Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is an American multinational
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
company, with products sold in over 180 countries. The most recognized and best selling product of the company is
Marlboro
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...
. Philip Morris International is often referred to as one of the companies comprising
Big Tobacco
Big Tobacco is a name used to refer to the largest companies in the tobacco industry. According to the World Medical Journal, the five largest tobacco companies are: Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japan T ...
.
Until a spin-off in March 2008, Philip Morris International was an operating company of Altria. Altria explained the spin-off, arguing PMI would have more "freedom," i.e. leeway outside the responsibilities and standards of American corporate ownership in terms of potential litigation and legislative restrictions to "pursue sales growth in emerging markets", while Altria focuses on the American domestic market. The shareholders in Altria at the time were given shares in PMI, which was listed on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...
and other markets.
The company's legal seat is in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, but it does not operate in the United States of America.
Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the American tobacco division of the American tobacco corporation Altria Group.
History Creation
The company's namesake Philip Morris was born in Whitechapel, United Kingdom in 1835, the son of a recent immigrant from G ...
, a subsidiary of PMI's former owner American parent Altria group, owns the Philip Morris brands there. PMI's operational headquarters are in
, Switzerland.
With tobacco being addictive and the single greatest cause of preventable death globally, the company is highly controversial, not least because of its history of obfuscating scientific evidence around the health impacts of smoking. It has been the subject of litigation and restrictive legislation from governments.
With the world-wide decrease in smoking prevalence in the 21st century, shares of Philip Morris were no longer considered the "safe haven" they once were. However, it has to be noted that the absolute number of smokers continues to increase. The company ranked No. 101 in the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations by total revenue.
History
Early development
The company states its history is traced to a London tobacconist, Philip Morris, opening a single shop on London's Bond Street in 1847 which sold tobacco and cigarettes. In 1881, Philip Morris' son, Leopold Morris, established "Philip Morris & Company and Grunebaum Ltd" with Joseph Grunebaum. In 1885, the company changed its name to "Philip Morris & Co. Ltd."
In 1894, William Curtis Thomson and his family began to control the company, and in 1902 the company was incorporated in New York. In 1919, the American business was acquired and incorporated as "Philip Morris & Co. Ltd., Inc." in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
Later development
In 1954, Philip Morris (Australia) became the first affiliate of Philip Morris & Co., Ltd, Inc. outside the U.S. In 1972, the company's
Marlboro
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...
became the world's top-selling cigarette brand.
In 1987, Philip Morris International (PMI) was incorporated as an operating company of Philip Morris Companies Inc. In 2001, the operations center of the company was transferred from
Rye Brook, New York
Rye Brook is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, within the town of Rye. The population was 9,347 at the 2010 census.
Rye Brook has been designated as a Tree City USA for 14 years.
History
Rye Brook is located in south ...
, Switzerland. On January 27, 2003, Philip Morris Companies Inc. formally changed its name to
the Altria Group
Altria Group, Inc. (previously known as Philip Morris Companies, Inc.) is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes and related products. It operates worldwide and is headquartered in ...
. In March 2008, Philip Morris International was spun off from Altria.
In April 2014, Philip Morris International announced that it would close its
Moorabbin
Moorabbin is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Moorabbin recorded a population of 6,287 at the .
Most of the ...
plant in Australia by the end of 2014 after operating for 60 years, due to the gradual decline of sales in the last ten years and difficulties conforming to 2010 Australian government regulation about reducing fire risks. In 2015, the company sold 850 billion cigarettes.
In August 2018 Reuters reported that Philip Morris "has been among foreign companies with exposure to Russia’s tobacco market. The company’s sales exposure to Russia is 7 percent, according to a note from Goldman Sachs."
As of 2019, main institutional investors are
The Vanguard Group
The Vanguard Group, Inc. is an American registered investment advisor based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with about $7 trillion in global assets under management, as of January 13, 2021. It is the largest provider of mutual funds and the second-la ...
with an 8% stake,
Capital Research & Management
Capital Group is an American financial services company. It ranks among the world's oldest and largest investment management organizations, with over $2.6 trillion in assets under management. Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1931, it is p ...
with 5% and BlackRock Fund Advisors with 4%.
