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

  • SMARTCORETM sticks and HEETSTM sticks used with IQOSTM devices contain nicotine, which is addictive.
  • IQOS, SMARTCORETM and HEETSTM are not risk-free. The best way to reduce tobacco- and nicotine-related health risks is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
  • 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 IQOS and SMARTCORETM sticks or HEETSTM sticks or other 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 SMARTCORETM sticks or HEETSTM sticks given an existing health condition, consult a health care professional.

Use of SMARTCORE STICKS™ and HEETSTM sticks

  • Only use IQOS ILUMA devices with SMARTCORETM sticks.
  • Only use: IQOS 3 DUOTM or earlier generation devices with HEETSTM sticks.

Never use IQOS devices with a cigarette or similar products. Doing so may cause injury.

  • Do not modify SMARTCORETM  sticks or HEETSTM sticks in any way or add any substance to SMARTCORETM sticks or HEETSTM sticks.  Doing so may result in injury.

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 ILUMA PRIME

Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS ILUMA

Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS ILUMA ONE

Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3 DUO

Battery Degradation

All IQOS devices, 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, or the second consecutive use might be shorter or missing.

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 is a better choice than continuing to smoke cigarettes, IQOS is not risk-free and delivers nicotine, which is addictive. The best option is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.

Is nicotine harmful?  Nicotine is addictive.  However, it is not the main cause of smoking related diseases. IQOS delivers nicotine in a comparable way to cigarettes. PMI’s clinical studies show that the amount and rate of nicotine absorbed when using one SMARTCORETM  stick or HEETSTM stick with IQOS is comparable to that of smoking one cigarette.

How does PMI measure IQOS emissions, which PMI claims are reduced on average by 95% compared to the smoke of a 3R4F cigarette? PMI states that IQOS emits 95% lower levels of harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes.  The percentage (95%) refers to the average reduction of the levels of certain constituents prioritized for action by renowned public health organizations such as the WHO and the US FDA, and which are found in IQOS tobacco vapor, when compared to the smoke from a 3R4F reference cigarette. The exact percentage reduction depends on the specific list being referenced.  To this effect, PMI collects the tobacco vapor 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. Reduction calculations exclude nicotine.

How does PMI measure the number of IQOS users?  PMI uses PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market Research. The number of total users PMI reports 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 PMI estimates 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 this 3R4F cigarette you refer to?  It is a 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. 3R4F research cigarettes are not commercially available to consumers.

You will find consumer communication around the website and in other touchpoints that come from the following sources for IQOS products:

Studies* show that the tobacco experience of those who switched completely to IQOS is comparable to those who continued to smoke cigarettes.

* Source: 3-month clinical studies conducted in US and Japan with 160 adult smokers each under real conditions (ambulatory).

IQOS emits on average 95% lower levels of harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes.* 

*Reductions in levels of the 9 harmful chemicals the World Health Organization recommends to reduce in cigarette smoke, which do not include nicotine. See Important Information on iqos.com

 IQOS emits significantly lower levels of harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes.*

*Source: Average reductions in levels of a range of harmful chemicals (excluding nicotine) compared to the smoke of a reference cigarette.

CIGARETTES PRODUCE TAR - IQOS DOESN’T 

Burning a cigarette generates smoke and tar. This is not the case when tobacco is heated with IQOS. Why? IQOS heats tobacco instead of burning it. It generates a tobacco vapor that is fundamentally different from cigarette smoke and which contains significantly less harmful chemicals.*

* Average reductions in levels of a range of harmful chemicals (excluding nicotine) compared to cigarette smoke.

Over 13.2 million adult smokers have stopped burning tobacco and started heating it with IQOS.*

* PMI Financials or estimates (excluding Russia and Ukraine), IQOS user panels and PMI Market Research. Status as of June 2022 . IQOS users who have completely quit cigarettes and for whom PMI  heated tobacco sticks represent at least 70% of their past 7-day heated tobacco consumption.

The majority of adult smokers who switch to IQOS completely quit cigarettes.*

*Source: PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market Research