Country Overview
Key Facts
Number of Employees: Approximately 2600
Main Brands:
Philip Morris, Marlboro
Welcome to Massalin Particulares S.A., Philip Morris International’s affiliate in Argentina. The history of Massalin Particulares dates back to 1900 when the company, then named “La Argentina”, began manufacturing tobacco products, including the brands Arizona and Colorado.
Philip Morris International bought a controlling interest of "Massalin & Celasco”, as the company had now become known, in 1965. In 1980, Massalin & Celasco merged with two other cigarette manufacturers to form Massalin Particulares. Today we are the leading tobacco company in Argentina and our company employs approximately 2,600 people in seven locations around the country.
We operate two manufacturing facilities; and we buy tobacco from five provinces, and over 7400 tobacco growers.
We support many social programs in Argentina aimed at making a difference in the local communities where we operate. This includes efforts to prevent child labor in tobacco growing and to enhance the quality of, and access to, education.
Smoking and Health
Tobacco products, including cigarettes, are dangerous and addictive. There is overwhelming medical and scientific evidence that smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and other serious diseases.
Addiction
All tobacco products are addictive. It can be very difficult to quit smoking, but this should not deter smokers who want to quit from trying to do so.
Secondhand Smoke
Public health officials have concluded that secondhand smoke from cigarettes causes serious diseases in non-smokers, including lung cancer and heart disease. We believe the public health conclusions on secondhand smoke are sufficient to support smoking restrictions in public places.
Effective Regulation
Philip Morris International (PMI) supports comprehensive regulation of tobacco products based on the principle of harm reduction.
To be effective, tobacco regulatory policy must be evidence-based, apply to all tobacco products, and should take into account the views of all legitimate stakeholders including public health authorities, government finance authorities, tobacco manufacturers, and other members of the tobacco supply chain. Regulatory policy must consider the potential to trigger adverse consequences which undermine public health objectives, such as increasing the demand for illicit cigarettes. While we support comprehensive, effective tobacco regulation, we do not support regulation that prevents adults from buying and using tobacco products or that imposes unnecessary impediments to the operation of the legitimate tobacco market. In that regard, we oppose measures such as generic packaging, point of sale display bans, total bans on communications to adult consumers, and bans on the use of all ingredients in tobacco products.