Tag: heated tobacco products

Austin Smokers Invited to Join IQOS Wait List

Photo: momius
Philip Morris International will hold several events in Austin, Texas, this weekend, to mark the upcoming introduction of its IQOS tobacco heating product in the United States.
In anticipation of launch, current nicotine users who are over the age of 21 and live in designated areas of Austin will be given the opportunity to join a wait list to be among the first to try IQOS once the product becomes available.
“We believe having a portfolio of satisfying alternatives can help traditional tobacco users switch completely and walk away from cigarettes for good,” said Stacey Kennedy, CEO of PMI in the U.S. operations “Austin is a hotbed for innovators, entrepreneurs and trailblazers. Cultural trends adopted here have a ripple effect, so it was a natural place to introduce IQOS in the U.S.”

Austin is a hotbed for innovators, entrepreneurs and trailblazers. Cultural trends adopted here have a ripple effect, so it was a natural place to introduce IQOS in the U.S.
Stacey Kennedy, CEO of PMI’s U.S. business
The (re)introduction of tobacco-heating products into the U.S. has been eagerly awaited by investors and tobacco harm reduction advocates, who hope the product will help transition smokers from deadly combustible cigarettes to less-harmful heating products. Tests suggest that heating tobacco produces lower levels of harmful chemicals than burning it. IQOS has been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a modified-risk tobacco product.
In Tobacco Reporter’s October issue, Cheryl Olson reflects on how the launch of tobacco heating products may impact the U.S. market.
IQOS was briefly test-marketed by PMI’s former U.S. partner, Altria Group. In September 2021, the International Trade Commission determined that the product infringed patents owned by British American Tobacco and barred IQOS imports.
PMI and BAT subsequently resolved their intellectual property dispute, clearing the way for IQOS sales in the U.S. In October 2022, PMI reclaimed the U.S. commercialization rights to IQOS, saying Altria had failed to meet certain milestones stipulated in their agreement.
IQOS is already available in an estimated 80 countries, and since launching in Japan 10 years ago, it has helped more than 22 million people worldwide make the switch from cigarettes, according to PMI. A 2019 study by researchers at the American Cancer Society showed that cigarette sales decreased five times faster after IQOS was introduced in Japan.
IQOS is now PMI’s top revenue earner, surpassing the company’s bestselling Marlboro cigarette brand.
PMI’s latest integrated report shows that 38 percent of the company’s total net revenue now comes from its smoke-free business, which also includes the popular Zyn nicotine pouches .
“For the first time in history, smoke-free products have surpassed cigarette combustibles,” PMI CEO Jacek Olczak said at the Technovation event on Oct. 9 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, according to Malaya Business Insight.
October 19, 2024
KT&G Releases Lil Solid 3.0 in South Korea

Image: KT&G
KT&G has released Lil Solid 3.0 in South Korea, reports Maeil Business Newspaper.
The new product is an upgrade to Reel Solid 2.0, which debuted in 2020. Lil Solid 3.0 offers two new usage settings that provide a differentiated sense of smoking. “Boost” mode delivers a rich haze volume and strong impact. Normal mode offers the same experience as Reel Solid 2.0.
A “smart-on” function heats the device instantly when the stick is inserted. The fast charging allows the user to charge the device up to 50 percent of its capacity within 40 minutes.
The recommended consumer price is KRW88,000 ($66).
“Reel Solid 3.0 is expected to provide more satisfaction to consumers with upgraded user convenience and design,” said Lim Wang-seop, head of KT&G’s next-generation products business division. “We will continue to develop innovative products that can meet domestic and foreign consumer needs based on world-class brand competitiveness.”
September 24, 2024
Firstunion Technology Recognized in Dortmund

