Philip Morris International (PMI) announced updated ambitions at its virtual 2021 Investor Day, as it aims to accelerate its journey toward a smoke-free future.

According to a press release, PMI has announced an ambition for smoke-free products to account for more than 50 per cent of its total net revenues by 2025. “This is a significant increase on our previous 2025 ambition of between 38 and 42 per cent, as included in our 2019 Integrated Report,” PMI said.
PMI made the announcement at its virtual Investor Day on 10 February 2021, where PMI also discussed its aim to have commercialised its leading heated tobacco product IQOS in 100 markets by the end of 2025 – up from 64 markets at the end of 2020.
Presenting the company’s business strategies and growth outlook at the Investor Day event, PMI also announced plans to launch IQOS ILUMA in the second half of 2021. According to the press release, this is the next generation of PMI’s heated tobacco product, featuring internal heating based on Smartcore™ induction technology.
Since 2008, PMI has invested a cumulative USD 8.1 billion behind its smoke-free products, reflecting research, product and commercial development, production capacity, scientific substantiation, and studies on adult smoker understanding of these products.
These announcements support PMI’s ambition to become a majority smoke-free product company by 2025, building on its 2016 commitment to a smoke-free future. PMI believes “that cigarette sales could end within 10 to 15 years in many countries – as stated in our Statement of Purpose and reiterated at our Investor Day”.
PMI’s Chief Operating Officer, Jacek Olczak, who will succeed André Calantzopoulos as Chief Executive Officer immediately after the Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May 2021, told investors: “IQOS has demonstrated a stunning pace of adoption. Our transformation was led by the product [… and …] this is the biggest positive impact on harm reduction.” Olczak pointed out that as of year-end 2020, there were almost 18 million users of IQOS, of whom more than 70 per cent had switched to IQOS and stopped smoking, calling this progress: “A very spectacular result.”