Racial tensions in the United States serve Philip Morris' image strategy

Tobacco maker Altria-Philip Morris is engaged in a strategy to improve its image[1] and he is using the tense social context in the United States for this purpose.

The company announced on June 5 that it is donating $5 million to African American organizations to combat systemic racism faced by African Americans and promote social and economic equity. According to Altria, the funds will be used to support national and local organizations working across the United States and provide immediate support to small businesses in communities impacted by the recent vandalism. Other contributions announced by the tobacco company include a month-long employee giving campaign where the group will match every donation. (If an employee donates $10, the company will match.) The recipient organizations will be selected by Unifi, Altria’s Black Resource Group. Altria is also expressing support for the removal of Confederate monuments in its hometown of Richmond, Virginia, which was once the capital of the Confederacy.

" These are challenging times and we must find ways to embrace our differences, address underlying systemic issues and move forward as a country. " said Billy Gifford, Altria's chairman and CEO.

In doing so, Altria is working to help people forget the harm caused by these products, particularly in the African-American community, where a tobacco epidemic has developed through the marketing and promotion of menthol cigarettes. Smoking has become the leading cause of preventable death among African-Americans.[2] and they suffer disproportionately from the deadly consequences of COVID-19, with smoking being an aggravating factor in the disease.

Altria, Philip Morris, has long recognized the importance of marketing menthol to young African-Americans, stating: “Young black people have found their thing, and it's menthol. »[3]

©Generation Without Tobacco

Source of the article (in English)

[1] https://www.generationsanstabac.org/actualites/quand-philip-morris-profite-de-la-pandemie-du-covid-19/

[2] https://www.generationsanstabac.org/article/strategie-cigarettiers-menthol-interdiction-mai-2020/

[3] The Roper Organization, Inc., A Study of Smoking Habits Among Young Smokers, Philip Morris, July 1974, Bates No. 2024921279/1313.

©National Committee Against Smoking |