Philip Morris could stop selling cigarettes in Britain within ten years

Cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris International has reportedly suggested that it could stop selling cigarettes in Britain within ten years. He said this about two years after the British government announced that it wanted to quit smoking in England by 2030. That would mark the end of the Marlboro flagship in the United Kingdom. "I think it is possible to completely solve the smoking problem in Britain in a maximum of ten years," Philip Morris CEO Jacek Olczak told Mail on Sunday a week ago. Asked if this meant that the company would stop selling traditional cigarettes in Britain at that time, Olczak said: "Absolutely." However, activist groups have pointed out that Philip Morris International has made similar statements in the past, but has made very small changes. They also argue that tobacco giants, who have long denied the health risks of smoking, claim on the one hand that they are part of the transition to a smoke-free world, but at the same time continue to sell and promote cigarettes worldwide. André Calantzopoulos, former CEO of Philip Morris International, said in 2016 that he hoped the company would stop selling cigarettes altogether. The World Health Organization describes the tobacco epidemic as "one of the greatest threats to public health." According to the UN, smoking, including so-called passive smoking, kills more than 8 million people a year.