In July 2021, Philip Morris International agreed to buy Vectura Group for £1 billion.
In November 2021, Philip Morris International announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from New York to Stamford, Connecticut, which expected to take effect in Summer 2022, while its operational center remained in Lausanne.
In 2022, due to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
and boycott of the Russian market by many international companies, the company has faced trouble due to its high level of exposure to the Russian market, from which it was reluctant to disinvest. On the same year, PMI has agreed to a $16 billion deal with Swedish Match which would boost its position in cigarette alternatives.
Brands
Philip Morris International has six multibillion
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
brands including:
* Dji Sam Soe 234 was launched in 1913 and is a brand of kretek cigarettes. It is the best seller of kretek cigarettes in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. An iconic brand that is more than 100 years old and became the kretek cultural heritage.
* L&M was launched by
Liggett & Myers
Liggett Group ( ), formerly known as Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, is the fourth largest tobacco company in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Durham, North Carolina, though its manufacturing facility is 30 miles to the west i ...
in 1953 with the tagline: "American cigarettes of the highest quality with the best filter." L&M variants include full flavor shorts, full flavor 100s, lights, ultra lights, menthol shorts, menthol 100s, menthol light shorts, menthol light 100s, Turkish Blend shorts, Turkish Blend 100s, and L&M Mild Kretek.
* Longbeach include in Australia and Indonesia in 1999. Longbeach variant include: Longbeach Filter and Longbeach Mild.
*
Marlboro
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...
was launched in 1904. Marlboro is the premium brand. Marlboro variants include: Marlboro Special, Marlboro Menthol, Marlboro Lights, Marlboro Lights Menthol, Marlboro Mix-9 Filter Kretek, Marlboro Flavor Plus, Marlboro Black Menthol, and Heatsticks, a heated tobacco product. The company's Marlboro brand ranked first among the most valuable tobacco brands of 2017 on BrandFinance's website, which uses the royalty relief method of
brand valuation Brand valuation is the process of estimating the total financial value of a brand. A conflict of interest exists if those who value a brand were also involved in its creation. The ISO 10668 standard specifies six key requirements for the process of ...
.
* ST Dupont Paris is the brand cigarette designed by Simon Tissot Dupont in 1902. With the black packaging. ST Dupont Paris variants include: filter, lights, menthol, and menthol lights.
* A Mild or Sampoerna A was launched in Indonesia on 1989. A Mild is a mild kretek cigarette sold in Indonesia. The iconic brands and best selling brand from Indonesia, now sold in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
.
*
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
was launched in 1896. Chesterfield is the third-largest international brand from Philip Morris, with a volume of 57 Billion cigarettes in 2019.
* Philip Morris is the fourth-largest international brand from Philip Morris, with a volume of 49 Billion cigarettes in 2019 and is sold in over 40 markets.
file:Warning on the French Cigarettes Pack.jpg, Basic
file:Benson & Hedges Silver 20.jpg,
Benson & Hedges
Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by American conglomerate Altria. Cigarettes under the ''Benson & Hedges'' name are manufactured worldwide by different companies such as Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Philip Morris USA, British ...
file:Bondstreet cigarettes.JPG, Bond Street
File:Chesterfield Blue.JPG,
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
file:Dji Sam Soe.jpg, Dji Sam Soe 234
file:L&M Blue Label (5).jpg, L&M
file:Vintage Continental Cigarette Lighter, Lark Filter Cigarettes, Made in Japan (9734738526).jpg,
Lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark oc ...
Merit
Merit may refer to:
Religion
* Merit (Christianity)
* Merit (Buddhism)
* Punya (Hinduism)
* Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity
Companies and brands
* Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria
* Merit Energy Company, ...
File:S.T.Dupont Paris American blend cigarettes hard box.JPG, S.T. Dupont Paris
Michel Combes
Michel Combes (born 29 March 1962) is a French businessman and current Chief Executive Officer of SoftBank Group International ("SBGI"). Previously, he was Chief Executive Officer at Sprint, and has held CEO roles at Vodafone Europe, Alcatel-L ...
