OUR INITIATIVES

      Outreach and Engagement

      Our goal is to develop a portfolio of less harmful alternatives to continued cigarette smoking. At PMI, responsible R&D means ensuring the credibility, integrity, and robustness of our scientific research in alignment with international standards, as well as transparency in our methods and results. Our initiatives are part of this effort to sharing our science, listening to feedback, and encouraging constructive debate with experts and the broader public.

      We support scientific exchange and encourage independent verification of our research results

      From 2008 to 2023, we've published 532 scientific publications on smoke-free products and related science, promoting constructive debate and feedback from experts and the scientific community. Our Scientific Update magazine offers insights into the latest research and developments in smoke-free products. We regularly produce literature reviews summarizing both our own and independent publications.

      Our Investigator Initiated Studies (IIS) program supports external scientists and institutions conducting smoke-free product research, encompassing areas like aerosol chemistry, systems biology, toxicology, pre-clinical studies, and clinical studies. We also welcome and encourage independent research on our methods and results.

      We have also employed crowdsourcing for the sbvIMPROVER initiative, aimed at verifying industrial research and development methods, ensuring quality control in the process. Examples include:

      We developed the Open Science event series to communicate on our science

      Our Open Science event series, which began in June 2020, emerged as a response to the cancellation of poster sessions at the Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) due to the shift to online conferencing. Determined to share our prepared posters with the scientific community, we initiated the series. Its success led to expansion, covering diverse topics and encompassing comprehensive discussions and the underlying principles of our research. Celebrating our 10th Open Science event in April 2023, the series has evolved from a simple webinar to a range of offerings, including live and in-person events. Moreover, our scientists actively participate in international conferences and virtual events, presenting their findings in fields like aerosol science, pre-clinical toxicology, systems biology, and clinical studies.

      We developed the ABOUT Toolbox to assess adult smokers’ perceptions and behaviors

      The ABOUT™ Toolbox is a portfolio of self-report instruments that we have developed to assess people’s perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors towards smoke-free products in a scientifically robust manner. Five domains are being investigated: Perceived Risk, Use History, Product Experience, Dependence, and Health and Functioning. The ABOUT™ Toolbox instruments are distributed by Mapi Research Trust on our behalf and made available to the wider scientific community through the ePROVIDETM platform. 

      We foster collaborative partnerships

      At PMI, 1,586 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support staff drive our research*. Complementing the Cube, PMI’s R&D center in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, we have a global network of Philip Morris R&D facilities in Yerevan, Bologna, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen. These facilities not only contribute to our internal research but also foster external innovation ecosystems. We also collaborate with various research institutes, universities, and companies with shared scientific interests. For example:

      • We developed an integrated aerosol test platform emulating the entire human respiratory tract with TissUse GMBH in Germany.
      • We have collaborated with a research institution in the Netherlands, resulting in the development of AEROSOLVED: a free and open-source software for simulating multispecies aerosol mixtures using computational fluid dynamics.
      • Through partnerships with the Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF), universities, scientific institutions, and leading high-tech development centers, our R&D center in Armenia has successfully collaborated with over 120 scientists from leading local scientific institutes and implemented five joint programs, strengthening ties with the local STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) community. 

      * Data includes employees of Swedish Match and Vectura Fertin Pharma.

      We actively engage in discussions and workshops

      PMI actively engages in round tables and workshops for researchers, industry experts, and regulatory agencies to analyze emerging areas of scientific research. Notably, PMI participated in a Workshop on organ-on-a-chip technology organized by the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing Europe. This workshop was focused on exploring innovative methods, such as organ-on-a-chip technology, to advance scientific research while reducing reliance on animal testing. Additionally, PMI attended a meeting in New York that addressed existing models aimed at estimating the potential impact of introducing Modified Risk Tobacco Products on population health.

      We support specialist training and research initiatives

      PMI actively supports specialist training and research through diverse initiatives. For instance, we support Master's and PhD programs, faculty team research projects, and providing opportunities for local and foreign students at The Cube in Neuchâtel to conduct PhD research in subjects like genome engineering and human behavioral psychology. Our Postdoctoral Fellowship Program has also supported projects in these areas.

      Beyond The Cube, PMI extends its initiatives. PMI in Italy offers manufacturing competencies training to university students, conducts seminars and trainings for high school professors’ professional development, and supports STEM and innovative-solutions research study programs. At the PMI Science R&D Center Armenia, we support two Master's programs in Material Science and Data Science at the Yerevan State University. We provide advanced training for both young scientists and faculty professors and organize scientific and technological conferences to foster idea exchange among academic scientists and corporate researchers.

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      PMIScience.com is operated by Philip Morris International for the purpose of publishing and disseminating scientific information about Philip Morris International’s efforts in support of its smoke-free product portfolio. This site is a global site for use by scientists, the public health and regulatory communities, and other stakeholders with an interest in tobacco policy. The purpose of this site is not advertising or marketing, nor is it directed at any specific market. It is not intended for use by consumers. New tobacco products sold in the United States are subject to FDA regulation; therefore the content of this site is not intended to make, and nor should it be construed as making, any product related claims in the United States without proper FDA authorization. ​
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      Reduced Risk Products ("RRPs”) is the term we use to refer to products that present, are likely to present, or have the potential to present less risk of harm to smokers who switch to these products versus continuing smoking. PMI has a range of RRPs in various stages of development, scientific assessment and commercialization. All of our RRPs are smoke-free products that deliver nicotine with far lower quantities of harmful and potentially harmful constituents than found in cigarette smoke.