Philip Morris International (PMI) increased the price of all its tobacco products by 35p yet failed to inform retailers about the impending changes, reports the Asian Trader.

Retailers were left in the dark about the upcoming rise in price and only found out when they turned up at cash and carry to buy the products.
“We only found out on Friday (7 July) about the price increase. That meant anyone going to the cash and carry that day had no idea about it,” said Fed trustee Nilesh Patel.
“Retailers should have been notified a couple of weeks in advance to prepare themselves – not after the event. PMI hasn’t handled this well at all. I suggest members should complain about this next time their rep comes into their shop,” he added.
Jacek Olczak, Chief Executive Officer of PMI has been clear on his plan to accelerate the end of cigarettes, saying that “cigarettes belong in museums” but that current policies to reduce smoking prevalence are not working fast enough and may be prolonging smoking, reports the Asian Trader.
“I’m moving Philip Morris International out of cigarettes, but the faster I go, the more people shout at me. Our mission is clear: to reduce smoking by replacing cigarettes with less harmful alternatives. Cigarettes belong in museums.
“Since 2016, my company has fully committed to moving away from cigarettes, the most harmful form of nicotine consumption. We have invested more than 10.5 billion U.S. dollars in developing and commercializing smoke-free products—which today account for nearly 35 percent of our total net revenues,” Olczak stated.