Tuesday 15 October 2019

IQOS, the alternative cigarette

An editor friend asked me to help him out a bit because his news portal is currently facing some technical difficulties.

Since he has been such a nice friend, I agreed.

He asked me to post a story about the anniversary of IQOS, that heat-not-burn alternative cigarette device, in Malaysia.


The device was meant to lessen the risk of smoking.

I have this device and I no longer smoke conventional cigarettes.

I wrote about it at this link,


It's really good.

Well, some may say why don't just quit altogether, but for me, it's important to give people an alternative. A better one.

Not everyone have the will power to just quit, okay.

I smoked Marlboro Light for so many years and I admit that I'm a nicotine addict.

I had previously tried many times to quit but they just simply didn't work.

But now, I managed to do that.

So, devices such as IQOS does help.

Some may say, it's still smoking, but really, it's less harmful.

Well, at least I don't suffer chronic sore throat anymore ever since I quit conventional cigarettes.

And I'm quite sure my nicotine intake now is much lesser than previously.

Who knows, maybe I will be able to quit altogether soon.

Anyway, this is the full press release that my friend forwarded to me,

Kuala Lumpur, 15 Oct 2019 : Philip Morris Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PMM), an affiliate of Philip Morris
International (PMI), is celebrating the first anniversary of its business transformation towards a
smoke-free future in Malaysia, since IQOS was launched in 2018. 

IQOS is PMI’s most advanced tobacco heating system that uses heat-not-burn technology.

To date more than 50,000 adult smokers in Malaysia have switched to using the IQOS device.

PMM, with its distribution and retail partner, has opened 28 IQOS Authorised Care Centres (IACC)
and six IQOS Care Corners throughout Malaysia. 

Adult consumers can get access to professional customer support in the IACCs in addition to purchasing the IQOS device and accessories. 

PMM strictly maintains that IQOS is not for youth, non-smokers, or former smokers. 

As such, all IACCs throughout Malaysia comply with PMI’s Good Conversion Practices and implement access restrictions for youth, and other verification and control measures before giving consumers information about IQOS.

"Our vision is to create a better alternative for adult smokers who would otherwise continue to
smoke. 

"Through disruptive thinking, robust science and years of R&D experience behind our
smoke-free platforms, we are confident that IQOS, PMI’s heat-not-burn technology, will bring us a
step closer to our vision of a smoke-free future,” said Kang Tae Koo, Managing Director of PMM.

“We hope among 5 million smokers here in Malaysia, the adult smokers would switch to better
alternatives which are scientifically proven to be less harmful than smoking cigarettes. 

"It is very important that men and women who would otherwise continue to smoke have access to
accurate information about alternatives to cigarettes in order to make informed choices.”

The IQOS device is designed to heat tobacco without burning, as a result it produces an average
reduction of 90% to 95% in the levels of Harmful and Potentially Harmful Chemicals (HPHCs) as
compared to conventional cigarettes, but it is not risk free. 

As such, the innovative IQOS system presents a better alternative to cigarette smoking. PMM remains committed to offering smokefree innovation and technology that will one day replace cigarettes with better alternatives for adult smokers who won’t quit.

PMI is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and
ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adult smokers who would
otherwise continue to smoke. 

To date, PMI has invested over USD6 billion on research and development to substantiate and manufacture smokeless alternatives such as the IQOS device.

The science behind this innovation and its harm reduction potential has been verified by a
growing number of independent studies conducted by renowned public health institutions. 

A total of 340 peer reviewed publications and 10 clinical studies have been conducted and the totality
of scientific evidence so far indicates that switching completely to IQOS that heats tobacco
without burning it, is less harmful than continuing to smoke cigarettes. 

As such, the innovative IQOS system presents a better alternative to cigarette smoking.

Approximately 8 million adult smokers around the world have completely stopped smoking
cigarettes and switched to IQOS, which is available for sale in 48 markets in key cities
nationwide. 

Malaysia was the 44th market to commercialize IQOS.

For more information, please visit http://www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.

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