Philip Morris to target Indian smokers with pen-like iQOS device: Sources

The health ministry did not respond to a request for comment

Philip Morris International Inc is planning to launch its iQOS smoking device in India, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the tobacco giant seeks a foothold in a country with the world’s second-biggest smoker population.

Philip Morris says the sleek, penlike iQOS heats but does not burn tobacco, producing a nicotine-containing vapour rather than smoke and making it less harmful than conventional cigarettes. The company says it wants to one day stop selling cigarettes altogether.

India has stringent laws to deter tobacco use, which the government says kills more than 900,000 people every year. But the country