Philip Morris

Philip Morris opened a tobacco shop on Bond Street in London in 1847, selling hand-rolled Turkish cigarettes to wealthy customers. An American company acquired the Philip Morris brand and began manufacturing in the United States in 1902. The brand grew steadily through the early twentieth century, but it was not until the post-World War II era — when cigarette smoking became embedded in American culture, Hollywood glamour, and advertising — that Philip Morris became a dominant force.

Marlboro had been marketed as a women's cigarette in the 1920s with the slogan "Mild as May." By the 1950s, as health concerns about smoking emerged, Philip Morris repositioned Marlboro with a filter — then considered a health-conscious choice — and rebranded it as a masculine cigarette. The Marlboro Man campaign, launched in 1954, used rugged cowboys and outdoor imagery to associate the brand with freedom and masculinity. Marlboro became the best-selling cigarette in the world. The Marlboro Man campaign is widely considered the most successful advertising campaign in history.

Internal Philip Morris documents later revealed in litigation showed that the company's own scientists had concluded by the early 1950s that smoking caused cancer and was addictive. Rather than disclosing this research, Philip Morris joined other tobacco companies in casting doubt on the scientific consensus and funding research that could be used to confuse the public. The strategy — later called the "doubt is our product" approach — was replicated by the fossil fuel industry decades later.

In November 1998, the four largest American tobacco companies — including Philip Morris — reached the Master Settlement Agreement with 46 U.S. states, agreeing to pay $206 billion over 25 years and accepting restrictions on advertising, particularly marketing to minors. It was the largest civil litigation settlement in U.S. history. Philip Morris continued to be profitable throughout the settlement period, passing the costs to consumers through higher cigarette prices.

Philip Morris International — which split from its U.S. business (Altria) in 2008 to focus on faster-growing international markets — reported revenues of $37.9 billion for 2024. The company had invested billions in IQOS — a heated tobacco device that heats rather than burns tobacco — and had received regulatory approval in several countries to market it as a "reduced-risk" alternative to cigarettes. By 2025, IQOS had over 30 million users worldwide, and smoke-free products generated more than half of PMI's net revenue. Critics argued that PMI was using the same strategy it had used with filtered cigarettes in the 1950s — a new product with an implied health benefit to extend the tobacco market rather than end it.