Philip Morris International: a New Years resolution

In January 2018, Philip Morris International (PMI) placed ads in UK newspapers explaining that their New Year’s resolution was ‘to stop selling cigarettes in the UK’ (see figure 1).1 To help achieve this goal, the PMI ads refer to four commitments for 2018:

Figure 1

Philip Morris International ads in the UK.

Launch a website and campaign to provide smokers with information on quitting and on alternatives to cigarettes

Offer to support Local Authority cessation services where smoking rates are highest

Seek Government approval to insert, directly into our cigarette packs, information on quitting and on switching

Expand the availability of new, alternative products in the UK.

While the second commitment is contrary to Article 5.3 obligations of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC),2 and the third prohibited by the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015,3 the latter, at least, could be…

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