They manufacture some of the biggest cigarette brands in the world.
Philip Morris International are reportedly gearing up to phase out cigarettes entirely from their production line.
The company’s brands include John Player and Marlboro, with six of their leading brands said to be worth billions each.
Sky News reported that they had been given unprecedented access to the company’s research centre in Switzerland, where they discovered that they vowed to phase out cigarettes and move into smoke-free products instead.
They have spent almost €4 billion on the science and technology so far in developing something called IQOS; a device that heats tobacco instead of burning, something that will reportedly lower the levels of 15 noxious chemicals found in cigarette smoke by 95%.
On top of the potential reduced health risks, it is likely that the switch to other products may be linked to the fact that smoking has fallen out of favour with the public.
More and more people are now vaping instead of smoking cigarettes, with recent reports stating that fewer than 15% of adults now smoke (in the UK), compared to 21% 10 years ago.
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