Image: blacksalmon
Firstunion’s Alkaid Light heating technology received an HNB innovation award on Sept. 19 at the InterTabac exhibition in Dortmund, Germany, according to a company press release relayed by Vaping360.
That same evening, Firstunion hosted a launch event, showcasing how Alkaid technology addresses consumer concerns such as heating speed, flavor quality, device cleanliness, and health impacts.
Alkaid light-heating method leverages full-spectrum light waves, mimicking the natural power of sunlight to deliver rapid and uniform heating. According to Firstunion’s Alkaid light-heating technical lead Zhu Bin, this enables the device to preheat in just five seconds, offering users instant satisfaction with a smooth, seamless draw.
Firstunion claims the technology also delivers superior taste and health benefits that elevate the smoking experience beyond current standards. According to the manufacturer, Alkaid increases the nicotine release efficiency in aerosols by more than 40 percent and boosts total particulate matter by 20 percent, delivering an experience that closely mimics that offered by traditional cigarettes.
Simultaneously, the technology cuts harmful substance emissions by 20 percent, according to Firstunion. Thanks to its innovative non-contact heating design, Alkaid requires no cleaning, ensuring the device delivers consistent, fresh-tasting flavor even after 5,000 continuous uses, according to the press note.
September 23, 2024
Cigarette Alternatives Gaining Ground in Europe

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Cigarette sales declined across Western Europe in 2023, but increased slightly at a regional level due to the strong growth in Turkey, where illicit trade was falling and the smoking population was growing, according to a new report published by Research and Markets.
Sales of next-generation products continue to grow in Western Europe, with even an upcoming ban on disposable vapes in the U.K., their biggest regional market, not expected to significantly impact this trend, with Italy remaining the leading market for heated tobacco products regionally.
Rising prices, due to the global inflationary environment and ongoing tax hikes, increasing health awareness and competition from next-generation products is resulting in declining unit volume sales of cigarettes across most of Western Europe, with little likelihood of this changing over the forecast period.
Although slower than in the two previous years, closed-system single-use vaping products were still recording growth in the U.K. in 2023. However, with concerns about the throwaway nature of disposable vapes as well as their attraction to underage smokers, the U.K. government announced a ban on these products from early 2025, which force industry players to shift their focus toward open and other closed vaping products.
The nicotine pouches category is expected to see strong growth over the forecast period. Sweden will continue to be the leading country market in Western Europe, but Finland is expected to take over from Denmark as the second biggest in the region over 2023-2028. This is due to the Finnish authorities deregulating the sale of these products in mid-2023.
Heated tobacco products will be accounting for just over half of overall smokeless tobacco, e-vapor products and heated tobacco sales at the end of the forecast period, having recorded further growth in the coming years. Philip Morris International continues to drive the development of the category, rolling out its new IQOS Iluma devices and Terea sticks across the region, with the other tobacco giants also present with devices like Ploom (Japan Tobacco International), Glo (British American Tobacco) or Pulze (Imperial Brands).
September 9, 2024
PMI Lobbies Nevada Lawmakers for Lower IQOS Tax

Credit: Aidman
Representatives from Philip Morris International (PMI) have begun pitching the benefits of its IQOS heated tobacco device to Nevada state lawmakers. The cigarette maker hopes Silver State legislators will pass a bill next year to tax heated tobacco at a lower rate than traditional cigarettes.
PMI is preparing to launch IQOS in the United States. As part of those efforts, PMI has hired lobbyists in multiple states, including Nevada, according to media reports. The company has postponed the test launch of IQOS in the U.S. to the fourth quarter. The company declined to say why. The pilot was earlier scheduled to run in Austin, Texas, in the second quarter.
Anti-tobacco activists have been seeking to derail the U.S. introduction of IQOS, arguing among other things that PMI exaggerates the number of people who have quit smoking regulator cigarettes using IQOS.
PMI director of Scientific Engagement Brian Erkkila explained how IQOS works in a presentation on Tuesday to Nevada’s Joint Interim Standing Committee on Revenue. While no specific legislative asks were made Tuesday, Eddie Ableser of Tri-Strategies — the Nevada-based government affairs firm working with PMI — told lawmakers the company is looking to start a conversation about how the product should be taxed.
“The intent is not a complete absolution of harm,” he told the lawmakers. “It’s harm reduction. How do we move and target the current cigarette smokers in Nevada? How can we move them onto a harm reduction product that helps them?”
He added, “We develop tax policy generally to motivate consumers one way or the other.”
Nevada tax policy does not consider heated tobacco products such as IQOS as other tobacco products (OTPs), which includes vaping devices, and they are taxed at 30 percent of the wholesale price. However, most tax codes generally consider heated tobacco products to be traditional cigarettes.
In Nevada, cigarettes are taxed the equivalent of $1.80 per pack. According to the anti-nicotine nonprofit Truth Initiative, Nevada is in the middle of the pack (25th highest) when it comes to tax rates for cigarettes.
According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, PMI has successfully lobbied at least 10 countries to tax heated tobacco products at a lower rate than traditional cigarettes, using the argument that the product is far less harmful and less worthy of any kind of “sin tax.”
PMI launched IQOS in Japan a decade ago and has since expanded into dozens of other countries. According to Alexandra Wich, a senior manager of state regulatory and public policy at PMI, intellectual property litigation has kept the product out of the U.S. market, but those issues have been resolved.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave PMI permission to market their products as reducing exposure to the harmful chemicals produced by combustible cigarettes, concluding that “the net population-level benefits to adult smokers outweigh the risks to youth.”
September 1, 2024
Japan Tobacco to Process Leaf for HTP in Trier

