Why Would Philip Morris Support Smokeless Tobacco Products? To Maintain Dependency On Nicotine?
The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 6 that Philip Morris and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., both parts of the Altria Group Inc., wrote to the FDA suggesting that tobacco products be ranked on their harmfulness to health. This would most likely result in smokeless tobacco products being ranked as markedly less harmful than cigarettes. Philip Morris apparently claimed the plan would have “a significant public-health benefit.” (assuming smokers took the rankings at face value and switched from more to less harmful products).
Now at face value, this sounds reasonably sensible. But when we consider that Philip Morris USA makes the vast majority of its profits from cigarette sales, and the plan would apparently reduce those sales as smokers switched to smokeless products, it is reasonable to wonder what they are playing at. Read more »
This post, Why Would Philip Morris Support Smokeless Tobacco Products? To Maintain Dependency On Nicotine?, was originally published on Healthine.com by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D..