Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International (PMI) is a transnational tobacco company (TTC), headquartered in New York in the United States (US), but also based operationally in Lausanne, Switzerland and Hong Kong. Its businesses operate in all regions of the world (see map below)

Background

PMI became a public company in 2008 when it separated from Altria (formerly Philip Morris Companies Inc.).¹ PMI’s focus is on global (non-US) tobacco operations, whilst Altria focuses on its domestic market in the United States via its subsidiary Philip Morris USA. According to an Associated Press report at the time, the separation of the tow companies allowed PMI to “clear the international tobacco business from the legal and regulatory constraints facing its domestic counterpart, Philip Morris USA”.¹

In August 2019, there were reports that PMI and Altria were considering a merger to reunite the brands.²³⁴ However the merger was called off the next month.⁵⁶

Major divisions & subsidiaries

PMI operates via several divisions including regional companies and operational divisions (manufacturing, distribution and R&D), as well as a large number of subsidiaries, some of which cover products outside of the traditional tobacco business.

PMI has acquired other tobacco companies:

• In March 2018, PMI acquired Costa Rican companies Tabacalera Costarricense, S.A. and Mediola y Compañía, S.A. for US$95 million.⁷
• In May 2021, PMI acquired Danish snus and nicotine pouch manufacturer AG Snus.⁸
• In 2022, PMI acquired Swedish Match manufacturer of snus and other tobacco products (but not cigarettes), whose main markets are Scandinavia and the US. See below for details.

PMI’s corporate structure is illustrated in the following report.⁹

PMI has joint ventures with:

• KK Modi in the company Godfrey Phillips India Limited which is in the business of tobacco growing and manufacturing in India.¹⁰
• LT Group, with LT and PMI each owning 50% of the company PMFTC, a Philippine cigarette manufacturer.¹¹
• Trans-Emirates Trading and Investments (TTI) in the company PMI Egypt, which is licensed to sell PMI products in the Egyptian market.¹² In April 2022 the Egyptian government sold of its state monopoly on tobacco, allowing private companies, like PMI, to sell cigarettes in the country.¹³
• Vinataba, via it’s affiliate company PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna Tbk. The company formed by this joint venture is called Vinataba-Philip Morris Limited (VPM) and is licensed to sell PMI products in Vietnam.¹⁴

PMI also has agreements with companies manufacturing newer nicotine and tobacco products (see below).

PMI has also invested in pharmaceutical, nicotine replacement therapy and cannabis products. See below.

For details of PMI holding companies and subsidiaries see the PMI section of the Supply Chain database

Products

The page Tobacco Industry Product Terminology lists product types and the terms used on TobaccoTactics.

Conventional tobacco products

Key brands

PMI’s biggest selling cigarette brands include Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginian S, L&M, Philip Morris, Bond Street, Chesterfield, Lark, Muratti, Next and Red & White.¹⁵

The Marlboro brand is the biggest selling cigarette brand in the international market,¹⁶ and comprised of three cigarette types: Flavour, Gold and Fresh. For more see Philip Morris’ Marlboro Brand Architecture.

• More information can be found on the PMI corporate website, and those of its subsidiaries.

Production and key markets

The map below (figure 1) shows the countries in which PMI operates. The Tobacco Supply Chain database shows that PMI is directly involved in tobacco leaf agriculture and processing in 15 countries, manufactures its products in 30 countries, and has distribution operations in 51 countries.

According to Euromonitor International,¹⁷ in 2023 PMI had a share of around 23% share of the global cigarette market outside China (by retail volume, figure rounded).¹⁸

Asia Pacific is by far the largest regional market for cigarettes, making up over one third of the total global market excluding China (regions as defined by Euromonitor). PMI sells around one third of its cigarettes in this region, and slightly less in Western Europe. Eastern Europe and the Middle East each account for around 15% of its sales,  the smaller Latin American market for around 10%.¹⁸

Research published in 2023, showed that in 2020 PMI had the highest cigarette market share in 38 of the markets in which it operated (out of 90 for which data was available).¹⁹

Newer nicotine and tobacco products

As the harms from smoking conventional products have become better understood, and tobacco control measures have been put in place, the cigarette market – from which tobacco companies make most of their profits – has started to shrink.  To secure the industry’s longer-term future, TTCs have invested in, developed and marketed newer nicotine and tobacco products.²⁰

Key PMI brands include:

• VEEV e-cigarettes – see E-cigarettes: Philip Morris International
• Snus and nicotine pouches, under the Swedish Match and AG Snus brands
• Heated tobacco products (HTPs) under its flagship HTP brand IQOS – see Heated Tobacco Products: Philip Morris International

PMI and Altria had a commercial agreement that PMI not market IQOS in the US, an agreement which PMI paid US$2.7 billion to end on April 30^th 2024, opening up the US market for IQOS sales.²¹ PMI also has an agreement with South Korean company KT&G.

