Important informations

Good Conversion Practices for PMI’s Smoke-free Products

PMI offers a variety of quality, scientifically substantiated smoke-free products that are much better choices than continued smoking. Our vision is that our smoke-free products will one day replace cigarettes.

1. Cigarette smoking causes serious diseases and is addictive. Without question, the best decision any smoker can make is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
2. Minors should not use tobacco or nicotine in any form.
3. PMI’s smoke-free products are for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke or use other nicotine products.
4. We do not offer PMI’s smoke-free products to people who have never used tobacco or nicotine products or who have quit using tobacco and nicotine products. Our smoke-free products are not alternatives to quitting and are not designed as cessation aids.
5. PMI’s smoke-free products are not risk free and contain nicotine, which is addictive. Switching to a smoke-free product is, however, a better choice than continuing to smoke.
6. We support our adult smoke-free product users in their journey to full conversion through education and guidance.
7. For consumers to experience the benefits of smoke-free products, they must switch completely and abandon smoking permanently.
8. We inform consumers of all relevant safety information about our smoke-free products.

Safety Warnings & Instructions

Tobacco and Nicotine

• Tobacco sticks used with IQOS^TM and lil^TM, contain nicotine, which is addictive.
• IQOS and lil are not risk-free. The best way to reduce tobacco- and nicotine-related health risks is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
• Some users of nicotine-containing products may experience abdominal pain, chest pain, choking sensation, cough, difficulty breathing, dizziness, dry mouth, dry throat, gingivitis, headache, malaise, nasal stuffiness, nausea, mouth irritation, palpitations, throat irritation, and vomiting.
• Nicotine-containing products should not be used by people who have or are at risk of heart disease, are diabetic, are epileptic, or are experiencing seizures.
• Nicotine-containing products should not be used during pregnancy or while breast-feeding. If you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or think you may be pregnant, you should quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
• Stopping smoking or switching to IQOS or lil and their respective tobacco may require the adjustment of the dosing of certain medicines (e.g. theophylline, clozapine, ropinirole).
• If you have questions about whether you should use IQOS or lil given an existing health condition, consult a health care professional.

Use of tobacco sticks

Only use:

• IQOS 3 DUO^TM or earlier generation devices with Heatsticks^TM
• IQOS ILUMA^TM with SMATRCORE^TM sticks,
• lil SOLID^TM 2.0 with Tobacco sticks^TM
• lil SOLID Ez^TM with Tobacco sticks^TM

Never use IQOS or lil devices with a cigarette or similar products. Doing so may cause injury.

Do not modify Heatsticks, SMATRCORE sticks and Tobacco sticks in any way or add any substance to Heatsticks, SMATRCORE sticks and Tobacco sticks. Doing so may result in injury.

Prior to use of a product, users should read the full Safety Warnings & Instructions, which contain important safety information about the use of the product.

Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 2.4+
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3 MULTI
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3 DUO
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS ILUMA Prime
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS ILUMA
Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS ILUMA ONE
Safety Warnings & Instructions for lil SOLID 2.0
Safety Warnings & Instructions for lil SOLID EZ

Read Consumer rights

Battery Degradation

IQOS, lil SOLID and lil SOLID Ez, including holders, contain a lithium-ion battery. The lithium-ion battery in the devices is a consumable component that degrades with usage and age. This is a natural process common to all rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. As the battery ages, the active ingredients inside the battery become less capable of retaining energy, resulting in a permanent decrease in maximum battery capacity and usable energy. In addition, the active ingredients become less effective in delivering energy, resulting in a decrease of the battery’s ability to provide sufficient power for electronic device components to operate. As a result, where relevant, the duration of experience may appear to be shorter, the number of puffs or experiences with one full charge may appear to be fewer, the second consecutive use might be shorter or missing, or some device features, such as autostart or double tap for the IQOS ILUMA holder, may not perform.

The battery is a chemical system that requires certain temperature ranges during charge and discharge to work optimally and minimize battery capacity degradation over its lifetime. Although your device has a specific operating range within which the device will function, operating at the extreme ends of this range will degrade your battery faster. Your device comes with customized software to control the charging parameters in order to maximize the life of your device. These algorithms can support the longevity of your battery life, but they can still never fully mitigate the normal aging mechanisms of lithium batteries. High and low temperature operation of your device will accelerate the natural degradation of your battery. Even if you do not use your device the batteries contain chemical systems which can still degrade over time. In order to slow the battery degradation process, we recommend charging your device within the recommended temperature zone, not keeping it discharged for long periods of time and using the charging cables and power adaptors that come together with the device as per the user guides.

Please read more on important information in FAQ here:

Is using IQOS safe or risk-free? No. While switching completely to IQOS presents less risk to your health, IQOS is not risk-free and delivers nicotine, which is addictive. The best option is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether. However, switching completely to IQOS is a better choice than continuing to smoke.

