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Tobacco firm Philip Morris calls for ban on cigarettes within decade:
The chief executive of tobacco business Philip Morris International has called on the UK government to ban cigarettes within a decade, in a move that would outlaw its own Marlboro brand.
Jacek Olczak said the company could “see the world without cigarettes … and actually, the sooner it happens, the better it is for everyone.” Cigarettes should be treated like petrol cars, the sale of which is due to be banned from 2030, he said.
Government action would end the confusion felt by smokers, some of whom still thought the “alternatives are worse than cigarettes”, Olczak told the Sunday Telegraph. “Give them a choice of smoke-free alternatives … with the right regulation and information it can happen 10 years from now in some countries. You can solve the problem once and forever.”
Philip Morris International (PMI) recently said it wanted half its turnover to come from non-smoking products as it morphs into a “healthcare and wellness company” with executive pay tied to its new mission to “unsmoke the world” by phasing out cigarettes.
Nonetheless the company has come under fire from anti-smoking campaigners who accused it of hypocrisy after it launched a £1bn takeover bid for Vectura, a British pharmacy company that makes asthma inhalers.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by istartedi on Tuesday July 27 2021, @12:00AM
This must mean that they're making enough money from vapes and other products, expect to make a lot of money from legal weed, or perhaps have diversified in to prison services or other related fields that are certainly going to increase in demand if tobacco prohibition comes to pass. I always figured tobacco was a sad sister to weed in terms of whatever pleasure it may bring; but it's vastly more addictive and will probably still find a way to get people hooked even if it becomes a street drug.
Whatever they're up to, I'm quite sure it's not coming from the goodness of their hearts.
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