Philip Morris To Unveil 'Lower-Risk' Cigarettes By 2017

In response to declining cigarette sales, some tobacco industry companies are planning to unveil a range of new tobacco products to entice new customers, Business Insider reports.

Tobacco giant Philip Morris has said it will release "lower-risk cigarettes" by 2017, according to Bloomberg.

The so-called "lower-risk" cigarettes will heat tobacco rather than burn it or use an aerosol system, Philip Morris' CEO Louis Camilleri announced in a speech last week.

The new products are also part of a larger effort to tap into emerging markets like China, according to Camilleri's speech.

While it remains to be seen how safe Philip Morris' new cigarettes are, a similar heated cigarette manufactured by R.J. Reynolds called "Eclipse" was actually shown to produce higher levels of cancerous toxins than other low-tar brands already on the market.

According to ABC News, the findings from the analysis contradicted the company's claim that the cigarettes may present less of a cancer risk.

The notion of "safer" cigarettes is nothing new. According to PBS, 150 patents linked to safe cigarettes have been filed over the past 25 years.