Tobacco company Philip Morris starts life insurance firm that offers discounts to smokers who quit

Authored by cnbc.com and submitted by northjersey78
image for Tobacco company Philip Morris starts life insurance firm that offers discounts to smokers who quit

PMI said it determines how big of a discount to give people for using alternative products based on the scientific data along with the potential of a product to reduce a person's risk. PMI sells a number of cigarette alternatives, though it's placing a much bigger bet on iQOS, a device that heats tobacco rather than burning it.

E-cigarettes are incredibly popular in the U.K., thanks in part of the country's public health agency embracing the products as a less harmful alternative and encouraging people to switch. Offering people bigger life insurance discounts for switching to iQOS may push more people to try it.

One day, PMI hopes to stop selling cigarettes altogether, CEO Andre Calantzopoulos told CNBC in an interview Tuesday.

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"Obviously that makes sense for public health and the people who smoke themselves, but it also makes sense for our shareholders because financially, as these products are not cigarettes, they benefit from lower excise taxes and better margins, so it's a win-win for everybody," he said. "That's why we all move in this direction, and the faster we move out of cigarettes the better for all of us."

MyNameIsRay on April 23rd, 2019 at 20:26 UTC »

The bigger story is more interesting than the headline.

Launch a new life insurance firm that:

determines how big of a discount to give people for using alternative products based on the scientific data along with the potential of a product to reduce a person’s risk.

2.5% discount for switching to e-cigs, 50% discount for quitting.

25% discount for switching to their new iQOS "heated tobacco device" (aka, a vaporizer for tobacco).

Not only did they enter a new market, and use it to promote their new device, but they're implying it's an order of magnitude safer than competing e-cigs based on the discount percentage and the claim it's based on scientific data.

Punch_Loves_Judy on April 23rd, 2019 at 20:16 UTC »

Make money on both ends

BitRunner67 on April 23rd, 2019 at 20:07 UTC »

They get when you are coming and going.