Philip Morris Polska Distribution Sp. z o.o., a subsidiary of the global tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI), has announced the completion of an investment worth nearly PLN 1 billion to modernize its factory in Krakow. According to the company, the project in Krakow enabled the creation of more than 300 new jobs.
Thanks to this investment, PMI’s facility in Krakow’s Czyżyny district now manufactures tobacco inserts, among others, for the latest IQOS ILUMA i tobacco heating system, which has just gone on sale in Poland. Significantly, Polish-grown tobacco is used to produce these inserts. Over the last decade, Philip Morris has purchased more than 40,000 tons of tobacco directly from Polish farmers.
IQOS ILUMA i is the newest generation of PMI’s flagship tobacco heating system, powered by its SMARTCORE INDUCTION SYSTEM technology. The device heats the tobacco insert via induction, rather than with a heating blade. During use, the tobacco doesn’t burn, and no smoke is produced. The IQOS ILUMA i device is equipped with a touchscreen and innovative features such as a pause function (allowing the user to interrupt and resume the heating session) and FlexPuff (which adjusts the session’s length to the consumer’s individual usage patterns).
A Smoke-Free Future Is Closer
The modernization of PMI’s Krakow factory included, among other things, new production lines for heated tobacco inserts. The inserts produced in Krakow have already reached the Polish market and are also being exported to international markets—including EU countries and Asia, with Japan being one notable destination. Japan was the site of the global premiere of the IQOS devices in 2014.
– “We are phasing out cigarettes worldwide faster than any other tobacco company. Since IQOS was introduced, we have reduced the volume of cigarettes we put on the global market by as much as 28 percent. Now, our Krakow factory is joining the ranks of facilities at the forefront of our global transformation. We’re moving from being a cigarette manufacturer to becoming a company that creates smoke-free products,” says Michał Mierzejewski, President of PMI for Northeast Europe. “We are one of the largest American investors in Poland. We have invested more than PLN 27 billion here in total. We’re the largest taxpayer and employer in our industry, providing jobs for over 7,000 people in the country,” he adds.
Philip Morris—one of the biggest international corporations operating in Poland—paid PLN 1.44 billion in taxes to the Polish government in 2023.
Over $14 Billion Invested in Research on Alternatives to Cigarettes
PMI notes that developing the heated tobacco inserts for IQOS was made possible through collaboration with Polish engineers at International Tobacco Machinery (ITM) in Radom, who designed modern machines for producing this new type of product. Globally, PMI has invested more than $14 billion in scientific research, technology development, and the commercialization of smoke-free products, which represent a less harmful alternative compared to continued cigarette smoking. To achieve this, the company employs around 1,500 scientists, engineers, and specialists in various fields. PMI’s smoke-free products are currently available on 95 markets worldwide.
According to international estimates, more than one billion people around the world still smoke cigarettes. In Poland, over 8 million people remain smokers.