British American Tobacco will begin selling its heated tobacco product Glo in Japan next month, ratcheting up competition in a nation that's become the foremost battleground for next-generation cigarettes.
Glo, a silver device that resembles an iPod and heats tobacco without burning it, will go on sale in around 600 stores in Sendai, London-based BAT said in a statement Tuesday. A starter kit will sell for ¥8,000 ($77), about 20 percent cheaper than Philip Morris International Inc.'s rival iQOS device.
"Japanese consumers are always hungry for innovation and we want to be the No. 1 in the Japanese market," said Donato Del Vecchio, a spokesman for BAT's next-generation products.
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