Philip Morris Says It Doesn’t Want You to Buy Its Cigarettes
- Its ‘not afraid of cannibalization’ as IQOS ramps up, COO says
- Others say company still not doing enough to end tobacco sales
Photographer: Yen Meng Jiin/Singapore Press via AP Photo
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How can a company that tells people explicitly not to buy its products survive? That’s a question for Philip Morris International Inc., which recently unveiled a campaign to “unsmoke” the world.
The Marlboro maker reports first-quarter earnings on Thursday, giving investors the latest data on just how fast cigarette volumes are falling. With its public push to discourage smoking, Philip Morris isn’t fighting that trend. Instead, it’s ramping up focus on its IQOS heat-not-burn device, already sold in about 44 countries.