Financial Times

Harmless cigarettes soon?
Sri Lankans hooked on smoking may eventually be able to puff away to their heart's content if research done by the Ceylon Tobacco Company's parent, British American Tobacco (BAT), on producing a harmless cigarette yields results.

Vijaya Malalasekera, Corporate and Legal Affairs Director at CTC, said BAT was trying to develop a cigarette without the harmful effects of existing ones.

"We are working on it," he told The Sunday Times FT in response to a question on whether it was possible to develop new types of cigarettes which actually do not harm the health of smokers while providing the same satisfaction.

"CTC is not part of the research umbrella but our parent company is working on it." Malalasekera said CTC acknowledges that smoking is harmful to health but that it is up to smokers to be aware of the risks and make an informed choice.

"Our product is controversial and we make no bones about it." CTC sales had fallen sharply and the company is trying to grow in a contracting market, Malalasekera said.

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