For the fiscal year 2020 Philip Morris reported earnings of US$8.056 billion with an annual revenue of US$78.047 billion, a decrease of 1.6% over the previous fiscal cycle. Its shares traded at over $87 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$127.5 billion at the end of the fiscal year 2020.
Carbon footprint
Philip Morris International reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending 31 December 2020 at 492 Kt (-175 /-26.2% y-o-y)Alt URL /ref> and commits to reduce absolute emissions 50% by 2030 from a 2019 base year. This science-based target is aligned with Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
Research
Philip Morris International's research center is located in Neuchatel, Switzerland and houses Philip Morris International's product research and development program. As of April 2018, earnings reports showed the company had spent $4.5 billion on four products: two that heat rather than burn tobacco, and two other nicotine products. One of these heat-not-burn tobacco products is IQOS.
Controversies
Foundation for a Smoke-free World
In September 2017, Philip Morris International announced the establishment of the
Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World is an organization founded in 2017. It is funded by Philip Morris International, which had initial plans for $80 million in annual funding, with the aim of smoking harm reduction. The current pledge agreem ...
, stating that it would support it with almost US$1 billion of funding over the next 12 years. The declared objective of the Foundation was to "evaluate the impact that smoke-free alternatives can have on smokers and public health, assess the effect of reduced cigarette consumption on the industry value chain, and measure overall progress towards a smoke-free world."
However, the Foundation, which claimed to be independent, was surrounded with controversy since its inception.
Its claims to independence have been challenged.
The
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
issued a statement in which it pointed out the "conflicts of interest involved with a tobacco company funding a purported health foundation", indicating that it would not partner with the Foundation and inviting governments and the public health community to follow its lead. More than one hundred public health organizations have taken a strong stance in rejecting collaboration with the foundation.
Australia
The Australian Government announced it would introduce " Tobacco Plain Packaging Laws" on 29 April 2010. Philip Morris International (PMI), arranged for its wholly owned Hong Kong subsidiary Philip Morris Asia (PMA) to 'takeover' two Australian subsidiaries – Philip Morris Australia Limited and Philip Morris Limited on 23 February 2011. In June 2011, Philip Morris International announced that it was using ISDS provisions in the Australia-Hong Kong Bilateral Investment treaty (BIT) to demand compensation for Australia's
plain cigarette packaging
Plain tobacco packaging, also known as generic, neutral, standardised or homogeneous packaging, is packaging of tobacco products, typically cigarettes, without any branding (colours, imagery, corporate logos and trademarks), including only the br ...
anti-smoking legislation. It was one of several tobacco companies to launch legal action against the
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...
.
In response, British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International took the Australian government to the High Court of Australia to try to stop the government of Australia from introducing plain packaging for tobacco products.
Two challenges to the tobacco plain packaging legislation were heard by the High Court of Australia between 17 and 19 April 2012: 'British American Tobacco Australasia Limited and Ors v. Commonwealth of Australia' and 'J T International SA v. Commonwealth of Australia'.
On 15 August 2012, the High Court handed down orders for these matters, and found that the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 is not contrary to s 51(xxxi) of the Constitution. On 5 October 2012, the Court handed down its reasons for the decision. By a 6:1 majority (Heydon J in dissent) the Court held that there had been no acquisition of property that would have required provision of 'just terms' under s51(xxxi) of the Constitution.Australian Government Attorney-Generals Department , retrieved 20 December 2015
On 18 December 2015, the Tribunal instituted by the
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) ( French: ''Commission des Nations Unies pour le droit commercial international (CNUDCI)'') is a subsidiary body of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) responsible for helping to f ...
(UNCITRAL) issued a unanimous decision (3–0) agreeing with Australia's position that the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear PMA's claim. This was due to the fact that PMI used its wholly owned subsidiary PMA to takeover the Australian-based PM subsidiaries in order to specifically sue the Australian Government for bringing in plain packaging laws. PMI was unable to do this itself as the Australia–United States free-trade agreement signed in 2004 did not have any
investor-state dispute settlement
Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) or investment court system (ICS) is a system through which countries can be sued by foreign investors for certain state actions affecting foreign direct investment (FDI). This system most often takes the ...
