A Philip Morris advertisement for its heated tobacco product Iqos sets a troubling precedent
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15304196 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eric Leas (0000-0001-9221-0336, University of California San Diego, corresponding author), Joanna E Cohen (0000-0002-3869-3637, Johns Hopkins University), John W Ayers (0000-0002-8831-8691, Qualcomm (United States)) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | e1 |
| Pages | tobaccocontrol-2019 |
| Publication date | 2020-02-04 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Tobacco Control (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0964-4563 • E-ISSN: 1468-3318 |
| Publisher | BMJ (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2019-055363 |
| PMID | 32019894 |
| OpenAlex | W3004841002 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 1 |
Philip Morris was allowed to market its IQOS brand of heated (or 'heat-not-burn') tobacco in the USA in April 2019 after receiving a marketing order from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requiring it to follow existing tobacco marketing regulations, as well as new reporting requirements that mandate Philip Morris ensures consumers are properly informed about the dangers of IQOS and minors are not targeted.1 However, as early as August 2019, Philip Morris already used covert marketing strategies that implied the FDA endorsed its product, violated FDA tobacco product regulations and circumvented the terms of the media channel it advertised on. All of these concerns are illustrated in a single advertisement (figure 1A). A Google search for ‘heat not burn’ on 1 August 2019 returned as the first result an advertisement entitled ‘What is heat-not-burn? | Discover the technology | Alternatives to smoking’ that promoted a link to pmiscienceusa.com, a subsidiary of Philip Morris (figure 1A). A clickthrough to the advertised website displayed a banner asking visitors to accept that the ‘purpose of the site [was] not [for] advertising or marketing’ (figure 1B), yet Philip Morris was buying consumer-facing advertisements to promote this website. On accepting the statement, users entered the site which focused on Philip Morris-conducted research and made the claim that IQOS
Advertising · Business · Environmental health · Order (exchange · Political science · Product (mathematics · Tobacco industry · Tobacco product · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Law · Medicine · Marketing
Use of heated tobacco products where their use is prohibited
Iqos print magazine advertising characteristics and reach before and after FDA authorisation as a modified risk tobacco product
Did Philip Morris International use the e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (Evali) outbreak to market Iqos heated tobacco
A Mixed-Methods Study on Use of Different Tobacco Products among Younger and Older Adults with Lower and Higher Levels of Nicotine Exposure in California in 2019–2020
The Frequency of Use and Harm Perception of Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs)
News coverage of the E-cigarette, or Vaping, product use Associated Lung Injury (Evali) outbreak and internet searches for vaping cessation
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2023 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |