The American cigarette manufacturer will invest 30 million francs with the installation of two new high-tech production lines of heated tobacco in its factory in Neuchâtel. These lines will produce HEETS tobacco sticks, used for the IQOS (I Quit Ordinary Smoking) electronic heating system, intended primarily for the Swiss market. The company already produces a small quantity in the industrial development center of the canton.
This smokeless product, as the tobacco is heated instead of burnt, developed at the research center in Neuchâtel, launched in summer 2015 and aims to replace the use of cigarettes. Currently, millions of people around the world use HEETS and IQOS. Philip Morris is convinced that this technology greatly reduces the risk of health problems of smokers and aims to sell over 100 billion HEETS sticks over the next two years.
Neuchâtel, a strategic center for Philip Morris
Based in the canton of Neuchâtel since 1963, the site is devoted to research and development as well as production. On this site, the company employs over 1,500 people, some of whom are dedicated to production and the other to research and development.
