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Last year was exceptional for the transformation of Philip Morris International towards a smoke-free future

Philip Morris International announced that net revenues from smoke-free products for 2022 amounted to 32.1 percent of total revenues. The market share of heated tobacco products in markets where the IQOS product is available increased by 1.1 percentage points to 8.0 percent.

The company’s net revenues grew by 7.7 percent, primarily driven by an overall shipment increase of 3.2 percent (marking the second consecutive year of growth), a continuous shift from cigarettes to smoke-free products, and favorable pricing effects. The increase in shipments of heated tobacco products by 21.5 percent, partially offset by lower device sales revenues, resulted in an 18 percent growth in net revenues from smoke-free products.

– Despite the challenging business environment in 2022, due to the war in Ukraine and pressure on supply chains and inflationary pressures, we achieved strong results for the year, led by consistent growth in IQOS and excellent performance in the heated tobacco products category – stated Jacek Olczak, the company’s CEO.

As of December 31, 2022, PMI’s smoke-free products are sold in 73 markets. The total number of IQOS users at the end of the last quarter was 24.9 million, of which approximately 17.8 million switched to IQOS and quit smoking.

– We have come a long way on our journey to become a smoke-free company as smoke-free products already accounted for one-third of our net revenues last year. With the acquisition of Swedish Match and the completed agreement for the full acquisition of IQOS in the U.S. by April 2024, we achieved two key steps in our transformation towards a smoke-free future in 2022 and are well-positioned to accelerate that transformation. We enter 2023 as a global leader in the smoke-free product segment, with two brands, IQOS and ZYN, and continuous innovations in our smoke-free product portfolio – emphasized Olczak.

In the European Union region, net revenues from smoke-free products exceeded 40 percent of total revenues for the past year.

In the fourth quarter, PMI recorded an increase in the market share of heated tobacco products by 2.4 percentage points, reaching 8.8% of the total volume of the cigarette and heated tobacco products industry in the European Union, with a slight favorable impact due to calendar factors.

– We are making rapid progress in our intention to replace all cigarettes with scientifically-based smoke-free products as soon as possible. With the appropriate support from society and governments, this could happen in some countries within 10 to 15 years. Change can come much faster if traditional regulatory measures for tobacco and nicotine products are complemented by measures aimed at promoting the development, commercialization, and acceptance of less harmful alternatives to cigarettes. Therefore, we believe the time has come for all relevant stakeholders, both in public health and in executive and legislative authorities, to consider the increasingly strong evidence and embrace the power of innovation, science, and technology for the benefit of society as a whole – stated Anita Letica, CEO of Philip Morris Zagreb.

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