PMI Senior VP Indicates Plans for New Factory in Brazil

RegulationsBusiness by Ashe Wong
May.31.2023
PMI Senior VP Indicates Plans for New Factory in Brazil
Should Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) lift the e-cigarette ban, Philip Morris International (PMI) plans to construct a new factory in the southern city of Rio Grande.

Gregoire Verdeaux, the Senior Vice President of Philip Morris International (PMI), has disclosed in a recent interview that PMI is interested in expanding its investment in Brazil by setting up a new factory in Rio Grande, a city in the southern part of the country. However, this plan is contingent on Anvisa, Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency, lifting its current prohibition on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

 

Verdeaux emphasized the nonsensicality of having an export factory for heated tobacco products that are banned within the country and expressed hopes for a nuanced and contemporary debate on regulations. He pointed out that Brazil's 20 million smokers should have access to regulated alternatives. Currently, e-cigarettes in Brazil are smuggled, bypassing any quality check on the substances in the components.

 

PMI already has a factory in Santa Cruz do Sul, with 1,800 employees, preparing its entire portfolio of products, including Marlboro, L&M, and Chesterfield. As these products expand, manufacturing and production capacity must also grow, Verdeaux added.


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