Cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris wants to phase out its activities with the classic tobacco cigarette and with it its most famous brand, Marlboro. The world’s largest manufacturer of tobacco products only wants to use new types of tobacco heaters in the future.
“We will exit the cigarette business and only offer reduced-risk products,” said Markus Essing, CEO of Philipp Morris in Germany and Austria, according to a report from “Welt” at an event in Berlin.
No end time specified
When the Marlboro package actually disappears from the tobacconist, the top manager has not disclosed. “We can set an end date, but we haven’t set it yet,” Essing explains.
Philipp Morris International’s approach differs from that of other major tobacco companies. Since 2017, the company has stopped promoting the Marlboro cigarette brand – once the group’s flagship product and one of the ten most valuable brands in the world.
Shop of other nicotine products
The group relies on other products that can be used to consume addictive nicotine: especially the tobacco warmer called Iqos. The tobacco is not burned in the device, producing fewer pollutants. However, using it can endanger your health and make you dependent. Philipp Morris also does his business with so-called pouches – bags containing nicotine salt. The company thus follows the trend that more and more Austrians are turning to alternatives to cigarettes – reported the “Krone”. In its 2022 report on tobacco and nicotine use, the Ministry of Social Affairs saw such developments as a “challenge”.
With his initiative, Philipp Morris also responds to the fact that there may soon be even more restrictions on cigarettes in the European Union.The next phase of the Common Tobacco Directive is currently being developed in the EU. Further advertising restrictions on cigarettes on social media and uniform packaging that only list the brand name on the box in addition to warnings are under discussion.
Sales stop in Great Britain already concrete
In 2021, the group caused a sensation by announcing that it would stop selling cigarettes in the UK within ten years. The tobacco giant thus responded to the British government’s plan to make the country smoke-free in 2030.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