• For more information see Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products: Philip Morris International

See the Tobacco Supply Chain database for country specific information. For details on global market share of the Big 4 transnational companies, see Tobacco Companies

Market Strategy

“Smoke-Free” strategy

PMI’s company strategy is focussed on delivering what it describes as a “Smoke-Free future”,²² by switching smokers to its “smoke-free products”.²³ PMI states that this will mean that they will eventually stop selling cigarettes altogether.²⁴ The phrase “smoke-free” recurs throughout PMI’s corporate and promotional materials.²⁵²⁶²³ See also Philip Morris International: “Smoke-Free” Campaigns. The company also sponsors “smoke-free” policies at popular holiday destinations – see Smoke-free Destinations.

IQOS is central to its ambitions and is framed as less harmful than cigarettes. However, clinical evidence on the safety of HTPs is inadequate and at risk of bias, according to TCRG research.²⁷ For more information see PMI’s IQOS: Use, “Switching” and “Quitting”

PMI is also increasingly investing in pharmaceuticals and NRT products in what it describes as a “long term evolution into a broader lifestyle & consumer wellness company”.²⁸ As PMI states in its 2023 annual report: “our combustible product portfolio may stand in the way of introducing and growing new Wellness and Healthcare product categories and may prevent our business from developing a long-term sustainable ecosystem of products in the wellness, therapeutic, and healthcare categories”.²⁹ See below for more on PMI’s non-nicotine investments including Vectura and Medicago.

PMI’s annual reports, presentations and information for investors can be found on its corporate website.

Despite its ‘smoke-free’ strategy, the majority of PMI’s revenue – around 63% in 2023 – comes from the sale of cigarettes and other conventional combustible tobacco products.³⁰

• See Tobacco Companies: Revenue

In 2023 the company reported that it was maintaining a “competitive position in the combustible tobacco category as we transition to a smoke-free future is critical, as it best positions us to significantly accelerate our smoke-free journey.”³¹ 

Research published by the Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG) in 2024 challenged PMI’s “smoke-free” transformation claims. PMI had set targets to reduce the volume of cigarettes shipped as part of its transformation strategy, but the research found that the targets were conservative and that shipments were in fact likely to remain 10% higher than these targets.³²

TCRG research in 2022 analysed a leaked PMI corporate strategy document and found that the company is focused on normalising its image using misleading communications. The paper described how “In public-facing communications, PMI stress their commitment to transformation and change, while in investor-facing communications, they focus on cigarettes and reiterate the strength of their existing cigarette brand portfolios.”³³

Set up Reviti Life Insurance

In April 2019, a life insurance company Reviti was launched as a wholly owned subsidiary of PMI.³⁴³⁵ The London-based company specialised in offering policies to smokers, with discounts for those who reduce or switch to PMI’s newer products.³⁶ Reviti ceased trading in 2022 and existing policies were transferred to Scottish Friendly insurance company.³⁷

Acquired Swedish Match

In 2009, PMI established a joint venture with Swedish Match to commercialize snus and other tobacco products outside Scandinavia and the US, which was dissolved in 2015.³⁸ For details see SMPM International.

In May 2022, PMI made an offer of US$16 billion deal to acquire Swedish Match, which manufactures snus, nicotine pouches, chewing tobacco, moist snuff and cigars.³⁹⁴⁰⁴¹ PMI CEO Jacek Olczak said of the deal: “An important aspect of this proposed combination is the opportunity in the U.S., which is the world’s largest market for smoke-free products.”³⁹.⁴²  By November 2022, PMI gained control of the company, enabling it to buy the remaining shares and take Swedish Match off the stock market.⁴³⁴⁴

Tactics to Undermine Tobacco Control

Tobacco industry interference is widely understood to be the greatest barrier to progress in reducing the deadly health impact of tobacco.⁴⁵ Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), obliges countries to protect their health policies from the “vested interests of the tobacco industry”.

TCRG has identified a range of tactics used by tobacco companies to interfere with and undermine tobacco control, in order to further their commercial goals.⁴⁶⁴⁷

Legal threats and actions

PMI uses the law to challenge tobacco control regulations.

For example:

• In 2009 PMI put together a legal plan to challenge the introduction of laws restricting the point of sale display of tobacco products in the UK.
• In 2014 PMI brought legal challenges against the introduction of the EU Products Directive (TPD).
• In 2017 PMI challenged the introduction of plain packaging legislation in Uruguay.

More details can be found on PMI tobacco control legal challenges.

PMI also uses the threat of legal action to try to influence the direction of policy. In 2023 PMI threatened to take legal action against the UK government in relation to the UK’s proposed generational endgame legislation. See Tobacco Industry Interference with Endgame Policies.

The website Tobacco Control Laws publishes detailed and up to date information about regulation at country level and also documents legal challenges.48 For countries that are parties to the WHO FCTC  progress is detailed in the Implementation Database for the WHO FCTC.

