking sensation, cough, difficulty breathing, dizziness, dry mouth, dry throat, gingivitis, headache, malaise, nasal stuffiness, nausea, mouth irritation, palpitations, throat irritation, and vomiting.
· Nicotine-containing products should not be used by people who have or are at risk of heart disease, are diabetic, are epileptic, or are experiencing seizures.
· Nicotine-containing products should not be used during pregnancy or while breast-feeding. If you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or think you may be pregnant, you should quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
· Stopping smoking or switching to nicotine-containing products may require the adjustment of the dosing of certain medicines (e.g. theophylline, clozapine, ropinirole).
· If you have questions about whether you should use IQOS and/or VEEV given an existing health condition, consult a health care professional.
Use of tobacco sticks
· Only use:
✔ IQOS 3 DUOTM or earlier generation devices with HEETSTM sticks,
✔ IQOS ILUMATM with TEREATM sticks,
Never use IQOS with a cigarette or similar products. Doing so may cause injury.
· Do not modify HEETS sticks or TEREA sticks in any way or add any substance to HEETS sticks or TEREA sticks. Doing so may result in injury.
Use of VEEV™, VEEV ONE™ pods and VEEV NOW™
· Only use VEEV ONE with VEEV ONE pods specifically designed for VEEV ONE. Never use VEEV ONE with other pods. Doing so may cause injury.
· Only use VEEV with VEEV pods specifically designed for VEEV. Never use VEEV with other pods. Doing so may cause injury.
· Do not modify or attempt to refill VEEV or VEEV ONE pods in any way or add any substance to VEEV or VEEV ONE pods. Doing so may cause injury.
· Do not use VEEV or VEEV ONE pods or VEEV NOW device if it appears to be damaged, tampered with, broken, or leaking.
Prior to use of a product, users should read the full Safety Warnings & Instructions, which contain important safety information about the use of the product.
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 2.4+ Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 2.4+
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3 Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3 MULTI Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3 MULTI
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3 DUO Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3 DUO
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS ILUMA Prime Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS ILUMA PRIME
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS ILUMA Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS ILUMA
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS ILUMA ONE Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS ILUMA ONE
Safety Warnings & Instructions for VEEV ONE Safety Warnings & Instructions for VEEV ONE
Safety Warnings & Instructions for VEEV ONE pods Safety Warnings & Instructions for VEEV ONE PODS
Safety Warnings & Instructions for ZYN Nicotine Pouches Safety Warnings & Instructions for ZYN Nicotine Pouches
Battery Degradation
IQOS devices and VEEV ONE devices and VEEV NOW, including holders, contain a lithium-ion battery. The lithium-ion battery in the devices is a consumable component that degrades with usage and age. This is a natural process common to all rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. As the battery ages, the active ingredients inside the battery become less capable of retaining energy, resulting in a permanent decrease in maximum battery capacity and usable energy. In addition, the active ingredients become less effective in delivering energy, resulting in a decrease of the battery’s ability to provide sufficient power for electronic device components to operate. As a result, where relevant, the duration of experience may appear to be shorter, the number of puffs or experiences with one full charge may appear to be fewer, the second consecutive use might be shorter or missing, or some device features, such as autostart or double tap for the IQOS ILUMA holder, may not perform.
The battery is a chemical system that requires certain temperature ranges during charge and discharge to work optimally and minimize battery capacity degradation over its lifetime. Although your device has a specific operating range within which the device will function, operating at the extreme ends of this range will degrade your battery faster. Your device comes with customized software to control the charging parameters in order to maximize the life of your device. These algorithms can support the longevity of your battery life, but they can still never fully mitigate the normal aging mechanisms of lithium batteries. High and low temperature operation of your device will accelerate the natural degradation of your battery. Even if you do not use your device the batteries contain chemical systems which can still degrade over time. In order to slow the battery degradation process, we recommend charging your device within the recommended temperature zone, not keeping it discharged for long periods of time and using the charging cables and power adaptors that come together with the device as per the user guides.
Please read more on important information in FAQ here
Is using IQOS safe or risk-free? No. While switching completely to IQOS presents less risk to your health, IQOS is not risk-free and delivers nicotine, which is addictive. The best option is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether. However, switching completely to IQOS is a better choice than continuing to smoke.
Is nicotine harmful? Nicotine is addictive and not risk-free. However, nicotine is not the main cause of smoking related diseases.
