麻豆社

How much has the tobacco industry changed over the last 50 years?

Peter Taylor uses his own remarkable archive to chart its history and scrutinises the current claim by big tobacco players that they鈥檙e now working towards a smoke-free world.

Back in the 1970s multinationals like Philip Morris, which produces Marlboro, the biggest selling cigarette brand in the world, even denied the very basic scientific evidence linking their products to a host of fatal diseases. Peter, then a young TV reporter, investigated the industry in a series of hard-hitting documentaries.

Today, Philip Morris International (PMI) is transformed, outlining a strategy over the next decade to stop manufacturing and selling cigarettes. The programme features a rare interview with Philip Morris Executive Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos, the man behind this transformation. He explains PMI鈥檚 long-term plan to create 鈥渁 smoke-free world.鈥�

But can PMI and the industry really be trusted?

Is the transformation real or is it just another highly sophisticated public relations campaign to keep former smokers addicted to nicotine?

Peter has tracked the epic battle between Big Tobacco and public health for fifty years, and as he reveals, it's a story with a powerful personal connection.

Producer: Jim Frank

Editor: Sam Collyns

First broadcast on 麻豆社 Radio 4 in August 2022.

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