Philip Morris changes the name to Altria Group

The shareholders of the world's largest tobacco company Philip Morris COS. voted for changing the name of the company on Altria Group Inc. They also appointed senior financial director Lewis Kamilieri as president and general director, RIA Novosti reports.

Philip Morris does not intend to change the name of his units, including tobacco Philip Morris USA.

According to the former CEO of Jeffrey Baybl, the deadline for changing the company's name will be determined later. In particular, until this moment, the lawsuit filed by the ventira Group LLC should be settled. This company claims that similar names will confuse customers.

The proposal for the change in the name was approved by 95.1% of PHILIP Morris shareholders. In November, the company talked about the desire to change the name and show in such a way that its business is not limited to the tobacco sector.

Philip Morris also owns the American company Kraft Foods Inc., which is engaged in the production of food, and the brewer company Miller Brewing Co.

Philip Morris was named after the London tobacco, which lived in the 19th century. The company has this name for more than 120 years. In the USA it has been working for 100 years.

Opponents of the change of name, including anti -tobacco organizations, say that this step is an attempt to hide the fact that Philip Morris performs cigarettes.