Philip Morris International (PMI), the world's largest cigarette manufacturer, has announced plans to invest an additional P8.8 billion (approximately $150 million) in its Philippine affiliate PMFTC Inc. to open manufacturing lines to produce specially designed heated tobacco sticks for its smoke-free products.
In a statement, PMI said the new investment will expand PMFTC’s existing state-of-the-art cigarette manufacturing facility in Tanauan City, Batangas.
The expansion program is expected to span a two-year period with actual commercial production seen to start in the fourth quarter of 2023. The new production lines could generate as much as 220 new specialized jobs and will further support the local tobacco growing industry, according to the statement.
The company said that locally grown tobacco has also been approved for inclusion in the production of heated tobacco sticks. This development is expected to help sustain the livelihoods of Filipino tobacco farmers and sari-sari store owners, the statement added.
“This marks the largest investment to date in the cigarette alternative category in the country and brings PMFTC a step closer to achieve its vision of a smoke-free Philippines,” PMI said in a statement. PMI’s investment is also the first major investment by a tobacco multinational in the category domestically.
“We are proud to invest in the country’s journey to finally rid society of cigarettes, by providing better alternatives to those who would otherwise continue to smoke, while helping generate revenues for the government and livelihood opportunities for the people,” said PMFTC President Denis Gorkun.
“Through PMI’s continued investment in research, development and production, we can now heat tobacco in a way that is satisfying to adult smokers. Using sophisticated electronics, IQOS precisely heats specially designed tobacco units just enough to release a flavorful nicotine-containing vapor,” Gorkun said.
In 2020, PMFTC Inc. launched the IQOS tobacco heating system, PMI’s flagship smoke-free product, in the Philippines. IQOS devices use a patented HeatControl™ Technology that precisely heats, without burning, tobacco-filled sticks wrapped in paper called HEETS to release a water-based aerosol. Unlike cigarettes, IQOS does not burn tobacco and therefore produces no smoke and no ash.
Around the world, PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk free, are a much better choice than continued smoking due to the elimination of combustion -- the primary cause of smoking-related problems.
Locally, PMFTC is an agriculture and consumer products company by business partners LT Group of Philippine tycoon Lucio Tan and PMI.