Dod101 wrote:torata wrote:
I think JT (Japan Tobacco) is quite interesting in that respect.
At one time, they considered themselves as a 'packaging' industry for the general consumer, so not just tobacco ('dry' packaging), but also 'wet' packaging, so making and selling canned drinks like coffee. They also moved into pharmaceuticals about the same time, and that business continues. At one point I heard they were trying to develop a vaccine for Covid based on the tobacco plant (AFAIK, they don't try to develop all of their APIs from tobacco!)
torata
Thinking about it, I would think it likely that BAT will eventually become 'The BAT Income and Growth Investment Trust plc' once its tobacco operations become a bit more modest than they are now. I think though that they have some way to go considering that they are said to be about the biggest tobacco company in the world. We forget in this country, now that tobacco smoking is all but stamped out, that it is still a huge business in many countries. I suspect that it is a good thing that we have banned smoking in confined spaces, particularly in restaurants and pubs but there is something I quite like about it when I go into a tobacconist in somewhere like Italy and get the smell of cigarette smoke. Takes me back to my youth although I have never smoked a cigarette in my life.
Dod
Your comment about the smell is interesting, since I hate the smell. I smoked for about 6 months as a student, but it was really peer pressure and I finally realised that I didn't really enjoy it. However, I always liked cigars though I didn't inhale for those. The last cigar was approx 30 years ago when our eldest was born. When my sister visits us, I take a few drags on her cigarette outside and enjoy it, but for some reason, I can't stand the smell at other times.
Steve
PS My Grandfather had a huge cigar box and when I was about 11, I pinched one from each compartment and walked along Hunstanton cliffs, trying each one. I think that I came back looking a bit green, but I was already an expert on cigars!