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...
supported Australia's right to enforce plain packaging. In 2017, PMI was instructed to pay the Australia government's legal costs, an estimated 50 million dollars.
In March 2018, the Tobacco giant announced that it will cut 150 jobs as part of a major restructure. Tammy Chan, the managing director in Australia, said more efficient ways to deal with retailers were introduced based on digital technology development.
European Union
In 2004, Philip Morris and the European Union reached an agreement according to which Philip Morris would pay $1.25bn until 2016 to end a lawsuit over smuggling charges.
Norway
Philip Morris also sued Norway over the country's ban on displaying tobacco products in stores. It lost the case in 2012.
Uruguay
In 2010, the company lobbied against
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
's strong anti-smoking laws and filed a complaint against the country (''
Philip Morris v. Uruguay
The Philip Morris v. Uruguay case ( es, Caso Philip Morris contra Uruguay) it was a judicial process started on 19 February 2010 and concluded on 8 July 2016, in which the multinational tobacco company Philip Morris International (PMI), whose ...
'') under the Switzerland-Uruguay
bilateral investment treaty
A bilateral investment treaty (BIT) is an agreement establishing the terms and conditions for private investment by nationals and companies of one state in another state. This type of investment is called foreign direct investment (FDI). BITs ar ...
In August 2014, the company foreshadowed legal action against the
Government of the United Kingdom
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, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
if it went ahead with plans to introduce plain packaging. In a submission to the government, Philip Morris International said it would seek compensation running into "billions of pounds," if the proposed legislation went ahead.
In 2018, an advertising campaign was criticized as hypocritical for urging smokers to quit while promoting other products such as heated tobacco.
IQOS
In 2017, according to two editors of the journal '' JAMA Internal Medicine'', after publication of a research letter describing harmful chemicals in heat-not-burn tobacco products, people from Philip Morris International contacted the institutions where the researchers worked and questioned the methods used in the study; the editors described this as a form of "pressure to suppress discourse that could harm commercial interests".
In December 2017,
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
published documents and testimonies of former employees detailing irregularities in the clinical trials conducted by Philip Morris International for the approval of the IQOS product by the FDA.
In October 2020, Philip Morris launched its IQOS products in the UAE. The country had officially legalised the sale and use of electronic cigarettes in April 2019. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorised the marketing of IQOS system, which includes IQOS devices and 3 HeatSticks variants, as a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) in July 2020. IQOS is the first electronic alternative to cigarettes to be granted marketing orders through the FDA's MRTP process.
Cigarette smuggling in Africa
According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Philip Morris' representative in Burkina Faso, Apollinaire Compaoré, has earned millions by participating in cigarette smuggling in West Africa. In particular, he worked with a Nigerian narco-trafficker Chérif Ould Abidine, nicknamed Chérif Cocaine, to smuggle Marlboro cigarettes into Libya. This tobacco trafficking contributes to the financing of local conflicts and passes through six countries:
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
,
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
,
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
From the 1970s to the late 1990s, Phillip Morris along with British American Tobacco, was involved in campaigns to undermine bans against smoking in
Muslim majority countries
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
by branding Muslims who opposed smoking as a "'fundamentalist’ who wishes to return to sharia law," and be "a threat to existing government as” according to leaked documents. A 1985 report from Philip Morris squarely blamed the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
: “This ideological development has become a threat to our business because of the interference of the WHO ..The WHO has not only joined forces with Muslim fundamentalists who view smoking as evil, but has gone yet further by encouraging religious leaders previously not active anti-smokers to take up the cause." Philip Morris has refused to comment on these findings.
Philip Morris International has announced an overhaul of its human rights protections of tobacco workers in Kazakhstan and 30 other countries after critical reports.
The company runs an information web site outlining the health issues of tobacco. However, it has been criticised in an article in the journal Public Health Nursing as merely a "public relations effort" intended to "undermine public health".
