Open AccessIQOS is not an acronym: a call to researchers and journals
Author(s) -
Andrew B. Seidenberg,
Becky Freeman
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
tobacco control
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.715
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1468-3318
pISSN - 0964-4563
DOI - 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2019-055571
Subject(s) - acronym , publicity , tobacco product , early adopter , influencer marketing , advertising , business , medicine , marketing , environmental health , philosophy , linguistics , relationship marketing , marketing management
In 2014, Philip Morris International (PMI) introduced the IQOS heated tobacco product system. It has been widely reported in the media that IQOS is an acronym for 'I quit ordinary smoking'. To our knowledge, PMI has never publicly used any acronym to describe or market IQOS. Moreover, PMI has repeatedly denied that IQOS is an acronym. The acronym, which is an implicit cessation claim, has also appeared in numerous peer-reviewed publications. While the origins of the acronym are unknown, PMI stands to benefit from the publicity and associated positive connotations. It is possible that early adopters of IQOS created the acronym online, which was then picked by reporters and the research community. Alternatively, given that tobacco manufacturers have used social media influencers to promote their products, it is also possible that PMI may have surreptitiously helped popularize the acronym. Regardless of its origin, researchers and journals should stop disseminating this internet myth that promotes a potentially misleading claim.