The Two-Faced Tobacco Industry: Transformation and Cigarillos

Monday, July 25th, 2022 | cooju60p | No Comments

Janet Hoek, Nick Wilson, Jude Ball, Richard Edwards, Phil Gendall*

Hoek J, Wilson N, Ball J, Edwards R, Gendall P. The Two-Faced Tobacco Industry: Transformation and Cigarillos. Public Health Expert Blog. 25 July 2022. https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/the-two-faced-tobacco-industry-transformation-and-cigarillos/

Tobacco companies have made much of their “transformation” vision, which they claim will herald a new smokefree world. Philip Morris International (PMI) has pioneered this rhetoric yet this company’s recent launch of a new, super value, smoked tobacco product: the cigarillo “Chesterfield Leaf”, has led many to ask how launching a cheaper cigarette-like product fits with PMI’s vision of a smoke-free future? In this blog we explore that question and explain why policy makers should continue to treat tobacco companies with extreme suspicion. Continue reading