In the 1930s, the company's tobacco advertisements were a steady source of income for numerous medical organizations and journals, including the ''
New England Journal of Medicine
''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one.
His ...
John Oliver
John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...
highlighted the company's many international legal cases on an
episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning th ...
of his television show '' Last Week Tonight''. He also attempted to raise awareness for his campaign using the hashtag # JeffWeCan.
Sponsorship
Philip Morris is a long-term main sponsor of the
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
team Scuderia Ferrari. The sponsorship is subliminal in the logo in recent times due to restrictions in tobacco advertising. Marlboro-branded Ferrari and McLaren cars won several world titles with famous drivers such as
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Micha ...
,
James Hunt
James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) ''Autocourse Grand Prix Archive'', 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007. was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in . After retiring from racing in ...
,
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in Formula ...
,
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and ...
and
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
. Philip Morris also sponsored several title winners in MotoGP, road racing and
Indy Cars
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis 5 ...
. The Ferrari Formula One deal before direct advertisements were banned was estimated to be worth £45 million a year as well as paying the multi-million salary of Schumacher.
Despite no longer being able to display the Marlboro logo on Ferrari cars, Philip Morris renewed its sponsorship deal with Ferrari in 2011, 2015, 2017, and 2018 up until 2021. The 2017 deal was reported to be worth $160 million a year.
Philip Morris's sponsorship of Ferrari was seen visually on the car again at the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix, with the cigarette company's "Mission Winnow" branding. This branding has been seen by authorities as an attempt to flout laws and rules banning tobacco advertising, and it was removed by Ferrari for the
2019 Australian Grand Prix
The 2019 Australian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 17 March 2019 in Melbourne, Victoria. The race was contested at the Albert Park Circuit and was the f ...
after Australian authorities launched an investigation. Ferrari also decided to remove the branding for the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix and the
2019 French Grand Prix
The 2019 French Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix de France 2019) was a Formula One motor race on 23 June 2019 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France. The race was the 8th round of the 2019 FIA Formula ...
to avoid problems with bans on tobacco advertising. As of 2022, Mission Winnow/Phillip Morris International and Ferrari have decided to mutually end their title sponsorship and sponsorship agreement entirely.
In motorcycle racing, Philip Morris International sponsored
Ducati Corse
Ducati Corse is the racing team division of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. that deals with the firm's involvement in motorcycle racing. It is directed by Claudio Domenicali and is based in Borgo Panigale, Bologna.
More than one hundred people work ...
and
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
Marlboro
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...
until 2002 season of MotoGP series. In 2003, Marlboro has been a title sponsor of the team despite the company logo does not appear or riders motorcycle due to the tobacco advertising ban in
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
countries that were already in effect at that time. similarly it had been removed from Scuderia Ferrari Formula One race cars earlier in 2019. Marlboro would stopped the sponsorship on Ducati in 2007. During the Marlboro sponsorship period, Yamaha won the constructor championship in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
season and Ducati won the constructor title in 2007 season with
Casey Stoner
Casey Joel Stoner (born 16 October 1985) is an Australian retired professional motorcycle racer, and a two-time MotoGP World Champion, in and . During his MotoGP career, Stoner raced for the factory teams of Ducati and Honda, winning a tit ...
as rider champion.
In 2019, similar to Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team, Philip Morris International returned as a sponsor for Ducati MotoGP team with the cigarette company's "Mission Winnow" branding. The sponsorship has raised controversy in some countries like Australia and Italy. The case has been brought to Italian court. However, Philip Morris International spokesperson, Tomasso di Giovanni denied Mission Winnow being a tobacco advertising and instead is a company dedicated to developing and find ways to help smokers around the world to give up their tobacco addiction. The Australian federal
Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
state
Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
Phillip Island
Phillip Island ( Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. The island is named after Governor Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, by explore ...
, Victoria due to local government regulations. By
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
season, Mission Winnow has been dropped as Ducati main sponsor and has been replaced with Lenovo to fill the main sponsorship void.