IQOS Marketing Strategies Before and After US FDA Granting Modified Risk Product Status

On July 7, 2020, Philip Morris International (PMI) was granted “modified risk product” status for its flagship product IQOS by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A study published in the journal Tobacco Control analyzes the manufacturer’s marketing strategies before and after this authorization, from August 2019 to April 2021.[1].

Tobacco manufacturers are required to submit a marketing authorization application (PMTA) to the FDA to market their products in the United States, which covers all nicotine-containing products. This can include any new product or products that were marketed after 2007 but have been modified. In April 2019, the FDA announced that it had approved IQOS for sale, and on July 7, 2020, the agency granted IQOS marketing authorization. of “modified risk product”[2], but rejected the claim that using the device would reduce the risk of tobacco-related diseases, pointing to the lack of evidence of any long-term harm.

Targeted marketing towards women and young people

The sales pitch for the manufacturer’s heated tobacco brand has evolved and marketing efforts have been stepped up since the FDA’s decision in July 2020. During the period studied, from August 2019 to April 2021, nearly three-quarters (73%) of the ads, worth 5 million $, were initiated after the FDA’s decision.

The study identified 24 separate advertisements promoting the IQOS brand and an analysis of these was conducted, with an occurrence of 600 broadcasts. Most of the advertisements and occurrences featured the IQOS product itself and women were featured in 25% of the separate advertisements and appeared in 21% of the visual occurrences (compared to 6% and 3% respectively for men). A majority of these advertisements featuring women were broadcast following the decision (5 advertisements featured a woman after the decision compared to 1 before).

Media platforms specifically targeting women and focusing on the theme of women's fashion represented the largest share of the manufacturer's advertising investments with 26.2% of expenditure. Many of these women's fashion platforms target very young women (Self, Glamour, Teen Vogue, etc.). The other media platforms favored by the manufacturer concerned the themes of entertainment/popular culture/and games. They thus represented 23.1% of advertising expenditure. These results go against Philip Morris' statements that it wants to market its product exclusively to adult smokers.

Philip Morris Misrepresents FDA Decision to Promote IQOS as Reduced-Risk Product

Heated/grilled tobacco products have been promoted in countries where the product is sold as alternatives to combustible cigarettes. Claims of "cleaner" and "reduced risk" or "product of the future" are highlighted in the absence of validated data. The commercial arguments supporting these advertisements in the United States were studied. The recurring themes before and after the FDA decision concerned the elimination of odors, ash, and the technological nature of the product referring to a real innovation. These same arguments were also noted in other countries. On the other hand, following the FDA decision, messages stating reduced exposure to hazardous ingredients, and encouraging a switch from traditional cigarettes to heated tobacco were widely developed. The highest advertising investment for one of the specific advertisements reached 3.4 million $ (69.3 % of the total budget), for the campaign “Reduce your body’s exposure to harmful chemicals.” Slogans following the FDA decision also used scientific terms more often, placed the brand name at the center of the ad, and used inclusive pronouns such as "we."

Other messages were also developed in relation to the context such as that of the Covid 19 pandemic. Thus, the commercial advantages of "same day delivery" / "at home" were highlighted, developed during periods of confinement. Depending on the circumstances, the assimilation of the product to electronic cigarettes fluctuated, in particular during the significant media coverage devoted to lung injuries associated with the consumption of electronic cigarettes and vaping in the United States.

The FDA's decision was quickly taken up and sometimes distorted by Philip Morris and subsequently by many media outlets around the world. It was thus indicated that the heated tobacco from the manufacturer of the IQOS brand had been approved by the FDA or that the product was "safer" than traditional cigarettes. In France[3], PMF quickly welcomed the FDA's decision in a statement and affirmed the existence of a "independent international scientific consensus" on the reduced danger of IQOS, but also that "The FDA concluded that IQOS is intended to benefit the health of the general population, both for users of tobacco products and [for] people who do not currently use tobacco products." ". In fact, the World Health Organization points out that there is no evidence that heated tobacco is less harmful than conventional tobacco products.

PMI Uses FDA Decision to Push for Regulatory Change

Manufacturer PMI also made clear its intention to use the FDA decision to advocate for legislative change. In its press release following the US agency's decision, PMI CEO Calantzopolous stated: "The FDA's decision provides an important example of how governments and public health organizations can regulate smokeless alternatives to differentiate them from cigarettes in order to promote public health." A statement that was taken up by many of the group's subsidiaries around the world, including in France.

By promoting heated tobacco through its IQOS brand as a harm reduction tool, Philip Morris is seeking to ease existing regulations on new tobacco products and to influence a market that has become declining for traditional tobacco products due to public policies to reduce consumption.

Keywords: IQOS, FDA, Philip Morris, heated tobacco, marketing, modified risk

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[1] Berg CJ, Romm KF, Bar-Zeev Y, et alIQOS marketing strategies in the USA before and after US FDA modified risk tobacco product authorization Tobacco Control Published Online First: 19 October 2021. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-056819

[2] Press release, FDA Authorizes Marketing of IQOS Tobacco Heating System with 'Reduced Exposure' Information, FDA, July 7, 2020, accessed October 21, 2021

[3] CNCT, IQOS: Philip Morris France's deceptive and illegal offensive, July 16, 2020, accessed October 21, 2021