“The location for the stores was an easy decision, not only because they fall in the centre of the Cape Town Metropole but because of the melting pot of cultures and brands, that the IQOS brand forms a natural part of,” says Blaine Dodds, head of marketing for Reduced Risk Products (RRP) at PMSA.
He continues: “We are extremely excited to partner with these malls which have agreed to allow the trial of this product indoors. The HeatSticks or heated tobacco units inserted in the IQOS device are not ignited, only heated and therefore do not generate smoke. The indoor air quality is not negatively impacted by the aerosol. This affords PMSA the opportunity to leverage the area of the store to demonstrate a smoke-free future to South Africans.”
IQOS is an electronic device that heats specially-designed heated tobacco units (branded as HEETS) at a controlled temperature, which produces a nicotine-containing aerosol without smoke, with less smell and no ash. The device consists of a pocket charger and a rechargeable pen-like device that the heated tobacco units are inserted into.
“The South Africa launch of IQOS has marked a major milestone in achieving PMI’s vision of a smoke-free future, with South Africa being the first market in Africa where IQOS has been made available. Approximately 1.8 million adult smokers in the launch markets have switched to IQOS already, boosting PMI’s full-scale global effort to market smoke-free products that can ultimately replace cigarettes,” he concluded.
