Inside the vision redefining what progress means for the tobacco world

At a time when innovation is reshaping every aspect of how people live, connect, and consume, one industry is undergoing a transformation unlike any other. Speaking at World Tobacco Middle East 2025, Richa Rustagi, Managing Director of Philip Morris International (PMI) for the Lower Gulf and Iraq, reflected on how technology and science are creating new possibilities for adult smokers, redefining the meaning of progress in the tobacco sector.

For PMI, this transformation began almost a decade ago with a bold decision to move away from cigarettes and toward a smoke-free future. “It was not just a business decision, it was a commitment to science, responsibility, and progress,” Richa said. “We’ve invested over fourteen billion dollars to develop and scientifically substantiate alternatives that have the potential to be far less harmful than continued smoking.”

Today, PMI’s smoke-free products are available in more than one hundred markets and are used by over 41 million adults worldwide. The company’s leading innovation, IQOS, has already replaced Marlboro as PMI’s top brand in net revenue, underscoring how rapidly consumer choices and technologies are evolving. “We’re seeing a shift that is both technological and behavioural,” Richa explained. “Adult smokers are looking for better alternatives that fit modern lifestyles - products that are guided by science but also by design, experience, and convenience.”

In her session titled Technological and Product Advancements, Richa highlighted the momentum building around the smoke-free tobacco category, especially nicotine pouches, which are emerging as a fast-growing segment globally. Products like ZYN, PMI’s tobacco-free nicotine pouch, represent a next step in that evolution: smokeless, odourless, and designed to meet consumers where they are. “Innovation for us goes beyond technology,” she said. “It’s about transforming the entire experience, from how products are designed and tested to how they fit into people’s everyday lives.”

As the conversation around the future of nicotine intensifies, PMI continues to call for shared responsibility and clear standards across the industry. “This is an ecosystem that must be shaped together,” Richa noted. “We need robust regulation, transparent science, and collaboration across sectors if we are to truly accelerate the shift away from smoking.”

The UAE plays a pivotal role in that journey. As a global retail and innovation hub, it has become a showcase market for PMI’s smoke-free future, from the opening of the region’s first IQOS Boutique in Dubai Mall to the launch of ZYN, the first in the GCC. “The UAE is where innovation and aspiration meet,” she said. “It’s a place that embraces progress, and that’s why it has been central to our story.”

At World Tobacco Middle East 2025, these themes came to life across the exhibition floor and main stage. The event brought together manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and innovators from around the world to debate the evolution of the tobacco and nicotine sectors. With topics spanning sustainability, technology, and regulation, this year’s edition underscored how the region is fast becoming a testbed for next-generation products and responsible innovation. Against this backdrop, Richa’s session stood out as a reminder of how far the industry has come, and how much potential still lies ahead.