Intimidation

• In the 1990’s Philip Morris used intimidation tactics aimed at the tobacco control movement as part of a strategic plan named Project Sunrise. These tactics included describing those opposed to the industry as extremists in the media and pursuing legal threats against them. For more information see the Project Sunrise
• In 2009 PMI used freedom of information requests, sent to the University of Stirling in Scotland, to attempt to gain access to research data on plain packaging data in the UK. This was described as having a “chilling effect” on research, in a report published at the time by UK newspaper The Independent.⁴⁹

See also TCRG research on the intimidation of tobacco control advocates and researchers.⁵⁰

Lobbying and influencing policy

This section details some incidents PMI lobbying, and the response of governments and the global health community.

EU

PMI reported that it spent between €1,250,000 and €1,499,999 in 2019 lobbying EU institutions, employing only 2 fulltime equivalent staff in its Brussels office.⁵¹ This suggests that PMI relied heavily on external lobbying firms. A 2013 leaked internal PMI document revealed that the company had 161 lobbyists working to undermine the revision of the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD).⁵² The objective of PMI’s campaign was to either “push” (i.e. amend) or “delay” the TPD proposal, and “block” any so-called “extreme policy options” like the proposed point of sales display ban and plain packaging.⁵³

• For more information on PMI’s campaign to undermine the TPD, go to EU Tobacco Products Directive Revision and PMI Mobilised Support from Retailers.

UK

Lobbying against plain packaging legislation

Leaked internal PMI documents from 2013 revealed its multi-faceted campaign against Plain Packaging in the UK, including a media campaign using multiple third parties (both individuals and organisations) to promote its arguments against the policy. The documents included a detailed political analysis of potential routes of influence.⁵⁴ See Plain Packaging in the UK: Tobacco Industry Built Alliances

One third party appointed in November 2011 to help PMI oppose the plain packaging proposal was the Crosby Textor Group, which led to a conflict of interest scandal.

PMI also funded research, expert opinion and public relations activities which supported its position. See for example Will O’Reilly, a former Detective Chief Inspector with the London Metropolitan Police, who was appointed as a PMI consultant⁵⁴ conducting undercover test purchases of illicit tobacco and publicising his findings in UK press.⁵⁵⁵⁶ One of PMI’s arguments to oppose plain packaging was that the public health measure would lead to an increase in illicit tobacco, including counterfeited plain packs. See Countering Industry Arguments Against Plain Packaging: It will Lead to Increased Smuggling. See the section on Illicit Tobacco below.

• For more detail on PMI’s attempts to undermine plain packaging proposals in the UK, visit: PMI Mobilised Support from Retailers | PMI’s Anti-Plain Packaging Lobbying Campaign | PMI’s Anti-Plain Packaging Media Campaign | PMI’s “Illicit Trade” Anti-Plain Packaging Campaign | Plain Packaging in the UK: Tobacco Company Opposition | Plain Packaging in the UK: Tobacco Industry Funded Research, Expert Opinion and Public Relations
• PMI also opposed the tobacco product display ban which was introduced in the UK from 2012. See: Philip Morris’ PR Campaign Against the Display Ban

Other UK lobbying

• From 2016, when PMI launched IQOS in the UK, the company has lobbied government ministers and local councils to promote the use of its new product.⁵⁷
• PMI planned to create a UK£1 billion fund for UK health authorities to draw upon to encourage smokers to switch to IQOS. For more on this see PMI’s IQOS: Use, “Switching” and “Quitting”.

Australia

Australia has one of the least hospitable regulatory environments for the tobacco industry, having passed regulations banning advertising since 1976, a point of sale ban in 2011, and a plain packaging law in 2012. It also has regulation in place to prevent the sale of nicotine products, including e-cigarettes and HTPs.⁵⁸  The industry has not, however, given up on attempting to market its products and lobby decision makers across the country. In a 2019 article, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Managing Director of PMI Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific wrote letters to health organisations urging them to enter into a “dialogue” on PMI’s “smoke-free” vision in the lead up to a parliamentary select committee meeting on the impact of e-cigarettes on “personal choice”.⁵⁹

In March 2019, PMI was accused of “subliminal advertising” in its sponsorship of the Ferrari Formula One team during the Australian Gran Prix in Melbourne. PMI has been accused of attempting to evade advertising bans by sponsoring motorsports teams. For more information see Motorsport Sponsorship

Latin America

José María Aznar, the former Prime Minister of Spain, was widely reported by media outlets as having taken up a position as a lobbyist for PMI in Latin America in 2019.^60616263

• For more information on his meetings with public officials in Chile and Peru, as well as his history of association with the tobacco industry while in office, see José María Aznar.

