Philip Morris International began selling its IQOS heated tobacco device in Austin, Texas, today (March 27), an executive told Reuters, kicking off efforts to build a market for the world’s top-selling heated tobacco device in the United States.
PMI said that after a successful pilot program, it was offering IQOS to smoking-age Austin residents and would host demonstrations and guided trials for adults to showcase the product. The device is being offered for $60 with the accompanying tobacco sticks available for $8, said Francisca Rahardja, vice president and chief marketing officer of inhalables at PMI U.S.
Rahardja said PMI was offering IQOS at a lower price versus some other markets in part to reflect the fact it was trying to build up appetite among new consumers. PMI hopes to capture a 10% share of U.S. tobacco and heated tobacco unit volume by 2030 and build a substantial base of new users in the world’s top market for smoking alternatives.
PMI previously said it would launch IQOS in four cities in two U.S. states, but so far only the Austin launch has been announced. It is pursuing a limited U.S. roll-out of an older version of the IQOS device while waiting for authorization from the FDA to sell the latest iteration, dubbed ILUMA, in the country.
