The History of IQOS Smokeless Tobacco Products

The general public is familiar with Phillip Moris International (PMI) as a "tobacco corporation" or "cigarette producer." Meanwhile, Phillip Moris International, has evolved over the past ten years from its humble beginnings as a cigarette maker.

PMI is on a mission to transition from cigarettes and toward smoke-free products in the future. It is unquestionably preferable to avoid starting or stopping to smoke. Adult smokers who still wish to experience the flavor of real tobacco, nevertheless, need to realize that not all tobacco products are created equally. We believe that smokeless tobacco products are a better alternative than continuing to smoke or using other nicotine products. Therefore, PMI is changing in order to create the future by smoking with alternative smokeless goods.

How Did Smokeless Tobacco Products Get Their Start?

A decade has passed since the invention of smokeless tobacco. It was first proposed in the 1980s to heat tobacco without burning it. However, the early smokeless tobacco products didn't succeed in giving adult smokers a viable substitute.

How Did IQOS Start Out as a Smokeless Tobacco Brand?

More than one billion adult smokers globally needed a better option than smoking, therefore Phillip Moris International started the IQOS quest.

The first IQOS devices appeared in 2014 with the introduction of cutting-edge heat-not-burn substitutes in Japan and Italy. IQOS has gradually spread to variety of nations, and is now available in 51 countries.

The development of IQOS began in 2008, when Philip Morris International first began exploring options to smoking. The commitment made by PMI is the product of lengthy consideration and is backed by a sizable research and development effort.

IQOS is a component of our smoke-free products portfolio, in which PMI has invested more than USD 6 billion and more than 10 years of product research and development. At the same time, more than 400 scientists and engineers collaborate on the creation and evaluation of smoke-free products.

Today, more than 10 million adult smokers have decided to switch to IQOS and stop smoking*. Adult smokers pick IQOS due to a variety of reasons. Without fire, ash, or overwhelming scents, IQOS can deliver the authentic flavor of tobacco. Additionally, IQOS emits 95% fewer harmful chemicals than cigarettes**. Not that it's 95% risk-free, though. There are still risks associated with IQOS. All of these advantages ultimately make IQOS a better choice than continuing to smoke.

If you want to be smoke free and join other IQOS users, there are IQOS ILUMA PRIME, IQOS ILUMA and IQOS ILUMA ONE device at your disposal. You can find all of our devices online at  IQOS.com or at any IQOS Booth and IQOS Kiosk. To find the nearest IQOS location, use the store location map  on our website.

*Source: Phillip Moris International forecast results, IQOS user panel and Phillip Moris International Market Research. Status as of March 2020 based on IQOS users and HeatSticks Phillip Moris International users who have completely quit smoking and 70% of those who have used smokeless tobacco products in the past 7 days.

* “95% less” represents the average reduction in levels of the 9 chemicals recommended for reduction in cigarette smoke by the World Health Organization, which do not include nicotine. See Important Information on IQOS.com