KYIV, March 24 2016. - Philip Morris International launched iQOS™ in Ukraine, a revolutionary product based on the innovative HEAT-NOT-BURN™ technology. This unique technology was developed at Philip Morris International R&D Centre in Switzerland. iQOS™ heats a high-quality proprietary tobacco blend within a precisely controlled temperature range, without burning it, to create an experience already familiar for tobacco consumers but with reduced risk potential. For more than a decade, Philip Morris International has been dedicating significant resources to developing and scientifically assessing non-combustible alternatives to cigarettes with significant potential to represent reduced-risk alternatives to cigarettes. The company refers to those products as potentially Reduced-Risk Products (RRPs)*. Since 2008, PMI has invested over $2 billion in fundamental research, product development, scientific substantiation, and adult smoker understanding. Over 430 scientists, experts and staff, with an impressive diversity of backgrounds ranging from materials science and consumer electronics to clinical science and systems toxicology, are currently involved in the project. Extensive research at Philip Morris International’s R&D Centre in Neuchatel, Switzerland, resulted into development of a revolutionary product, called iQOS™, based on innovative HEAT-NOT-BURN™ technology, providing adult smokers with a real tobacco alternative to smoking combustible cigarettes. iQOS™ is neither a combustible cigarette for smoking, nor an electronic cigarette with a nicotine-containing liquid. When a conventional cigarette burns, the temperature of tobacco can reach temperatures around 900 degrees Celsius. This high temperature causes a large number of chemical reactions, which breaks down the tobacco into thousands of chemicals that appear in cigarette smoke, and approximately a hundred of which are known to be harmful or potentially harmful. The special thing about iQOS™ is that it heats tobacco (at approx. 240-270 degrees Celsius with iQOS™) instead of burning it and produces the tobacco aerosol that delivers real tobacco taste and satisfaction but whose chemical composition is substantially different from tobacco smoke*. iQOS™ heats high-quality proprietary tobacco HeatSticks™ by PARLIAMENT, which replicate most of the taste, sensory and ritual aspects of combustible cigarette smoking, but since iQOS™ does not burn tobacco no smoke or ash is produced and the smell is significantly reduced. iQOS™ is the most advanced among PMI’s RRPs. The company is conducting extensive studies to confirm the risk reduction potential of its RRPs. A significant portion of such studies have already been completed with very encouraging results to date. For example, findings to date include the following: • iQOS™ eliminates combustion, which generates harmful compounds identified as primary cause of smoking related diseases • iQOS™ aerosol comprises 90 to 95% less harmful and potentially harmful compounds compared to a reference cigarette**, and that • It is 90 to 95% less toxic than smoke from a reference cigarette; • In a three-month clinical study recently carried out in Japan, the average reduction in 15 biomarkers of exposure to 15 harmful and potentially harmful compounds measured in smokers who switched to iQOS™ approached the effect observed in smokers who quit smoking for the duration of the study. • The aerosol does not produce a negative impact on indoor air quality. While such results give us confidence that we are on course with our plans to demonstrate that iQOS™ is not only a reduced-exposure product but also a reduced-risk alternative for smokers, our studies are still ongoing and conclusions on the risk reduction profile of iQOS™ will be based on the totality of the evidence. Following iQOS™ launch in February 2016, Ukraine is now one of the first markets in the world where this product has been made available to adult smokers. With respect to current economic situation in Ukraine and pursuing the purpose to better convey the benefits of iQOS™ to adult smokers, Philip Morris Ukraine has decided to land on a limited commercialization strategy with a focus on personal communication aimed at a selective number of smokers, as well as on the superior pre- and post- purchase service quality. Prospective consumers can make an order using online shop www.iqos.com.ua with service support hotline (0-800-507-807) and express-delivery services. iQOS™ has been commercialized with very promising results in a number of cities in Japan, Switzerland and Italy, and the company believes that Ukrainian adult smokers will similarly appreciate the revolutionary experience of iQOS™. * iQOS™ is not risk free. The best way to reduce tobacco related health risks is to quit tobacco use altogether.
Reduced-Risk Products (“RRPs”) is the term the company uses to refer to products with the potential to reduce individual risk and population harm in comparison to smoking cigarettes. PMI’s RRPs are in various stages of development and commercialization, and we are conducting extensive and rigorous scientific studies to determine whether we can support claims for such products of reduced exposure to harmful and potentially harmful constituents in smoke, and ultimately claims of reduced disease risk, when compared to smoking cigarettes. Before making any such claims, we will rigorously evaluate the full set of data from the relevant scientific studies to determine whether they substantiate reduced exposure or risk. Any such claims may also be subject to government review and authorization, as is the case in the United States today." 14:58:03 EET-2
Reference cigarette is a standard cigarette used throughout the tobacco industry and academic laboratories as a consistent and uniform test item for inhalation toxicology research.