PMFTC, Inc. vows to take the smoke out of smoking

Listening to society’s voices has led Philip Morris International and its local affiliate PMFTC, Inc. to pursue a bold new vision to deliver a smoke-free future.

“With the support of top-in-class scientists, engineers, technicians, and a state-of-the-art R&D, our bold vision is to transform our business, to replace cigarettes with better alternatives as soon as possible. And that is to take the smoke out of smoking,” said Dave Gomez, Communications Director for PMFTC Inc. during the “CreativeFest Now” virtual event organized by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines on November 19 - 21, 2020.

Gomez said they are in no denial his company belongs to a controversial and highly regulated industry. “We manufacture a product—cigarettes—that have clear health risks, and yet a product that many adult consumers in the world still largely choose to enjoy.”

“We are part of a bigger society and we want to behave responsibly in it,” he stressed.

Part of being a responsible company is listening to consumers and the public in general. Doing so led PMI to get a pulse on what is expected from them, which includes warning consumers on the risks associated with their product, not selling to minors, and developing better alternatives to cigarettes.

“What they told us forms part of our new foundation for the future. Today, we have made a dramatic move to transform our business to achieve our bold new vision to design a smoke-free future. We are a tobacco company working to achieve a world that is free from cigarettes,” he said.

Gomez noted that almost every country in the world has taken action against the tobacco industry. In the Philippines, taxes on cigarettes are going up every year. Places where people can smoke are getting limited. Health warnings on packs and at retail have gone from small prints to large pictures.