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By Ellen Asermely
Rabat – Andre Calantzopoulos, CEO of Philip Morris International, told BBC the company will look towards halting sales of conventional cigarettes and other tobacco products.
This announcement accompanies the launch of a new e-cigarette called iQOS, which heats tobacco rather than burning it. PMI claims means smokes get the same amount of nicotine but with 90% less of the harmful toxins that come from smoking cigarettes. Their findings have not been externally verified.
Calantzopoulos would like to work with governments to “phase out” conventional cigarettes, saying PMI is aware that its products harm their consumers, and that the only correct response to develop less harmful products.
Despite this, e-cigarette products still face opposition from anti-smoking campaigns, arguing that they need tough regulation. In an interview, Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Smoking and Health, said that PMI are “making most of their profits from selling cigarettes…If Philip Morris really want to see the end of smoking they have to stop promoting smoking to new young smokers around the world.”
