The boss of one of the world’s biggest tobacco companies says the business is planning to “stop selling cigarettes”.
Peter Nixon, managing director of global cigarette giant Philip Morris, made the comments as he visited Bristol to open two stores.
The company is investing millions of pounds in the city in new shops which sell electronic 'heated tobacco' devices.
Mr Nixon said Philip Morris’s long-term plan is to “stop selling cigarettes” and focus on the alternative market.
The company is opening four stores in Bristol selling its IQOS device that heats tobacco rather than burns it.
The first two shops have already opened at Cribbs Causeway and Cabot Circus, and two more are planned - in Clifton Village and on Park Street - later this year.
The Bristol shops are the first IQOS stores to open in the 海角视频 outside of London.
The company has invested £4billion pounds and spent 11 years developing the technology for its IQOS product, but the brand still only equates to 14 per cent of the firm’s global revenues.
Most Read
“The researched showed Bristol was the number one place [outside London] where smokers were most receptive to alternatives,” explained Mr Nixon.
"We want to [stop selling normal cigarettes] as soon as possible - it just depends how popular [the new product] is with consumers.”
Mr Nixon says the new devices, which burn tobacco rather than heat it, “can be bigger than Marlboro” and that he has “100 per cent confident in the science”.
He added: “Our products - normal cigarettes - cause a lot of harm and a lot of damage and we are trying to bring out a less harmful product.
“It’s good from a business perspective too - don’t get me wrong, this is not altruistic - this will be a successful business.”
What is heated tobacco?
Heated tobacco products, or so-called 'heat-not-burn' tobacco, has been commercially available in 27 countries since 2017.
Awareness of heated tobacco in the 海角视频 is still very rare and the government believes there is a need for more research “that is independent of commercial interests” into the effects of smoking it.
Don’t miss
The government does however admit that the available evidence suggests that heated tobacco products may be “considerably less” harmful than tobacco cigarettes but “more harmful” than e-cigarettes.
Out of 20 studies that were included in the most recent government review, 12 were funded by manufacturing companies.
The limited evidence on environmental emissions from use of heated tobacco products suggests that harmful exposure from heated tobacco products is higher than from e-cigarettes, according to the government, but further evidence is needed to be able to compare products.
Different types of heated tobacco products will have different characteristics and effects, which the government admits is a challenge for research.
The government report stated: "The available evidence suggests that heated tobacco products may be considerably less harmful than tobacco cigarettes and more harmful than e-cigarettes.
"With a diverse and mature e-cigarette market in the 海角视频, it is currently not clear whether heated tobacco products provide any advantage as an additional potential harm reduction product."