The products prepared in Trier will be finalized at a JTI factory in Poland (pictured) Photo: JTI
Japan Tobacco International is investing €30 million in its Trier, Germany, factory, reports Tagesschau.
The company plans to build a new facility to process leaf tobacco for heated-tobacco sticks. According to the company, these products will be prepared in Trier and then completed at a JTI plant in Poland.
JTI-Trier Plant Manager Peter Kilburg views the investment as a sign of trust in the factory and its workforce.
According to the company, Trier is the only JTI plant worldwide to establish such a facility. It is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2026.
The Trier factory employs about 1,800 people.
August 26, 2024
PMI Mysteriously Postpones U.S. Launch of IQOS

Credit: F Armstrong Photo
Philip Morris International has postponed the test launch of its IQOS heated tobacco device in the U.S. to the fourth quarter, reports Reuters. The company declined to say why.
The pilot was earlier scheduled to run in Austin, Texas, in the second quarter, for which the company reported results on the day.
Anti-tobacco activists have been seeking to derail the U.S. introduction of IQOS, arguing among other things that PMI exaggerates the number of people who have quit smoking regulator cigarettes using IQOS.
In a joint letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration dated June 27, six health groups cited yet-to-be published independent studies contradicting PMI’s findings about how many IQOS users completely switch to the device from cigarettes.
Meanwhile, PMI said the impact of the EU ban on flavored heated tobacco in the European Union has had a “slightly greater” impact on IQOS sales than previously assumed.
This led the company to temper its expectations for volume growth in the heated tobacco category to around 13 percent for the full year, down from between 14 percent and 16 percent expected earlier.
July 24, 2024
U.S. Market Poised for Disruption With IQOS Debut

Photo: vfhnb12
The American tobacco market is poised for disruption as Altria Group’s exclusive U.S. distribution rights to Philip Morris International’s IQOS heat-not-burn product expires on April 30, reports The Wall Street Journal. After this date, PMI will be free to compete in the U.S. with its top noncigarette brand.
PMI hopes IQOS can help it grab a 10 percent share of the lucrative U.S. cigarette and heated-tobacco market by roughly 2030, representing an additional $2.2 billion in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to Stifel analysts.
Altria, with its 50 percent share of the American cigarette market, has a lot to lose if PMI can persuade more smokers to switch to noncombustible alternatives.
In recent years, U.S. smokers have become more receptive to alternative nicotine delivery methods. Last year, 40 percent of all nicotine products sold in the U.S. were smoke-free offerings such as e-cigarettes and oral nicotine pouches. The share of traditional cigarettes, meanwhile, declined to 60 percent last year from 80 percent in 2018.
If the trend continues, Americans will be more likely to reach for a vape or nicotine pouch than a cigarette within three years.
Already earning some 40 percent of its net revenue from smoke-free products, PMI needs not worry about the dwindling number of U.S. smokers because it doesn’t sell cigarettes in America.
Altria, by contrast, still relies heavily on combustible cigarettes, which currently account for 85 percent of its sales. Its comparatively low exposure to the smokefree market includes brands such as On! oral nicotine pouches and Njoy e-cigarettes. The company also has a joint venture with Japan Tobacco to launch Ploom heated tobacco sticks in the U.S. and is working on its own heat-not-burn brand.
A badly timed bet on Juul Labs saddled the company with a $12.5 billion loss.
On the flipside, Altria has a strong U.S. distribution network, which it can leverage to promote its brands—a considerable advantage as the point of sale is one of the few places where tobacco companies are still allowed to advertise their products.
Altria can also harness data to defend its patch. The tobacco giant is integrated into many retailers’ loyalty programs, allowing it to monitor what shoppers are buying.
April 19, 2024
Broughton to Open Heated Tobacco Testing Facility