Revolving door

The Revolving Door refers to the movement of employees between tobacco companies and policy making positions.⁶⁴ For example:

• Michel Petite, former Director-General of the Legal Service of the European Commission between 2001 and 2007, went on to lobby his former colleagues on PMI’s behalf when working for a private law firm.⁶⁵
• In 2022 PMI recruited two former US FDA employees to senior science leadership roles at the company.⁶⁶

Claiming a public health role

The Foundation for a Smoke Free World

In September 2017, the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW, now Global Action to End Smoking) was formally launched at the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum 2017, a tobacco-industry funded event.⁶⁷⁶⁸ FSFW describes itself as “an independent, private foundation formed and operated free from the control or influence of any third party”, which “makes grants and supports medical, agricultural, and scientific research to end smoking and its health effects and to address the impact of reduced worldwide demand for tobacco”.⁶⁹⁷⁰ The Foundation provides grants to a wide range of organisations with a particular focus on the promotion of harm reduction and the production of “tobacco industry-friendly research and opinion.”⁷¹

According to TCRG research, the Foundation can be understood as a scientific lobby group representing the interests of PMI.⁷¹

• For more detailed information about FSFW and its relationship with PMI see Foundation for a Smoke-Free World and Foundation for a Smoke-Free World Grantees.

In 2023 PMI ceased its funding agreement with the Foundation.⁷² Currently, the FSFW is still entirely funded with money granted by PMI over the course of the seven year funding agreement.⁷³

In May 2024 the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World rebranded, changing its name to Global Action to End Smoking.⁷⁴

Fighting illicit tobacco

PMI has used the argument that illicit trade in cigarettes will increase to fight against tobacco regulation. For example, in the UK this argument was part of its campaign to oppose plain packaging legislation. For more see PMI’s “Illicit Trade” Anti-Plain Packaging Campaign.

PMI also funds an initiative called PMI IMPACT which describes itself as supporting “public, private, and nongovernmental organizations to develop and implement projects against illegal trade and related crimes”.⁷⁵

• For more see PMI IMPACT and Organisations linked to PMI IMPACT

Support through allies

Front groups, think tanks and lobby groups

As other TTCs, PMI has long used the third party technique to achieve its goals.

PMI has used various front groups, allies and third parties to oppose tobacco control measures. For example, PMI used lobbying and front groups to challenge the introduction of the EU Tobacco Products Directive. For details see PMI’s Lobbying Campaign to Undermine the TPD.

The PMI-funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World has been described as a scientific lobby group.

See the lists of front groups, think tanks, lobby groups and other organisations linked to BAT in the Affiliations section below. See also the list and map of tobacco industry allies on the STOP website.

Astroturfing

Astroturfing is the term used for the faking of a ‘grassroots’ movement, controlled by a company or organisation whose involvement is hidden. BAT has used this tactic multiple times, in conjunction with other tobacco companies or other organisations.

For example, in Australia, leaked private documents revealed that the supposed anti-plain packaging retailer grass roots movement, the Alliance of Australian Retailers was set up by tobacco companies and that the Director of Corporate Affairs Philip Morris Australia, Chris Argent, played a critical role in its day-to-day operations.^76777879

• For more information on this front group, and Philip Morris Australia’s involvement, see the Alliance of Australian Retailers page.

For more examples of PMI working through external organisations, see the section below on its efforts to undermine policy to address the illicit tobacco trade.

Diplomats

Tobacco companies, including PMI, sometimes use diplomats to lobby government on their behalf.

For example, PMI used Swiss diplomats to lobby Moldovan authorities on PMI’s behalf, when the country of Moldova was proposing to bring in new tobacco regulation in 2019. For more information see Swiss Diplomats Lobbying for PMI.

Controversial marketing

Targeting youth

Since its controversial “Be Marlboro: Targeting the World’s Biggest Brand at Youth” campaign in 2014, PMI have been accused on multiple occasions of targeting their products at young people. On its website, PMI says that it is “committed to doing our part to help prevent children from smoking or using nicotine products”. ⁸⁰ It further states that its “marketing complies with all applicable laws and regulations, and we have robust internal policies and procedures in place so that all our marketing and advertising activities are directed only toward adult smokers”.⁸⁰ Despite these assurances, PMI has been accused of, and fined for, running marketing campaigns that target young people. For more information see Be Marlboro: Targeting the World’s Biggest Brand at Youth.

PMI has increasingly used social media to market its newer nicotine and tobacco products.

• For more information on this topic see Tobacco Industry Targeting Young People

Targeting women and girls

Women smoke less than men globally, although the gap is narrowing.⁸¹ They remain a key demographic for tobacco companies, who have identified packaging and brand design as important ways to appeal to women, and TTCs have launched brands specifically aimed at women, often using the terms “light” or “slim”. For example, PMI markets its brand Virginia Slims towards women, coopting phrases used by the women’s liberation movement.⁸² Tobacco companies use similar tactics to target women and girls in low and middle-income countries.⁸³⁸⁴

Newer tactics have also emerged. For example, PMI has partnered with cosmetics trade shows and fashion companies to market IQOS to women.⁸⁵