Is nicotine harmful? Nicotine is addictive. However, it is not the main cause of smoking related diseases. IQOS delivers nicotine in a comparable way to cigarettes. Our clinical studies show that the amount and rate of nicotine absorbed when using one tobacco stick with IQOS is comparable to that of smoking one cigarette.

What is the totality of evidence you refer to when claiming that switching to IQOS presents less risk than continued smoking? The totality of evidence includes PMI’s clinical data (we conducted 10 clinical studies with thousands of participants in the US, UK, Japan and Poland), aerosol chemistry, and data from 18 nonclinical studies. The totality of evidence demonstrates that switching completely to IQOS, while not risk-free, presents less risk of harm compared with continuing to smoke cigarettes.

How do you measure IQOS emissions, which you claim are reduced on average by 95% compared to the smoke of cigarettes? We state that IQOS emits on average 95% lower levels of harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes. The percentage (95%) refers to the average reduction of the levels of constituents (excluding nicotine) prioritized for action by renowned public health organizations such as the WHO and the US FDA, and which are found in IQOS tobacco vapor, when compared to the smoke from a reference cigarette. The exact percentage reduction depends on the specific list being referenced. To this effect, we collect the tobacco vapor and smoke under the Health Canada Intense machine-smoking regime (55 mL puff volume, 2 second puff duration, 30 second interval puff) using a comparison on a per stick basis. Reduction calculations exclude nicotine.

What is this 3R4F cigarette you refer to? It is a cigarette independently designed by the University of Kentucky in the US for scientific research purposes. It is a comparator commonly used in tobacco research, which allows the data of a given study to be compared to that of another study. 3R4F research cigarettes are not commercially available to consumers.

How do you measure the number of IQOS users? We use PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market Research. The number of total users we report refers to IQOS users for whom PMI HeatSticks represent at least 5% of their daily tobacco consumption over the past 7 days, while the number of people we estimate have completely quit cigarette smoking refers to IQOS users who have completely quit cigarettes and for whom PMI HeatSticks represent at least 70% of their past 7-day heated tobacco consumption.

What is the metal inside SMATRCORE tobacco sticks^TM? Should I be concerned? SMATRCORE tobacco sticks are designed to be used only with IQOS ILUMA devices that have SMARTCORE INDUCTION SYSTEM^TM, which uses a metal heating element coated with stainless steel and placed inside a SMATRCORE stick for heating of tobacco. SMATRCORE sticks should be kept out of reach of children and pets at all times and should not be taken apart, as the metal heating element has sharp edges. Swallowed SMATRCORE sticks can cause serious injury to internal organs due to the presence of this metal heating element. If SMATRCORE sticks are swallowed, seek medical attention immediately. Always dispose of SMATRCORE sticks immediately after use according to local waste disposal regulations.

Please read more about important information in the FAQ here.

If you’re an adult smoker looking for a better alternative to continued smoking, IQOS is here to support you on your journey. Just like the 14 million adult IQOS users around the world* who are already on that same journey.
*Source: Status as of March 2022. Exclusive Heat-Not-Burn users that are using PMI heated tobacco sticks for at least 70% of their past-7 days heated tobacco consumption. PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market Research.

Most smokers who switch to IQOS completely quit cigarettes.*
*Source: PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market Research.

Discover why millions of adult smokers around the world have switched to heated tobacco with IQOS.*
*Source: Status as of March 2022. Exclusive Heat-Not-Burn users that are using HeatSticks for more than 70% of their past 7 days consumption. PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market.

IQOS ILUMA emits 95% less harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes.*
*IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This does not necessarily equal a 95% reduction in risk. IQOS ILUMA is not risk-free.
* “95% less” represents the average reduction in levels of the 9 chemicals recommended for reduction in cigarette smoke by the World Health Organization, which do not include nicotine. See Important Information on IQOS.COM

Real advanced alternatives to smoking that bring you taste satisfaction and less risk to your health than continuing to smoke. New IQOS ILUMA re-thinks the rules of heating tobacco.
Important information: IQOS is not risk-free. It provides nicotine, which is addictive.
*Source based on the totality of evidence available for IQOS in comparison with continuing to smoke.

IQOS heated tobacco products are a better choice than continued smoking. IQOS ILUMA emits 95% less harmful ingredients compared to cigarette smoke*.
Important information: This does not necessarily mean a 95% reduction in risk.* IQOS ILUMA is not risk-free.
* “95% less” represents the average reduction in levels of the 9 chemicals recommended for reduction in cigarette smoke by the World Health Organization, which do not include nicotine. See Important Information on IQOS.COM

Heated tobacco devices don’t produce smoke.
Unlike cigarettes, IQOS heated tobacco devices do not generate smoke.
IQOS is not risk-free and delivers nicotine, which is addictive. For adult use only.

Heated tobacco products leave less smell.
IQOS heated tobacco products leave less lingering smell on hands, hair and clothes than cigarettes. As IQOS produces less unpleasant smell than cigarettes, it is less likely to bother the people around you.
Important information: IQOS is not risk free.

