A worker cuts cannabis
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LONDON – British American Tobacco is looking to sell cannabis products as it seeks to find new sources of income beyond cigarettes and vaping.
Kingsley Wheaton, the company’s marketing director, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday that CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of the consumer spaces he is considering.
CBD is an active ingredient in cannabis that is derived from the hemp plant, which is a cousin of the marijuana plant. Its health benefits have been widely supported by manufacturers, but scientists say more research is needed.
“We are really thinking and going beyond the tobacco and nicotine space,” said Wheaton, who added that CBD is an “interesting growth area for our business for the future.”
Wheaton’s comments come shortly after two cannabis companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, but BAT remains cautious.
“It’s a very different regulatory landscape as you go around the world and many markets are currently inaccessible for regulatory reasons,” Wheaton said.
“We make a very big distinction between CBD and other forms of cannabis,” he said. “We are interested in CBD. But I think the bigger point is that we are trying to build the portfolio of the future for our business. We are trying to build the brands of the future. We try to meet the needs of consumers. that smoking was meeting a new transformed portfolio. “
BAT launched a CBD vaping product called Vuse in January, which comes in the flavor of mint, mango and berries and has two strengths – 50mg and 100mg.
The Vuse product is sold through a pilot in Manchester. “It’s there now,” Wheaton said. “We test, learn and understand this.”
British US tobacco shares fell 5.7% on Wednesday morning, despite the world’s second-largest tobacco company, which exceeded earnings estimates before the bell.
He added that the pandemic allowed BAT to “shake more radically” the way it operates and transform from a “tobacco company into a company that deals more with technology”.