Altria Group Inc. introduced its heat-not-burn product, iQOS, to the market, five months after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave IQOS the greenlight in the United States.
The HNB product made its retail debut made at the new IQOS store in Lenox Square in Atlanta in early October. Altria will only sell the iQOS device at its stores and kiosks, and people who order IQOS online must pick it up in stores.
Altria has a licensing agreement with Philip Morris formed in late 2013. Under the agreement, Altria gets an exclusive license to sell certain cigarette-alternative products in the US and will pay royalties to Philip Morris on sales of iQOS.Altria’s iQOS is the only heat-not-burn device in the US market that received a premarket tobacco application from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a competitive advantage for Altria and something analysts expect to garner heavy investment if iQOS catches on stateside.