Opioid makers profiting from addiction meds, cigarette makers gain from asthma and COPD.

Opioid makers profited from addiction medications, and tobacco companies now use the same model with lung disease. Philip Morris has bought healthcare companies. One was inhaler maker Vectura, for $1.52 billion. Now it can sell treatments for the COPD and asthma that smoking and vaping help cause.

Summary: Philip Morris has bought several healthcare companies in the last few years. One was asthma inhaler maker Vectura, for $1.52 billion. Yet most of its money still comes from cigarettes and vaping pods. Smoking and vaping are well known to cause COPD, asthma and severe lung disease. So Philip Morris seems to want a foothold in healthcare by selling products for lung disease. These deals give the company more say in healthcare. They also wear down people’s trust in healthcare companies. Many see the same playbook the opioid makers used in the US. First they created the epidemic. Now they cash in on treating it.

Philip Morris seems to be on a buying spree. Big companies often buy smaller ones that fit their business. But this time, many eyebrows went up. Many of the recent Philip Morris purchases are healthcare companies. Most recently, it bought Vectura for $1.52 billion¹.

Vectura makes asthma inhalers. So Philip Morris may be trying to cash in on how common COPD and asthma are. But that is not all. It may use what these healthcare companies know to push its other products. It may use them to get around certain legal problems. It may even use them to pose as a company that cares about health.

Philip Morris is one of the companies that drove the rise of asthma and COPD. Yet health groups had a hard time making the company admit that tobacco is risky. It took billions of dollars to prove that smoking harms health. Now that people know the truth, Philip Morris wants to profit from it too.

 

For Philip Morris, cigarettes are still the main business. Its sales run about $76 billion. But now it wants to earn $1 billion from drugs. Experts believe this will surely wear down people’s trust in medicines. The company has also bought many other healthcare firms. That gives it a way to sway the healthcare sector.

Some news says Philip Morris may leave the cigarette business in many nations². But that does not mean the company has changed. Its e-cigarette brand IQOS leads the vaping industry. The company sold it as a safe swap for tobacco smoking. Those claims are now proven wrong. In fact, e-cigarettes spread smoking among the young. Worse, vaping is tied to a severe lung injury. The injury cannot be undone and kills in many cases³.

Smoking and vaping are proven health risks. Still, the company leads this business. It does not plan to leave until these markets stop making money. And it always keeps an eye on new markets like them. That is why Philip Morris is open to entering the cannabis market.

Cannabis may become legal and more accepted, much like cigarette smoking. But the severe harm from cannabis abuse is a medical fact. And online drug addiction treatment options are essential to deal with that harm. Philip Morris is ready to enter this market if needed.

So the company’s “Beyond Nicotine” plan does not mean its DNA has changed. Buying drug companies may point to darker plans. It is a way to gain lobbying power and sway in health care. That keeps its core business running with nothing in its way.

So it is fair to compare the Philip Morris plan with the one opioid makers used. Many opioid makers also make medicines to treat opioid dependency.

Related reading: Vaping doubles the risk of ED in men older than 20 years · Vaping and Brain Inflammation · Opioid Addiction Treatment in St. Louis

References

1. Subramanian S. Philip Morris wants to sell you inhalers for your asthma. Quartz. Accessed October 3, 2021. https://qz.com/2060628/philip-morris-wants-to-sell-you-inhalers-for-your-asthma/
2. Marlboro maker Philip Morris could stop selling cigarettes in UK. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57964253. Published July 26, 2021. Accessed October 3, 2021.
3. Health CO on S and. Smoking and Tobacco Use; Electronic Cigarettes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Published August 3, 2021. Accessed October 3, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html
4. Marlboro-Maker Philip Morris Keeps Cannabis Options Open. Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-28/marlboro-maker-philip-morris-keeps-cannabis-options-open. Published April 28, 2021. Accessed October 3, 2021.