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Philip Morris Sells Cigarettes, But Can it Sell Integrity, too?
Philip Morris says it is trying to be a "responsible" tobacco company, but is that an oxymoron? The tobacco giant reported an operating profit of $4.4 billion last year selling a product that company officials acknowledge is addictive and causes lung cancer, heart disease, and emphysema. The company controls more than half of the US market and together with Philip Morris International sold more than 948 billion cigarettes last year... Richard Daynard, associate dean for academic affairs at the Northeastern University Law School and chairman of the Tobacco Products Liability Project, said Philip Morris's responsibility campaign is part of an overall business strategy by its corporate parent, Altria Group Inc. Daynard said Altria's stock price is discounted because of regulatory risks and ongoing litigation involving its tobacco subsidiary. He said the responsibility campaign allows Philip Morris to acknowledge past mistakes and suggest to adults and potential jurors that it is time to move on. Late last week, Philip Morris scored a major victory when the Illinois Supreme Court threw out a $10.1 billion judgment against the company. The class-action lawsuit had alleged Phillip Morris fraudulently suggested low-tar cigarettes were less hazardous than other cigarettes. Daynard also said Philip Morris's efforts to prevent youth smoking may actually have the opposite effect. A famous internal Philip Morris memo dating to the early 1990s suggested that portraying smoking as risky, adult behavior and making it difficult for minors to obtain cigarettes actually enhances their appeal among young people. "Nothing has changed morally on their part," Daynard said of Philip Morris. "Circumstances have changed, so their tactics have changed."
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