A worker cuts cannabis
Uriel Sinai | Getty Images
LONDON – British American Tobacco is considering selling cannabis products as it seeks to find new sources of revenue in addition to cigarettes and vaporization.
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 she’s been looking for.
CBD is an active ingredient in cannabis derived from the hemp plant, which is a cousin of the cannabis plant. Its health benefits have been widely praised by manufacturers, but scientists say more research needs to be done.
“In fact, let’s think and go further, just in the tobacco and nicotine space,” said Wheaton, who added that CBD is an “area of exciting growth for our business in the future.”
Wheaton’s comments were made shortly after two cannabis companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, but BAT remains cautious.
“It is a very different regulatory landscape as you travel the world and many markets are currently inaccessible for regulatory reasons,” said Wheaton.
“We draw a big distinction between CBD and other forms of cannabis,” he said. “We are interested in the CBD. But I think the main 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 are trying to meet the needs of the consumer who used to find a new transformed portfolio. “
BAT launched a CBD vaporization product called Vuse in January, which comes in mint, mango and berry flavors, and has two strengths – 50mg and 100mg.
The Vuse product is being sold through a pilot in Manchester. “It’s there now,” said Wheaton. “We are testing, learning and understanding this.”
British American Tobacco shares fell 5.7% on Wednesday morning, despite the fact that the world’s second largest tobacco company outperformed earnings estimates ahead of the signal.
He added that the pandemic has allowed BAT to “shake up more radically” the way it does business and transform itself from a “tobacco company into a company that deals more with technology”.