IQOS delivers nicotine in a comparable way to cigarettes. Our clinical studies show that the amount and rate of nicotine delivered when using one tobacco stick with IQOS is comparable to that of smoking one cigarette.*
The best way to reduce tobacco and nicotine-related health risks is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
* Based on six Pharmacokinetic studies conducted between 2012-2023.
What is the totality of evidence you refer to when claiming that switching to IQOS presents less risk than continued smoking?
To assess the risk profile of smoke free products, including IQOS, compared with continued smoking, PMI uses a robust scientific assessment program. Assessing the risk reduction potential of IQOS involves five “steps”. These steps include: ·Aerosol chemistry and physics studies to confirm that burning does not take place, and that, the resulting aerosol contains lower levels of harmful chemicals compared with cigarette smoke. ·Toxicology research to estimate the risk-reduction potential for IQOS in laboratory models. ·Clinical research to provide human data on whether switching to IQOS reduces exposure to toxic compounds and has a positive effect on clinical risk markers associated with smoking-related diseases. ·Perception and behavior research for insights on how people think about and use IQOS, which can impact population health. ·Ongoing epidemiological research, which tracks the impact of IQOS on population health over time. |
The totality of evidence we refer to in our messaging, includes the data gathered in the coursed of PMI’s scientific assessment program described above. This includes, to date, data obtained through 10 clinical studies with thousands of participants in the US, UK, Japan and Poland and 18 non-clinical studies (such as toxicology research).
How do you measure IQOS emissions, which you claim are reduced on average by 95% compared to the smoke of cigarettes? We state that IQOS emits on average 95% lower levels of harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes. The percentage (95%) refers to the average reduction of 9 harmful chemicals the World Health Organization recommends to reduce in cigarette smoke. These do not include nicotine.
The chemicals that are listed by WHO are 1,3-Butadiene, 4-(Methyl-nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), Acetaldehyde, Acrolein, Benzene, Benzo[a]pyrene, Carbon monoxide (CO), Formaldehyde, N-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN).
For the measurement, we collect the tobacco aerosol from IQOS and smoke under the Health Canada Intense machine-smoking regime (55 mL puff volume, 2 second puff duration, 30 second interval puff) using a comparison on a per stick basis.
What is the reference cigarette you refer to as compared to cigarette smoke? The reference cigarette is the cigarette independently designed by the University of Kentucky in the US for scientific research purposes. It is a comparator commonly used in tobacco research, which allows the data of a given study to be compared to that of another study. These research cigarettes are not commercially available to consumers.
How do you measure the number of IQOS users? We use PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market Research. The number of total users we report refers to IQOS users for whom PMI HeatSticks represent at least 5% of their daily tobacco consumption over the past 7 days, while the number of people we estimate have completely quit cigarette smoking refers to IQOS users who have completely quit cigarettes and for whom PMI HeatSticks represent at least 70% of their past 7-day heated tobacco consumption.
What is the metal inside TEREA tobacco sticks? Should I be concerned? TEREA tobacco sticks are designed to be used only with IQOS ILUMA devices that have SMARTCORE INDUCTION SYSTEMTM, which uses a metal heating element coated with stainless steel and placed inside a TEREA tobacco stick for heating of tobacco. TEREA tobacco sticks should be kept out of reach of children and pets at all times and should not be taken apart, as the metal heating element has sharp edges. Swallowed TEREA tobacco sticks can cause serious injury to internal organs due to the presence of this metal heating element. If TEREA tobacco sticks are swallowed, seek medical attention immediately. Always dispose of TEREA tobacco sticks immediately after use according to local waste disposal regulations.
VEEV FAQs
How do you measure VEEV ONE / VEEV NOW emissions, which you claim are reduced on average by 99% compared to the smoke of cigarettes? We state that VEEV ONE/ VEEV NOW emits on average 99% lower levels of harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes. The percentage (99%) refers to the average reduction of 9 harmful chemicals the World Health Organization recommends to reduce in cigarette smoke, which do not include nicotine. To this effect, we collect the cigarette smoke under the Health Canada Intense machine-smoking regime (55 mL puff volume, 2 second puff duration, 30 second interval puff) and for VEEV ONE / VEEV NOW the aerosol was generated using the CORESTA Recommended method (55 mL puff volume, 3 second puff duration, 30 second interval puff, until device end), using a comparison on a per puff basis.
What is the reference cigarette you refer to? The reference cigarette is the cigarette independently designed by the University of Kentucky in the US for scientific research purposes. It is a comparator commonly used in tobacco research, which allows the data of a given study to be compared to that of another study. These research cigarettes are not commercially available to consumers.
