Marlboro cigarette giant to test “heat not burn” tobacco in Atlanta
The nation’s dominant tobacco company, maker of the top-selling Marlboro cigarette, is trying to become the next e-cigarette giant.To get more news about
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Altria will begin selling next month a new tobacco product called IQOS, a pen-like electronic device with a sleek battery pack. It hopes to make a splash with an IQOS store in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood, the company’s first ahead of a national rollout.
The seller of roughly one in every two traditional cigarettes in the U.S. is making the major push as fewer Americans light up and more experiment with vaping devices like e-cigarettes to get their nicotine fix.
Such gadgets, including Altria’s “heat not burn device,” are less harmful than traditional cigarettes which release toxins through combustion. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the country, killing 480,000 a year.
But there’s plenty of debate swirling around e-cigarettes that create vapor but no combustion. It’s still unclear how much the alternative devices help smokers quit traditional cigarettes. At the same time, vaping gadgets are hooking a new generation of young people on nicotine.
Less harmful also doesn’t mean harmless. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on the weekend it is investigating more than 90 potential cases of severe lung illness associated with vaping in 14 states. Symptoms include coughing, difficulty breathing and fatigue.“I find it ironic that Atlanta is the site of the launch of IQOS,” said Dr. Michael Eriksen, dean of Georgia State University’s School of Public Health. “Atlanta is home of the CDC, home of the American Cancer Society.”
IQOS differs from e-cigarettes already on the market because it contains tobacco rather than liquid nicotine or nicotine salt. The product includes a heating blade that warms a tobacco stick and releases a vapor with the taste of tobacco.
Altria is marketing IQOS in the U.S. in a partnership deal with tobacco giant Philip Morris International, which owns the rights to Marlboro overseas. Philip Morris International invested $3 billion in developing IQOS and has introduced it in more than 30 markets around the world.
The U.S. foray follows earlier failed bids by Altria to capture the e-cigarette market after its MarkTen and Green Smoke brands fizzled. Last year the company shelled out $12.8 billion for a 35% stake in Juul, the dominant e-cigarette brand.
Altria spokesman David Sutton said IQOS will target adult smokers who want to continue using tobacco, not kids or non-smokers. Customers entering the Lenox Square store must be at least 21 years of age, with employees checking IDs. Since IQOS has real tobacco, Altria believes the product will be closer to a classic cigarette experience.
Many anti-tobacco groups are concerned. Denny Henigan, vice president of legal and regulatory affairs at Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, notes big tobacco companies hid evidence for years that cigarettes caused cancer. He argued they also have a long history of marketing tobacco to children, including using cartoon characters.
