'Marlboro' maker tobacco firm accused of hypocrisy over anti smoking ad-campaign.

Phillip Morris Ltd. accused of hypocrisy

Monday, 22nd October 2018

'Marlboro' makers Phillip Morris Ltd. accused of hypocrisy over new anti smoking ad campaign in the United Kingdom.

One of the largest cigarette selling companies, on Monday, launched a campaign urging people to stop smoking.

While the company said it's new ad-campaign was aimed at supporting smokers in finding alternatives, Cancer Research blamed that the firm was simply trying to promote its other tobacco products.

"The only way by which the company could help people to stop smoking is to stop making cigarettes" Cancer Research UK's tobacco policy manager said.

The charity said that smoking was the largest preventable cause of cancer and it encouraged people to switch away from smoking including through means of e-cigarettes.

Health charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) also criticised the campaign - which is called Hold My Light and has been launched in a four-page wraparound on Monday's Daily Mirror - saying it was a way for Philip Morris to get around the UK's anti-tobacco advertising rules.

There is also a campaign video, which shows a young woman negotiating a Mission Impossible-style room in order to hand her cigarette lighter over to a group of friends, who are supporting her in a bid to give up smoking.

Most forms of smoking and tobacco advertising are banned in the United Kingdom and according to the rules introduced last year, cigarettes must only be sold in plain green packs.

Firm's Managing Director Peter Nixon said the campaign was about supporting smokers to find new alternatives.

Further he added that if they stop making cigarettes, the smokers will just shift to a rival product.

Nixon said that the firm had invested £4bn in developing alternative products to cigarettes.