PMFTC undertakes transformation to bring smoke-free products to Filipino smokers

PMFTC Inc., the Philippine affiliate of Philip Morris International, is in the process of transformation to someday replace conventional cigarettes with smoke-free products and help Filipino smokers switch to these better alternatives, according to its top executive.

“We are going smoke-free because it is the right thing to do, and our resources allow for it. 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 at the soonest possible time, to take the smoke out of smoking,” PMFTC President Denis Gorkun said during the DigiCon Omni 2020 virtual conference organized by the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) on October 5, 2020.

“We are doing our best to bring smoke-free products within the reach of Filipino adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke and bring us closer to our dream of a Smoke-free Philippines,” Gorkun said.

PMFTC, a joint venture of PMI and Fortune Tobacco Corp. of the Lucio Tan Group, is a major tobacco leaf buyer, taxpayer, and a partner to law enforcement whose traditional business supports two million Filipinos who depend on tobacco for their livelihood.

Gorkun said PMFTC’s transformation is in line with PMI’s vision for a smoke-free future. “The reality is that the moment we light anything on fire, we open up a chemical factory. This applies to the tobacco in a cigarette. The fuel in a car. Or the wood in a stove. And this is why there is a movement across sectors to reduce and eliminate combustion or burning,” he said.