Philip Morris Says it May Stop Selling Cigarettes in This Country Within 10 Years

Philip Morris, the company behind Marlboro cigarettes, has announced that it may stop selling cigarettes in Britain within the next ten years.

“I want to allow this company to leave smoking behind,” Philip Morris CEO Jacek Olczak said in an interview with the Mail this past weekend.

“I think in the U.K., 10 years from now maximum, you can completely solve the problem of smoking.”

When asked whether that meant the tobacco giant would stop selling traditional cigarettes in the U.K. within that time frame, Olczak said, ’“Absolutely.”

The U.K. government has said that it wanted to end smoking in England by 2030.

Philip Morris International’s former Chief Executive Andre Calantzopoulos had said back in 2016 that he hoped the company would stop selling cigarettes entirely.

According to the World Health Organization, the tobacco epidemic is “one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced.”

“PMI can see a world without cigarettes — the sooner it happens, the better it is for everyone. Quitting is the best option, but for those who don’t, science and technology has allowed companies like ours to create better alternatives to continued smoking,” Moira Gilchrist, head of global scientific communications at Philip Morris International, told CNBC.

“Encouraging people who don’t quit to switch to these better alternatives, together with strong regulation will help solve the problem of cigarette smoking once and for all. With the right measures in place PMI can stop selling cigarettes in the UK in 10 years’ time,” Gilchrist said.

Last week the company had announced intentions to buy British pharmaceutical company Vectura Group at an enterprise value of $1.2 billion. The company specializes in inhaled medicines for conditions such as asthma.

“To be very frank, nothing and nobody will stop us in our transformation to leave cigarettes behind,” Olczak said.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.