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Cigarette giant Philip Morris - the company behind Marlboro and Benson & Hedges - has been accused of using a life insurance scheme to tempt smokers to its highly profitable 'heated' tobacco products - rather than switch to potentially less dangerous alternatives. Philip Morris's insurance brand Reviti, which launched last month, offers smokers a 25 per cent discount on premiums for life cover if they switch to its IQOS heated tobacco device for three months. This is potentially less harmful than a traditional cigarette because the tobacco is heated but not burned, so an IQOS customer poses less risk to the insurer. Changing habit: Smokers are turning to products such as the IQOS heated tobacco device But this discount is slashed to 2.5 per cent if the customer uses any brand of heated tobacco device other than Philip Morris's iqos one - http://wiki.kubik.li/index.php?title=Am_I_Weird_When_I_Say_That_Terea_Iqos_Thailand_Is_Useless . And if smokers switch to Philip Morris's e-cigarette or 'vape' device they are offered a similarly minuscule discount of 2.5 per cent - even though health experts claim vaping is less dangerous than inhaling heated tobacco vapour. Reviti does offer Britons a 50 per cent discount if they stop smoking altogether for a year, putting the price in line with standard non-smokers' life insurance. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Shares in British tobacco giant Imperial Brands fall to a... I've just stopped smoking and want to get income protection... Saudi royals become the biggest losers as Uber goes in... STOCK WATCH: Is Vodafone set to call time on its £3.4bn... Share this article Share 115 shares HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP ‎What you need to know each week: Listen to the This is Money podcast A spokesman for Philip Morris, said the discounts were based on 'robust scientific data'. But public health experts told The Mail on Sunday that if Philip Morris based its discounts on science alone, the company would offer a bigger discount for vaping than heated tobacco, and would not favour its own brand over others. They said it was more likely that the company was putting profit before the health of its customers. Philip Morris, the company behind Marlboro, said its IQOS customers are 'significantly more valuable' than cigarette smokers The Mail on Sunday can reveal that heated tobacco products earn manufacturers nearly three times as much profit as traditional cigarettes. Heated tobacco is also a more expensive way to smoke than vaping. Analysis based on average usage of 11 cigarettes a day showed that vaping using Philip Morris products costs about £2 a day compared with nearer £3.50 to use heated tobacco. Linda Bauld, professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, said: 'From a health perspective, it doesn't make sense to offer a greater discount to clients who use heated tobacco than those who use e-cigarettes. 'We know vaping is far less harmful than smoking, [but] for heated tobacco we are far less sure.' Both heated tobacco and vaping devices are soaring in popularity as alternatives to cigarettes. The Royal College of Physicians estimates that using a vaping device poses just 5 per cent of the risk of a traditional cigarette. There has been little independent research into the effects of heated tobacco, but medical experts pointed to a Public Health England report last year, which concluded that heated tobacco products 'may be more harmful than e-cigarettes'. An initial study by the University of St Andrews found heated tobacco had higher cancer-causing properties than e-cigarettes. And an analysis of Philip Morris's own data by one academic found heated tobacco to be 'not significantly different' from cigarettes in the harm it causes in the body. Professor Anna Gilmore, director of the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath, said: 'The idea that science underpins the far greater reduction in insurance premiums on heated tobacco products than on e-cigarettes is laughable. Despite the lack of evidence on long-term safety, the consensus is e-cigarettes will be considerably safer than heated tobacco products. 'Most of the science on heated tobacco products has been produced by tobacco companies - one would be foolish to trust it.' Philip Morris set up Reviti in April, saying it was part of efforts to move to a 'smoke-free future', as it wants to 'incentivise people to improve their lifestyles'. British American Tobacco, the maker of Dunhill, said that its gross margin on heated tobacco products is 2.8 times higher than cigarettes Research by The Mail on Sunday found a 50-year-old man who smoked would be charged £99.91 a month for £250,000 of life insurance cover with Reviti. A 50-year-old man who uses IQOS pays £75.24 a month for identical cover, but would have to pay £97.39 a month if he used a rival heated tobacco device or e-cigarettes. In a presentation to investors last year, Philip Morris said its IQOS customers are 'significantly more valuable' than cigarette smokers. British American Tobacco went further in a presentation in March, revealing that its gross margin on heated tobacco products is 2.8 times higher than cigarettes. Philip Morris's latest trading update said sales growth of its heated tobacco helped it increase its total tobacco shipments by 1.1 per cent year on year, despite global smoking rates being in decline. However, it did not disclose how heated tobacco's profitability compares with vaping devices. A Philip Morris spokesman said: 'It is important to keep in mind that both the qualitative and the quantitative composition of e-cigarette aerosols is greatly variable. This is why the risk profile of e-cigarettes and other non-combustible products must be assessed on a product- specific basis.'

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Cigarette giant Philip Morris

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Cigarette giant Philip Morris