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 (below 18 years old) should not use tobacco or nicotine in any form. 
  3. PMI’s smoke-free products are for adults 18 years old and above 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 IQOS, contain nicotine, which is addictive.
  • IQOS is 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 breastfeeding. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or think you may be pregnant, you should quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
  • Stopping smoking or switching to IQOS and its respective tobacco 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 given an existing health condition, consult a health care professional.

Use of tobacco sticks

  • Only use:

✓ IQOS ORIGINALS or earlier generation devices with HEETSTM sticks.
✓ BONDS by IQOS device is designed to work exclusively with BLENDS tobacco sticks

  • Never use IQOS devices with a cigarette or similar products. Doing so may cause injury.
  • Do not modify HEETSTM or BLENDS tobacco sticks in any way or add any substance to HEETSTM or BLENDS tobacco sticks. Doing so may result in injury.

Battery Degradation

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, 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: IQOS Care | Support & Help | IQOS Philippines

Is using IQOS safe or risk-free? No. IQOS is not risk-free and provides 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. However, it 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 absorbed when using one tobacco stick with IQOS is comparable to that of smoking one cigarette.

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 switched from cigarette smoking refers to IQOS users who have completely switched from cigarettes and for whom PMI HeatSticks represent at least 70% of their past 7-day heated tobacco consumption.

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

IQOS provides cigarette-like satisfaction.*

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

Studies* showed that the satisfaction 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).

There are more than 20.3 million* IQOS users globally, of which 14.2 million** have completely switched from cigarettes.

*Source: PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market Research. Status as of December 2022. *IQOS users for whom HeatSticks represent at least 5% of their daily tobacco consumption over the past 7 days. 

** IQOS users who have completely switched from cigarettes and for whom PMI HeatSticks represent at least 70% of their past 7-day heated tobacco consumption. 

Thousands of adult smokers around the world convert to IQOS every day.*

*Source: Status as of December 2022 Exclusive Heat-Not-Burn users that are using PMI HeatSticks for at least 70% of their past-7 days heated tobacco consumption. PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market Research.

Every day, thousands of adult smokers around the world stop burning tobacco and start heating it with IQOS.*

* Source: Status as of December 2022 Exclusive Heat-Not-Burn users that are using PMI HeatSticks for at least 70% of their past-7 days heated tobacco consumption. PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market Research.

IQOS is the #1 heated tobacco product.*

*PMI global estimate of total In-Market Sales of Heated Tobacco Units as of December 2022. (excluding Russia and Ukraine).