The chief executive of the tobacco company Philip Morris International has called on the UK government to ban cigarettes for ten years, which would make its own brand, Marlboro, illegal, The Guardian reported.
The leader of the largest transnational tobacco company said that his company will be able to “see a world without cigarettes” within ten years, “and the sooner this happens, the better it will be for everyone.” He argued that traditional cigarettes should be treated like gasoline cars, and their sale is expected to be banned from 2030.
Philip Morris recently achieved its goal of half of its turnover in non-smoking products and became a “health and wellness company” with a mission to quit cigarettes.
The multinational tobacco company has been the subject of controversy and accusations of “hypocrisy” by anti-smoking activists for proposing a £ 1 billion takeover of the British asthma inhaler pharmaceutical company Vectura.
Tobacco companies are positioning themselves as part of the solution to a smoke-free world, activists say, as they continue to sell deadly cigarettes that kill eight million people a year, according to the World Health Organization.
Tobacco companies are increasingly adopting alternatives to traditional cigarettes, notably the IQOS, a device that heats smokeless tobacco and tar and is said to minimize the effects of diseases such as cancer.
