UAE
Philip Morris International (PMI) is to sell “smokeless cigarettes” over the counter for the first time after a recent change in the law legalized its sale.
PMI said 11 supermarkets and stores would sell its devices in addition to an outlet at Dubai Duty-Free. IQOS are battery-operated devices into which a heat stick containing a tobacco plug is inserted. The heat produces vapor instead of harmful smoke.
The UAE government will not tax heating devices but the tobacco refills will be subject to a 100% duty under the 2017 “sin tax”. The move earlier this year to legalize the sale of devices like IQOS and liquid nicotine vapes in the UAE came amid a broader debate between medics and manufacturers about the impact to health of vapes and e-cigarettes.
“Our aim is to target all smokers who want to continue smoking with the iQOS product,” said Tarkan Demirbas, Middle East vice president for PMI. “Changing the regulations about smoking alternatives shows governments are becoming aware of the impact on smokers of reduced-risk products. This is the industry’s future.”
The company hopes the latest version of its IQOS 3 device will overtake black market sales of products in the UAE, currently selling online for more than three times the price of retail value.
British American Tobacco has also announced that it is to launch its latest vaping device, the Vype ePen 3, in the UAE in the near future following the law change.