Godfrey Phillips launches mobile smoking lounge

Mumbai: Non-smokers can breathe easy now Godfrey Phillips (the makers of Four Square Kings, Red & White, Jaisalmer, and Cavanders) unveiled Mumbai''s first-ever mobile smoking lounge (MSL). An industry-first concept in India, the MSL is a comfortably furnished and air-conditioned room on wheels, that serves as the perfect retreat for those who want their puff, without making an olfactory assault on non-smokers.

Sundeep Kumar, Godfrey Phillips'' senior VP, corporate affairs, said, "This industry first initiative keeps in mind the sensitivities of the non-smoker and intends to instill the spirit of coexistence and responsible smoking. Continued focus on innovation-led Godfrey Phillips to create this unique facility that is as much a benefit for the smoking community as it is for the non-smoker."

Though cigarettes will be available for purchase at the lounge, even non-buyers can use the facility. Initially, these MSLs will be parked in high footfall areas like Crossroads, Phoenix Mills and Imax. Says Kumar, "The final position in different centres will be decided according to consumer response to our initial location of our MSLs." Mumbai is the third state to see the MSL, following Ahmedabad and Delhi, where it received an excellent response from smokers and non-smokers alike.

Godfrey Phillips has two major stakeholders, the KK Modi Group and Phillip Morris of USA and is the second largest manufacturer of cigarettes in India with an annual turnover of over Rs1,100 crore. Incorporated in India in 1936, the company established its own manufacturing facilities in 1944. The company''s operations span the entire northern and western part of the country with manufacturing facilities in Ghaziabad and in Mumbai (Andheri), a state-of-the-art R&D centre in Mumbai and a tobacco-buying unit in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh .