Big tobacco looking for new cigarette alternatives

Hand crushing cigarettes over white background

Hand crushing cigarettes over white background

Big tobacco companies are diversifying out of traditional cigarettes and into new alternatives in what critics are calling a ‘smokescreen’ to divert attention from the negative effects of tobacco.

Among the companies making the change is UK tobacco giant Imperial Brands, the company behind Winston, West and Gauloises, who are currently testing caffeine energy products.

Imperial’s Chief Development Officer, Matthew Phillips said: “We’ve been increasingly looking in other areas,” including focus on products that appeal to millennials.”

One of the industry’s largest players, British American Tobacco, have also invested $1 billion over the past five years in what it terms “next generation products”. They say e-cigarettes, including its brand Vype, are “potentially less risky alternatives” to tobacco.

“The key challenge for the tobacco industry is the terrible image of their products,” said Professor Steve Greenland, a marketing expert at Charles Darwin University who specializes in the tobacco industry.

“[Tobacco companies] may be distancing themselves from the traditional tobacco market, but the reality is not far off 99 per cent of their revenue comes from cigarettes and while we’re seeing this decline in smoking in Australia the company’s growth business is in emerging markets like Indonesia and East Timor.

“These new products are providing a bit of a smokescreen to what is going on with mainstream business.”

But critics say the most effective way to quit is to stub out the smokes, rather than moving to alternatives.

“By positioning themselves as ‘part of the solution’, rather than the essence of the problem, the tobacco industry is seeking to claw back from its pariah status and to re-engage in the policy process,” said Ross MacKenzie, a lecturer in Health Studies at Macquarie University.

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