World’s biggest tobacco company moves to phase out cigarettes

Philip Morris International- manufacturers of Marlboro cigarette and other leading brands is moving into smokefree products. In a swish research centre on the edge of a Swiss lake, the world’s biggest cigarette company is re-inventing itself.

Philip Morris International - which makes Marlboro and several other leading brands - has vowed to phase out cigarettes and move into smoke-free products instead, and this is evident in the complex of laboratories described as a signal of intent.

So far, Philip Morris has spent £3.5bn on science and technology, clocking up more than 3,000 patents, with another 5,000 pending.

The current focus is on IQOS, an electric device that heats, rather than burns tobacco.

The cooler temperature lowers levels of 15 noxious chemicals found in cigarette smoke by 95 percent, according to the company’s research.

That doesn’t mean it reduces the risk of smoking- related diseases. Those studies haven’t been done, though blood tests suggest there is a less damaging impact on the body.

The aerosol from heating nicotine liquid has even lower levels of toxic compounds. And while medical authorities endorse vaping as an alternative to smoking, they are so far sniffy about heated tobacco.

Public Health England says there just isn’t enough independent research to recommend it to smokers as a way of reducing risk.

There may well be a big dose of scepticism involved too. Tobacco killed 100 million people in the 20th Century and for decades the industry denied there was a risk from smoking.

According to anti-tobacco campaigners, it even covered up evidence that nicotine was addictive. In the UK, fewer than 15% of adults now smoke, compared to 21% a decade ago.

Meanwhile, the biggest test is what Philip Morris does in low and middle income countries, where most smokers live and where it continues to make huge profits from its cigarettes.