Philip Morris International (PMI), the global leader in scientifically substantiated smoke-free products, has unveiled the UAE’s first IQOSBoutique. The IQOSBoutique, located on the first floor of the Fashion AvenueatThe Dubai Mall, represents a significant milestone in PMI’s bold ambition of achieving a smoke-free future for the GCC.
The IQOS Boutique in Dubai is the first boutique of its kind in the GCC and opens its doors following the launch of IQOS in the UAE in 2019. Speaking at the virtual inauguration of the IQOS Boutique, TarkanDemirbas, Vice President Middle East at Philip Morris Management Services (PMMS)said: “We are proud to unveil the GCC’s first IQOS Boutiquetoday, which represents another pivotal step forward in our journey towards a smoke-free GCC. Despite these difficult circumstances, we stay firm in our commitment to present adult smokers, who would otherwise continue to smoke, with better, scientifically substantiated, alternatives to continued smoking”.
The IQOS Boutique offers UAE adult smokers an experiential space to discover PMI’s smoke-free alternatives and the science and technology behind them. It carries the full assortment of IQOS products, including a broad range of accessories, and host exclusive offerings and limited editions. The IQOS Boutique will exclusively carry the new IQOS Lucid Teal Limited Edition, as well as the IQOS Collection, a product offer unique to the UAE consisting of IQOS 3 DUO and IQOS 3 MULTI.
Since 2008, PMI has invested USD 7.2 billion in developing, evaluating and producing reduced risk alternatives to smoking and will continue to do so in its journey to convince adult smokers, who would otherwise continue smoking, to switch to better alternatives. More than 430 R&D experts, including 300 world-class scientists, currently work on the company’s smoke-free portfolio.
It’s worth noting that The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the marketing of IQOS system, which includes IQOS devices and 3 HeatSticks variants, as a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) on the 7th of July, 2020. This decision follows a review of the extensive scientific evidence package PMI submitted to the FDA in December 2016 to support its MRTP applications.IQOS is the first and only innovative electronic alternative to cigarettes to be granted marketing orders through the FDA’s MRTP process. On April 30, 2019, the FDA authorized IQOS for sale in the U.S. through issuance of premarket tobacco authorization marketing orders.
To date, PMI has launched IQOS in 57 markets worldwide and estimates that there are nearly 15 million IQOS users globally. As of June2020, over 11.2 million adult smokers around the world have already stopped smoking and switched to IQOS. According to the company’s Q2 2020 figures, more than 70% of PMI’s commercial investment is now in smoke-free products, with almost20% of its net revenue generated from smoke-free products. The company aims to have at least 40 million adult smokers switch to PMI’s smoke-free products by 2025.