• Read more on Targeting Women and Girls

Other controversial marketing

• Cannes Film Festival – PMI attended Cannes to talk about alternative tobacco products and potentially recruit celebrity activists to its cause.⁸⁶ In addition, PMI had its own schedule of events, hosted by actress Rose McGowan and rapper Wycliff Jean. It also spoke in the festival’s Good Track stream alongside organisations including Greenpeace and UN Women. The decision to include PMI on the Good Track was heavily criticised in the light of “the ethics of proclaiming a smoke-free philosophy while continuing to sell billions of cigarettes a year”.⁸⁷⁸⁸
• PMI recruited celebrities and influencers as part of its Mission Winnow PR campaign.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Like other harmful industries, PMI uses Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies to further corporate goals (such as challenging regulation, manage public image and promote products) whilst promoting an image of social responsibility.⁸⁹

PMI’s CSR activities include funding education programmes and scholarships; partnerships with governments and global organisations; and activities relating to healthcare, education, child labour, the environment and food production, all of which it actively promotes in local media.  It has also linked activities to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

PMI’s CSR activities include funding educational programmes, such as the Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge aimed at high school students, funded via FSFW.

• For more examples of PMI’s CSR around the world see the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index published by the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC)

CSR relating to health

PMI has run various ‘smoke-free’ campaigns promoting its newer products, which have been described as “propaganda crusades”⁹⁰ that promote the impression that PMI cares about people’s health.⁹⁰

Campaigns include: “Hold My Light” (UK); “Unsmoke Your World” (global); “It’s Time” (targeting policy makers); and “Futuro sin Humo” (in Mexico).

• For details see: Philip Morris International: “Smoke-Free” campaigns

During the COVID-19 pandemic PMI was one of the tobacco companies to invest in a COVID-19 vaccine and use pandemic related donations as a form of CSR to promote its business.

• For more on this see the COVID-19 page and CSR: Health

Participation in global organisations

PMI has attempted to gain access to many high-level international events as a means of “rehabilitating its image and securing influence over global institutions and policy elites”. Since January 2019, PMI presence has been documented at:⁹¹

World Economic Forum

World Economic Forum (WEF; Davos, Switzerland): PMI launched its first “white paper” to coincide with WEF. Though it was not an invited guest, PMI held a side-event co-hosted by the Wall Street Journal, and sponsored the Davos Playbook, Politico’s daily newsletter distributed to attendees.

G20 Summit

(Group of 20) G20 Summit (Osaka, Japan): PMI took out a two-page advertisement in The Japan Times promoting its corporate transformation and reiterating the need for dialogue between decision-makers and industry.

United Nations General Assembly

Between 2017 and 2023 PMI was a key patron of Concordia, an influential non-profit that that connects high-level public and private sector partners and holds an annual summit during the week of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).⁹²⁹³ Though barred from participating directly in the UNGA, PMI hosted a parallel event at Concordia’s summit. In attendance were officials from the UN’s World Food Program, the UN Foundation and the World Bank as well as PMI’s Vice President of Global Partnerships and Cooperation, who spoke at the event.²⁰ Bob Eccles, a paid PMI advisor, spoke at the UNGA during a side event on Exclusion and Engagement in Sustainable Investing.²⁰

Science Diplomacy event

PMI teamed up with Foreign Policy magazine to hold a “Virtual Dialogue on “Science Diplomacy””, which would cover the role of science in addressing global challenges and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.⁹⁴

Child labour

PMI uses it’s child labour related CSR campaigns as promotional material on its website.⁹⁵

PMI is a founding member and funder of to the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco Growing Foundation (ECLT).⁹⁶ PMI had a representative listed as a board member until early 2022, after which it appeared to be represented by Swedish Match.⁹⁷⁹⁸ PMI’s last recorded donation to ECLT was US$1.25 million in 2015.⁹⁹

• See also International Labour Organization (ILO)

In 2020 PMI partnered with Indian NGO ASSIST on a project combating child labour in rural India.¹⁰⁰

Environment, development and farming

On 10 December 2020, PMI celebrated the International Day of Human Rights by highlighting its Agricultural Labour Practices (ALP) program, which supposedly aims to end child labour and protect workers’ rights.¹⁰¹ However, despite the program running for nine years child labour is still present in its supply chain.¹⁰² For more see Tobacco Farming.

CSR activities relating to the environment are a way for companies to ‘Greenwash’ their reputations.¹⁰³ Those relating to waste generated by the tobacco industry itself may also be an attempt to avoid accountability and regulation.¹⁰⁴ The Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index for 2023 noted that “Government and public institution endorsements of industry-led cigarette butt litter cleanups were recorded in at least 15 countries”.¹⁰⁵  PMI’s Clean Up Britain campaign, through which PMI attempted to partner with local councils, is an example of greenwashing.

• See also the long read Plastics, Environment and the Tobacco Industry

Influencing Science

PMI uses science as a tool to protect its profits, for example by producing research that shows its products in a positive light, covertly paying scientists and institutions to produce industry friendly research and undermining non-industry science that may damage the company’s profits.

In the 1980’s Philip Morris (predecessor to PMI) created the Whitecoat Project, a plan to use apparently independent scientists in Europe to provide expert opinion in opposition to regulation combating second hand smoke. For more information see Influencing Science: The Whitecoat Project.