Photo: Broughton
Broughton will open a dedicated facility for heated-tobacco products (HTPs) at its Oak Tree House site in Lancashire, U.K. The space will allow the scientific consultancy and testing specialist to assist manufacturers with a fully integrated HTP service, from the testing and characterization of products through to toxicology and regulatory submission support.
Broughton’s HTP facility will house new testing equipment, such as conditioning cabinets, smoke engines and analytical equipment.
Broughton can test an HTP for a specific suite of harmful and potentially harmful constituents based on the PMI-58 and regulatory required analytes to ensure there are no major toxicological concerns. Its team will also conduct paper-based toxicology assessments to confirm the absence of any other ingredients or materials of high concern.
“Heated tobacco is an area of growing interest in the next-generation nicotine market, as it’s widely accepted that most of the toxicants associated with combustible cigarettes are caused by the burning of tobacco,” said Chris Allen, CEO of Broughton.
“Developing and commercializing heated-tobacco products can offer smokers a reduced-risk alternative—the device heats sufficiently to release nicotine but not high enough for combustion.”
“Understanding the potentially harmful chemicals and the toxicological impact of a nicotine product is essential for marketing authorization,” said Malcolm Saxton, senior consultant at Broughton. “Our new facility will aid our provision of accredited, accurate and flexible testing for all stages of HTP product development.”
April 11, 2024
Job Ads Suggest IQOS Set to Debut in Austin, Texas

Image: Alexander
The resolution of an IP dispute with BAT has removed a major hurdle to selling the product in the U.S.
Philip Morris International is preparing to launch its IQOS heated-tobacco device in Austin, Texas, USA, reports U.S. News. The city will be a testing ground for PMI’s re-entry into the United States after the company resolved an intellectual property dispute with British American Tobacco that had prompted the International Trade Commission to ban imports of IQOS in the United States.
PMI previously announced that it planned to launch IQOS in four cities in two U.S. states beginning with one city in the second quarter before a larger rollout in 2025. The company did not, however, release details.
According to U.S. News, LinkedIn job advertisements suggest that PMI is planning to launch the product in Austin. The advertisements were posted this month and include positions such as field sales representatives, territory managers and retail sales advisors.

The U.S. would be a significant market for IQOS. Euromonitor estimates that total U.S. nicotine sales excluding nicotine-replacement therapies were $143.6 billion in 2022. Cigarettes accounted for the majority of sales, but Euromonitor predicts that their value will drop by 30 percent by 2027 and the value of smoking alternatives such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, will increase by 36 percent in the same period.

Investors are waiting to see if PMI can create a heated-tobacco market in the U.S., where vaping is dominant.
According to Brett Cooper, managing partner and analyst at equity research firm Consumer Edge, Texas offers an interesting trial market due to broad demographics. He noted that diverse cities like Austin, Houston and Dallas provide access to a wide range of consumer groups.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that tobacco taxes in Texas are relatively low, with the excise tax rate on a pack of cigarettes standing at $1.41 in September 2023.
In January, Texas introduced new e-cigarette laws, banning products that resemble food or that include symbols or celebrities targeted at minors or that depict cartoon-like fictional characters.
PMI believes IQOS can capture a 10 percent share of the U.S. tobacco and heated-tobacco unit volume by 2030.

March 29, 2024