Philip Morris USA has announced a hike of nine cents per pack on its Marlboro, Basic, L&M and other cigarette brands, reported Reuters.

Philip Morris USA increased the price on Marlboro, Basic and L&M by reducing the off-invoice promotional discount given to wholesalers on those brands by nine cents a pack. The company also reduced the off-invoice promotional allowance on Parliament cigarettes by 20 cents a pack, effectively raising prices on those cigarettes as well.
Reductions in promotional discounts are typically passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Philip Morris has made several price increases on various brands in the past year, as have other cigarette makers. The average convenience-store price for a pack of Marlboros, the top-selling US brand, had been USD 4.27 in the first quarter, according to David Sylvia, a company spokesman. (ci)