• For more information on how companies like PMI attempt to influence science see Influencing Science and Influencing Science Case Studies.
• For more on the PMI funded research published by the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) see the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World: Research Database
• For more information on the tobacco industry’s use of research to undermine legitimate independent evidence see: Plain Packaging in the UK: Tobacco Industry Funded Research, Expert Opinion and Public Relations.

Examples of PMI influencing science

• In 2020 and 2021 PMI released white papers and held events on public trust in science in partnership with the Industry Transformation Coalition.
• In January 2020, PMI released a white paper entitled “Unsmoke Your Mind: Pragmatic Answers to Tough Questions for a Smoke-Free Future”. The company enlisted the consulting firm Povaddo, which works across public affairs, strategy and research,¹⁰⁶ to conduct an opinion-based survey of smokers across 14 countries.¹⁰⁷ The report was heavily criticised in The Lancet medical journal,¹⁰⁸ which pointed out that its findings were based on a “self-funded online survey”.¹⁰⁸ In July 2020, PMI published another white paper called “In Support of the Primacy of Science”, which was also based on online surveys conducted by Povaddo, on the public’s views on science.¹⁰⁹¹¹⁰ In March 2021 PMI released the results of a third online survey, conducted by Povaddo in 20 countries, on public attitudes to “smoke-free alternatives” and collaboration between governments and tobacco companies.¹¹¹ Povaddo has conducted previous research for PMI.¹¹²
• In December 2019, researchers and academic institutions received invitations from the consulting firm, Handshake, to commission research on behalf of PMI on how companies navigate corporate transformation.¹¹³

Involvement in Illicit Tobacco Trade

PMI portrays itself publicly as a victim of illicit tobacco trade, with the company reporting that tobacco smuggling results in “considerable financial losses” and “damage” to manufacturers’ brands.¹¹⁴ To help tackle illicit trade, PMI launched a funding initiative called PMI IMPACT in 2016, worth US$100m and aimed at bringing together “organisations that fight illegal trade and related crimes, enabling them to implement solutions”.¹¹⁵¹¹⁶ In its first call for proposals in 2016, PMI asked for “projects that have an impact on illegal trade and related crimes in the European Union…”¹¹⁷ The second call, made in 2017, expanded the areas of focus to include the Middle East, North Africa, South and Central America and South and Southeast Asia.¹¹⁸

In contrast to the company’s public persona of being part of the smuggling solution, evidence shows that the company was, in fact, part of the problem. In 2000, the European Commission (backed by a majority of EU member states) started court proceedings in the US Courts against PMI and other tobacco companies for its complicity in tobacco smuggling. The Commission claimed that the tobacco companies “boosted their profits in the past by deliberately oversupplying some countries so that their product could be smuggled into the EU”, costing the EU millions of euros in lost tax and customs revenue.¹¹⁹¹²⁰ PMI and the Commission settled their dispute in 2004, when the company agreed to pay the Commission £675m to fund anti-smuggling activities.¹²¹ The two Parties signed an Anti-Counterfeit and Anti-Contraband Cooperation Agreement,¹²² referred to by the company as Project Star. As part of this agreement, PMI commissioned KPMG to measure annually the size of the legal, contraband and counterfeit markets for tobacco products in each EU Member States. Project Star’s methodology and data have been strongly criticised for lack of transparency, overestimating illicit cigarette levels in some European countries, and serving PMI’s interests over those of the EU and its member states.¹²³

Project Funding to Euromonitor International

In March 2019, Euromonitor International, a market research organisation, received funding through two PMI initiatives: the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World and PMI IMPACT.^124125126 For more information see Euromonitor International.

Price and Tax

Research published in 2022 by the Investigative desk, on behalf of of TCRG, found that PMI had an “intricately entwined web of Dutch and Swiss subsidiaries, which have channelled billions of euros between them, in a way that could help the tobacco giant avoid tax.”¹²⁷

• For more on how PMI and other companies use the tax system to its advantage see Tobacco Industry and Tax

Non-nicotine subsidiaries and Investments

In an investor presentation in 2021 PMI’s CEO described the company’s “long term evolution into a broader lifestyle & consumer wellness company”.²⁸ A part of this plan PMI is increasingly investing in non-nicotine pharmaceutical companies, such as Vectura, which produces inhalers for respiratory diseases, and Medicago, which is developing a COVID-19 vaccine.

• For more information see Tobacco Company Investments in Pharmaceutical Products and NRT

PMI is also investing in the growing legal cannabis industry. For example in 2023 it was reported that PMI, via its subsidiary Vectura, was acquiring Syqe Medical, a producer of medical cannabis inhalers, for US$650 million.¹²⁸ For more information see Cannabis.

Key employees and board members

• Jacek Olczak was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of PMI in May 2021.¹²⁹ Previously he was the company’s Chief Operating Officer.
• Olczak succeeded André Calantzopoulos who was appointed Executive Chairman of the Board. The previous chairman Louis C. Camilleri, stepped down in December 2020.

