You know those friends who made a New Year's resolution to quit smoking? Philip Morris wants to join them.
The tobacco giant says it wants to build a smoke-free future and eventually get out of the cigarette business. It has taken out ads in numerous newspapers in the U.K. saying so, and has posted a new manifesto on its website. It reads, in part, "Society expects us to act responsibly. And we are doing just that by designing a smoke-free future... In changing times you can always choose to do nothing. Instead, we’ve set a new course for the company. We’ve chosen to do something really big."
Philip Morris turns an annual profit of at least $15 billion, with more than 95 percent of its sales coming from cigarettes.