Say what? Philip Morris International (PMI), the company that owns the Marlboro brand, says it wants to get out of the cigarette business, and it took out ads (above) in major British newspapers to make the announcement.
PMI sees a safer future in vaping and using “heated tobacco products”. PMI states on its website: “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.” From this, it sounds more like Philip Morris is adding new product lines than discontinuing old one – cigarettes.
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Time will tell how quickly or slowly Marlboro and other PMI brands of cigarettes go away.
Heated Tobacco
For those who want to continue using tobacco, PMI has developed two technologies that heat tobacco without burning it. Its battery-powered IQOS system looks like an e-cig but creates a vapor from heated tobacco instead of e-liquid. PMI claims 3.7 million people are already using this product. The second technology is TEEPS, which burns carbon to heat tobacco instead of electricity. The packaging says “from Marlboro” so we know that name will live on.
Vaping Products
PMI acquired Nicocigs in 2014 and entered the vaping market. The company now sells disposables, rechargeables, and tank systems. Its next step in vaping is known as MESH, which uses pre-filled cartridges that contain a metallic mesh with tiny holes and a built-in heating unit to produce vapor.
Raising Questions
This all happened in the United Kingdom, but Philip Morris International is, well, international. Does PMI plan on doing the same thing in other markets right away? Why were there no ads in American newspapers? This raises a lot more questions than it answers, but it certainly validates the entire vaping industry as an alternative to and replacement for smoking cigarettes.
Standing Against Burned Tobacco
PMI does state on its website that is it not the nicotine in cigarettes that makes them a health risk; it is all the other chemicals released when burning tobacco: “A cigarette burns (combusts) shredded tobacco leaves to generate smoke. That smoke contains nicotine, which occurs naturally in tobacco, as well as many harmful chemicals. It is these harmful chemicals – not the nicotine – in cigarette smoke that are the primary cause of smoking-related diseases.” How many of those chemicals will be present in PMI’s heated tobacco products remains to be seen.
Welcome to the 21st Century
It truly is amazing to see a tobacco company say that it wants to get out of the cigarette business. Only good can come of this, as its heated tobacco and e-cigarettes are bound to be less hazardous to health than traditional cigarettes.