The following work or have worked for PMI:¹³⁰¹³¹

Massimo Andolina | Chris Argent | Drago Azinovic | Emmanuel Babeau | Werner Barth | Charles Bendotti | Frank de Rooij | Frederic de Wilde | Suzanne Rich Folsom | Stacey Kennedy | Martin King | Michael Kunst | Andreas Kurali | Bin Li | Marco Mariotti | Mario Massroli | Deepak Mishra | Silke Muenster | John O’Mullane | Paul Riley | Marian Salzman | Gregoire Verdeaux | Michael Voegele | Stefano Volpetti | Jerry Whitson |  Martin J. Barrington | David Bernick | Bertrand Bonvin | Harold Brown | Patrick Brunel | Mathis Cabiallavetta | Louis C. Camilleri | Andrew Cave | Herman Cheung | Kevin Click | Marc S. Firestone | John Dudley Fishburn | Jon Huenemann | Even Hurwitz | Jennifer Li | Graham Mackay | Sergio Marchionne | Kate Marley | Kalpana Morparia | Jim Mortensen | Lucio A. Noto | Matteo Pellegrini | Robert B. Polet | Ashok Rammohan | Carlos Slim Helú | Julie Soderlund | Hermann Waldemer | Stephen M. Wolf | Miroslaw Zielinski

A full list of current employees and board members can be found on the PMI website.

Affiliations

PMI is a member of various national and international organisations and networks. It also works with think tanks and other lobbying organisations, and employs a wide range of consultants.

Memberships

PMI is or has been a member of the following organisations:^51132133

American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (and multiple national chambers in Europe) | American European Community Association (AECA) | American Lithuanian Business Council | American Business Council – Pakistan | APRAM | Ass. Industrial Portuguesa (AIP) | British Brands Group | British Chamber of Commerce | Bund fur Lebensmittelrecht & Lebensmittelkunde |Business Europe | Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)¹³²| Centromarca | CEOE | Confederation of European Community Cigarette Manufacturers (CECCM)¹³⁴| Consumer Packaging Alliance | Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA) | Czech Association Branded Goods⁵¹ | Czech Foodstuff Chamber⁵¹ | Economiesuisse⁵¹ | Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco Growing Foundation (ECLT) | Estonian Chamber of Commerce⁵¹ | Europaischer Wirtschaftssenat (EWS) | European Communities Trademark Association (ECTA) | European Policy Centre (EPC) | European Business Summit (EBS) ¹³² | The European House – Ambrosetti¹³² | European Risk Forum | European Smokeless Tobacco Council (ESTOC) | International Trademark Association (INTA) | Investors’ Forum | Kangaroo Group | Latvian Chamber of Commerce⁵¹ | Latvian Traders Association⁵¹ | LES France | Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists⁵¹ | MARQUES⁵¹ | Public Affairs Council | Spanish Tobacco Roundtable⁵¹ | The Trans-Atlantic Business Council (TABC) | Trans-Atlantic Policy Network¹³² | UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) | Unindustria (Confindustria) | Tobacco and Nicotine Products Chemicals Group (TNPC) (previously Tobacco Industry Platform)¹³⁵¹³⁶ | US ASEAN Business Council – Indonesia, Singapore | US Russia Business Council | US-Ukraine Business Council | VBO-FBE⁵¹ | Wirtschaftsbeirat der Union e.V. ⁵¹

• See also E-cigarette Trade Associations With Tobacco Company Members

Other funded organisations

Examples of other organisations and individuals that have received funding from PMI to produce research or expert opinions or critiques of independent evidence, in order to oppose tobacco control legislation:

Deloitte | KPMG | Transcrime | Roy Morgan Research | Ashok Kaul | Michael Wolf | Populus | Centre for Economics and Business Research ¹³⁷¹³⁸ | Compass Lexecon ¹³⁹ | Rupert Darwall ¹⁴⁰ | James Heckman ¹⁴¹ | Lord Hoffman ¹⁴² | Alfred Kuss ¹⁴³ | Lalive ¹⁴⁴ | LECG^145146147 | London Economics | Povaddo¹¹²| SKIM Consumer Research¹⁴⁸

Consultancies

PMI is known to have used the following companies, non-profits and consultancies for public relations, lobbying, marketing, research or other consultancy services:^132149150151

APCO Associates (see also European Science and Environment Forum and Philip Morris’ PR Campaign Against the Display Ban) | Acquis EU Law & Policy¹³² |  Communications & Network Consulting AG (CNC) | Clifford Chance  (see also pages on anonymous Freedom of Information requests to a UK university and Michel Petite) | Crosby Textor Group (see also Plain packaging in the UK ) | Handshake¹⁵² | Felula SA | Friends of the Countryside¹³²  | Gardant Communications (see also Philip Morris’ PR Campaign Against the Display Ban and Philip Morris’ Regulatory Litigation Action Plan Against the Display Ban) | Halogen Communications (see also PMI’s opposition to Scotland’s plans to introduce Plain Packaging) | INHouse Communications (see also Philip Morris’ PR Campaign Against the Display Ban) | Instinctif Partners  | KPMG | Media Intelligence Partners | MP-Public Affairs¹³² | MUST & Partners | Ogilvy Group | Pantarhei Advisors | Pepper Public Affairs (see also PMI’s Anti-Plain Packaging Media Campaign) | Povvado ¹⁵³

