Philip Morris International is developing three new products designed to pose lower health risks than that posed by traditional cigarettes - products with the potential perhaps to unlock the Chinese market.

The "most promising" product was said to be a cigarette that heats tobacco rather than burns it, according to a Bloomberg News story relayed by the TMA and quoting COO Andre Calantzopoulos, speaking at an investor day meeting yesterday.

The second product under development would be lit with a normal lighter, while the third would use a chemical reaction to make a nicotine-containing aerosol.

The device that heats tobacco is ready for clinical testing, while manufacturing of the lower-risk cigarettes would start in three to four years, Calantzopoulos said.

PMI plans to make the products, which would be sold under existing brands, available by 2017.

Calantzopoulos warned, however, that there might be bumps on the road, given the many complexities of the undertaking.

On the other hand, CEO, Louis Camilleri, said the new products had "the very real potential to not only be a game-changer, but also be the key to unlock several hitherto virgin territories, most notably the huge Chinese market".