Dangers of the “Unsmoke” Campaign: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Philip Morris’s “Unsmoke” campaign?

On 08 April 2019, Philip Morris International (PMI) launched “The Year of Unsmoke”— a call for action to “smokers, nonsmokers, regulators and agents of change… who can empower a smoke-free future”, with a key message: “If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you smoke, quit.

If you don’t quit, change”1 On 21 May 2019, PMI launched “It’s Time to Unsmoke” at Wall Street’s Future of Everything annual event. The initiative calls for authorities and regulators to “have an open conversation and come up with a meaningful solution on how we can Unsmoke the world.”

It is along the same lines of this so-called “corporate transformation” strategy that PMI funded the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) as part of the company’s corporate affairs strategy to shift from harmful combustible cigarettes to its new, so-called “less harmful” product line. PMI, along with other tobacco transnationals, have been aggressively lobbying for the entry into the market of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products and heated tobacco products (HTPs) (e.g., IQOS, TEEPS). The self-professed “socially responsible” activity in the form of Unsmoke campaign is targeted to the public, not just to stockholders,5 and complements the aggressive marketing of the tobacco company’s new products.  Read more