Wednesday, January 03, 2018

Smoke and mirrors

Tobacco firm Philip Morris (owner of the Marlboro brand) has placed an advertisement in some newspapers promoting its "ambition to stop selling cigarettes in the UK". It is part of the company's drive to achieve a "smoke-free future".

Asked why, if Philip Morris was so keen to go smoke-free, it did not simply stop making cigarettes and switch over to alternative production, a company spokesman told the BBC: "We are trying to go smoke free as fast as we can. If we just stopped selling cigarettes tomorrow, others would sell them in our place.
Philip Morris said it aims to replace cigarettes with alternatives such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco. In the UK, Philip Morris markets several alternatives to cigarettes, including, including a heated tobacco product, Iqos. It also owns the Nicocig, Vivid and Mesh e-cigarette brands.
In September, the World Health Organisation advised governments to reject a plan by Philip Morris to set up a Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, saying the tobacco industry and "front groups" were "misleading" the public about the relative harm of alternative tobacco products.

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