Romney’s Bain Strategy For Philip Morris Led To Spike In Teenagers Getting Hooked On Cigarettes

A sales strategy instituted when Romney was CEO of Bain, intended to promote sales of Philip Morris, led to a huge increase in the number of teenagers who smoke.

On Friday April 2, 1993, Philip Morris stunned Wall Street and tobacco experts by the slashing price on its flagship Marlboro brand by 40 cents a pack, to $1.80. It was a landmark day for the tobacco industry, one that became known as “Marlboro Friday” to public health experts…

The profit was the result of soaring sales that coincided with an unprecedented jump in smoking among high school- aged youth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, found that the portion of young people who had smoked at least one cigarette in the previous month rose nearly 20 percent from 1993 to 1997. Youth smoking increased in all categories from that occasional user to the regular user.

It was the single largest four-year growth in youth smoking since the surgeon general had issued a report in 1964 linking cigarettes to cancer, according to Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.