Discover why millions of adult smokers around the world have switched to heated tobacco with IQOS.*
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: IQOS is not risk-free and delivers nicotine, which is addictive. For adult use only.
*Source: Status as of March 2022. Exclusive Heat-Not-Burn users that are using HeatSticks for more than 70% of their past 7 days consumption. PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market.
**Although IQOS does not produce tar, IQOS is not risk-free, and provides nicotine which is addictive.

CIGARETTES PRODUCE TAR.IQOS ILUMA DOESN’T.
Tar is the residue from smoke after a cigarette is burned.
IQOS ILUMA does not produce tar because it heats tobacco instead of burning it. It generates an aerosol residue that is fundamentally different from tar and consists of significantly lower levels of harmful chemicals.*
Switching completely to IQOS ILUMA is less harmful than continuing to smoke.**
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: The absence of tar does not mean that IQOS ILUMA is risk free. IQOS ILUMA provides nicotine which is addictive.
* Reductions in levels of the 9 harmful chemicals the World Health Organization recommends to reduce in cigarette smoke, which do not include nicotine.
** Based on the totality of evidence available for IQOS in comparison with continuing to smoke.

Better not burnt. Same goes for tobacco.
IQOS doesn't burn tobacco IQOS heats tobacco instead of burning it, so it doesn't produce fire, ash or smoke. This makes IQOS a better choice compared to continued smoking.
This product is not risk-free and delivers nicotine, which is addictive. For adult use only.

CIGARETTES PRODUCE HIGH AMOUNTS OF CARBON MONOXIDE. IQOS ILUMA DOESN’T.
Cigarettes burn tobacco, which produces high amounts of carbon monoxide. IQOS ILUMA doesn’t burn tobacco, producing on average 98% less carbon monoxide (CO) and significantly lower levels of other harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes.*
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This does not mean a 98% reduction in risk, and carbon monoxide is only one of many harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke. IQOS ILUMA is not risk free, and provides nicotine which is addictive.
* We measured the levels of the 9 harmful chemicals the World Health Organization recommends to reduce in cigarette smoke, which do not include nicotine, and these are reduced on average by 95%.

Cigarettes burn tabacco, reaching high temperatures, and producing ash, tar, and smoke with high number and levels of harmful chemicals.
Cigarette smoke is a complex mixture of over 6,000 chemical substances, around 100 of which have been linked to smoking-related diseases by public health authorities.
IQOS HeatControl™ Technology heats tobacco to a lower temperature (less than 350°C), ensuring that combustion does not occur. Because there is no combustion, IQOS does not produce smoke. It generates a tobacco vapour that brings you a high-quality tobacco taste experience with 95% less* harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: It does not necessarily equal a 95% reduction in risk. IQOS is not risk-free.
* “95% less” represents the average reduction in levels of the 9 chemicals recommended for reduction in cigarette smoke by the World Health Organization, which do not include nicotine. See Important Information on IQOS.COM

Switching to IQOS.
Our studies show that the satisfaction of those who switched completely to IQOS is comparable to that of those who continued to smoke cigarettes.* Discover more about our scientific assessment journey.
IQOS is not risk-free and delivers nicotine, which is addictive. The best decision any smoker can make is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
* 3-month clinical study conducted in US and Japan with 160 adult smokers each, under near real-world conditions.

IQOS is a better choice than continued smoking. The totality of scientific evidence available to-date clearly demonstrates that switching completely to IQOS presents less risk to your health than continuing to smoke cigarettes.*
IQOS is not risk-free and delivers nicotine, which is addictive. The best decision any smoker can make is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
*Source: Based on the totality of evidence available for IQOS in comparison with continuing to smoke, which includes data on aerosol chemistry from 10 clinical studies conducted with thousands of participants in the US, Japan and Poland, and data from 18 non-clinical studies.

If you’re an adult smoker looking for a better alternative to continued smoking, IQOS is here to support you in your journey. Just like the more than 14 million adult IQOS users around the world* who are already on that same journey.
*Source: Status as of March 2022. IQOS users who have completely quit cigarettes and for whom PMI HeatSticks represent at least 70% of their past 7-day heated tobacco consumption. PMI Financials or estimates, IQOS user panels and PMI Market Reasearch.

IQOS emits less harmful chemicals than cigarettes
Cigarettes burn tobacco, which produces high amounts of carbon monoxide. IQOS doesn’t burn tobacco, producing on average 98% less carbon monoxide (CO) and significantly lower levels of other harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes. *
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This does not mean a 98% reduction in risk. IQOS is not risk-free, and delivers nicotine which is addictive.
*Source: We measured the levels of certain harmful chemicals prioritised for reporting by renowned public health organisations, and these are reduced on average by 95% compared to the smoke of a cigarette (nicotine excluded).