Notable individuals that have consulted for PMI:

• José María Aznar, the former Spanish Prime Minister

Relevant Links

• Philip Morris International corporate website
• PMI Impact website
• PMI Science website
• Foundation for a Smoke-Free World website
• STOP report: Addiction At Any Cost: The Truth About Philip Morris International

TobaccoTactics Resources

• Tobacco Companies
• PMI IMPACT
• Motorsport Sponsorship
• Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
• Foundation for a Smoke-Free World Grantees
• Foundation for a Smoke-Free World Centres of Excellence
• Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products: Philip Morris International
• Tobacco Supply Chain database
• All pages in the PMI category

TCRG Research

• Analysis of Philip Morris International’s ‘aspirational’ target for its 2025 cigarette shipments,  J. Mehegan, A. Gallagher, S. Elmitwalli, R. Edwards, A. Gilmore, Tobacco Control, May 2024. doi: 10.1136/tc-2023-058511
• The UK public’s trust in tobacco industry involvement in science – an experimental survey, T. Legg, L. Bero, S. Lewandowsky, Frontiers in Communication, Vol.9, 2024, doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2024.1360277
• What Can Current Biomarker Data Tell Us About the Risks of Lung Cancer Posed by Heated Tobacco Products?, S. Braznell, J. Campbell, A. B. Gilmore, Nicotine Tob Res, 2024 Feb 22;26(3):270-280, doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntad081[/ref]
• Document analysis of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World’s scientific outputs and activities: a case study in contemporary tobacco industry agnogenesis, Legg, B.  Clift, A.B. Gilmore, Tobacco Control, Published Online First: 03 May 2023. doi: 10.1136/tc-2022-057667
• Identifying misleading corporate narratives: The application of linguistic and qualitative methods to commercial determinants of health research, I. Fitzpatrick, A. Bertscher, A. B. Gilmore, PLOS Glob Public Health, 2(11): e0000379, doi/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000379
• Critical appraisal of interventional clinical trials assessing heated tobacco products: a systematic review, S. Braznell, A. Van Den Akker, C. Metcalfe et. al. Tobacco Control, Published Online First: 08 November 2022. doi: 10.1136/tc-2022-057522
• Tobacco industry messaging around harm: Narrative framing in PMI and BAT press releases and annual reports 2011 to 2021, I. Fitzpatrick, S. Dance, K. Silver K et. al. Front Public Health, 2022 Oct 18;10:958354, doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.958354[/ref]
• Developing more detailed taxonomies of tobacco industry political activity in low-income and middle-income countries: qualitative evidence from eight countries, B.K. Matthes, K. Lauber, M. Zatoński, Robertson, A.B. Gilmore, BMJ Global Health,2021;6:e004096, doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004096
• The Philip Morris-funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World: tax return sheds light on funding activities, T. Legg, S. Peeters, P. Chamberlain, A. Gilmore, The Lancet, 2019, 393(10190):2487-2488
• The Policy Dystopia Model: An Interpretive Analysis of Tobacco Industry Political Activity, S. Ulucanlar, G.J. Fooks, A.B. Gilmore, PLoS Medicine, 2016, 13(9): e1002125, doi:1371/journal.pmed.1002125
• ‘It will harm business and increase illicit trade’: an evaluation of the relevance, quality and transparency of evidence submitted by transnational tobacco companies to the UK consultation on standardised packaging 2012, K. Evans-Reeves, J. Hatchard, A. Gilmore, Tobacco Control, 2015, 24(e2):e168-e177
• The revision of the 2014 European tobacco products directive: an analysis of the tobacco industry’s attempts to ‘break the health silo’, S. Peeters, H. Costa, D Stuckler, M. McKee, A. Gilmore, Tobacco Control, 2016, 25(1):108-117
• Illicit trade, tobacco industry-funded studies and policy influence in the EU and UK, G, Fooks, S. Peeters, K. Evans-Reeves, Tobacco Control, 2014, 23(1):81-83
• Transnational tobacco company interests in smokeless tobacco in Europe: Analysis of internal industry documents and contemporary industry materials, S. Peeters, A. Gilmore, PLoS Medicine, 2013, 10(9):1001506
• Towards a greater understanding of the illicit tobacco trade in Europe: a review of the PMI funded ‘Project Star’ report, A. Gilmore, A. Rowell, S. Gallus, A. Lugo, L. Joossens, M. Sims, 2013, Tobacco Control, doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2013-051240

For a comprehensive list of all TCRG publications, including TCRG research that evaluates the impact of public health policy, go to the Bath TCRG’s list of publications.