New Delhi: India has dominated out rest of a ban on e-cigarettes that will have allowed heat-not-burn tobacco merchandise, dealing a blow to a prolonged non-public lobbying marketing campaign by Philip Morris Worldwide for New Delhi to allow such units. India banned e-cigarettes, together with heated tobacco merchandise, in 2019.
With greater than 100 billion cigarettes bought yearly, it’s the seventh-largest cigarette market by quantity, the place tobacco kills greater than one million individuals a 12 months.
The world’s Most worthy tobacco agency, Philip Morris had hoped India may very well be a key market for its heated tobacco system, IQOS, which the corporate says is much less dangerous to well being than smoking.
“The federal government of India just isn’t contemplating revoking, amending or stress-free this ban,” the well being ministry mentioned in response to Reuters queries concerning the lobbying by Philip Morris.
“India stays dedicated to evidence-based tobacco management and cessation measures,” it mentioned in an announcement, including that the regulation on e-cigarettes explicitly prohibits heat-not-burn units, and that state of affairs will keep.
A Reuters overview of confidential firm letters from 2021 to 2025 exhibits the Marlboro-maker privately lobbied high Indian officers and a parliamentary panel to think about the science behind units like IQOS, analysis it and exempt heat-not-burn merchandise from the ban.
Philip Morris executives additionally met many state authorities officers in Davos in January to debate how the corporate can create long-term worth within the tobacco sector, utilizing merchandise comparable to IQOS, pictures on LinkedIn present.
A spokesperson for Philip Morris didn’t touch upon the ministry’s assertion, however mentioned it “often engages with governments around the globe, together with at main worldwide boards comparable to Davos, to debate how smoke-free merchandise can enormously advance public well being.”
Reuters is the primary to report India’s choice and particulars of Philip Morris’ lobbying.
In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Jacek Olczak, the agency’s chief govt, mentioned he had engaged with varied individuals in India, including that it was “illogical” for the market to be closed to smoking options comparable to heated tobacco and vapes, however not cigarettes.
It isn’t clear if some other firm is lobbying India towards the ban on e-cigarettes. Philip Morris says it has a share of 76% of the worldwide marketplace for heated tobacco merchandise.
IQOS BOOM
Philip Morris had a 7.6% share of India’s cigarette market in 2024, up from simply 1.75% in 2019, Euromonitor estimates.
Its rival, British American Tobacco, owns a stake in India’s ITC, which dominates the market.
Andrei Andon-Ionita, analyst at Jefferies, mentioned an IQOS launch in India would have given PMI a approach to seize a far larger slice of the market, providing the “subsequent leg of the expansion story” for the product as different key markets mature.
Launched in 2014, IQOS has greater than 35 million customers worldwide and is Philip Morris’ flagship smoking different, which it says has been successful in international locations like Japan.
Some regulators, such because the U.S. FDA have concluded that IQOS can profit public well being if people who smoke use it as a substitute of cigarettes, however the World Well being Group has warned of dangers posed by heated tobacco.
India’s 2019 ban shut the door on many merchandise from firms comparable to vape maker Juul and Philip Morris.
Olczak mentioned India’s choice to ban smoking options ignores science and information displaying that smoking charges decline when options can be found, nonetheless.
Shares have been broadly regular in premarket buying and selling on Wednesday.
LOBBYING PRIVATELY
About 151 billion IQOS heated tobacco items have been bought final 12 months in 79 markets.
Philip Morris ran a four-year-long marketing campaign to push Indian officers and a parliamentary panel on well being to permit heated tobacco units, letters present.
In a single 2023 letter, Ankur Modi, then its chief technique officer, requested India to consider tackling smoking-related hurt by way of options, “just like hurt discount coverage for HIV/AIDS”, which includes measures comparable to condom promotion.
The letters additionally proposed bringing Philip Morris scientists and consultants, comparable to former US FDA officers, to current information and international expertise to indicate how such units “enhance lives”.
“PMI is deeply dedicated to, and invested in the way forward for lndia,” the corporate mentioned in a November letter to the well being secretary, calling for a overview of scientific information on heated tobacco merchandise by the Indian Council of Medical Analysis.
In an announcement, state-run ICMR instructed Reuters it was “not contemplating or enterprise any analysis on heated tobacco merchandise”. (Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Emma Rumney; Modifying by Clarence Fernandez)
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