Big Tobacco Rethinks Its Smoking Addiction

Maybe an unpleasant shock is what’s needed to get serious about quitting cigarettes. British American Tobacco has been caught off guard by how fast U.S. smokers are abandoning tobacco and now faces a rising bill to go smoke-free.  

Shares in BAT, the maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes, fell 9% on Wednesday to a 12-year low after it announced a £25 billion noncash impairment for some of its U.S. tobacco brands, equivalent to $31.5 billion at current exchange rates.