One of the world’s leading cigarette manufacturers is beginning to phase out traditional cigarettes in favour of smoke-free products.
Phillip Morris International, a billion dollar multinational based in New York, is known for making Marlboro cigarettes among others.
But it has a “dramatic” vision for its cigarettes to one day be replaced by smoke-free products.
Sky News reported the company is focusing on IQOS, an electronic device which heats tobacco rather than burn it. This would potentially reduce the number of noxious chemicals by 95 per cent, though research is still being carried out.
However, the company has no immediate plans to leave the cigarette business.
Andre Calantzopoulos, CEO of Phillip Morris International, told the channel: “If we stop selling cigarettes, somebody else is going to sell them because people buy them.
“So I don’t think that will have any impact on public health or the health of people.”
But he added: “At the end of the day, the ambition we have is to replace cigarettes as soon as possible, with better alternatives for the people who continue smoking.”
On its website, Phillip Morris International, which already sells some smoke-free products, says: “We understand the millions of men and women who smoke cigarettes. They are looking for less harmful, yet satisfying, alternatives to smoking. We will give them that choice.
“We have a commitment to our employees and our shareholders. We will fulfill that commitment by pursuing this long-term vision for success.
“Society expects us to act responsibly. And we are doing just that by designing a smoke-free future.”
In the e-cigarette business, meanwhile, it emerged last week that users are seeking help in increasing numbers to quit vaping.
Allen Carr’s Easyway centre, the biggest stop smoking clinic in London, said the number of vapers trying to give up the devices has risen by 50 per cent compared with last year.
