The Devil's Playbook: Big Tobacco, Juul, and the Addiction of a New Generation

ISBN: 0593237986

Author: Etter, Lauren

Condition: New

Juuls rise and fall teaches us something about greed, capitalism, policy failure and a particular cycle in American business that seems destined to repeat itself. . . . Deeply reported and illuminating.-The New York Times Book Review (Editors Choice)Big Tobacco meets Silicon Valley in this gripping exposé of what happened when two of the most notorious industries collided-and the vaping epidemic was born.The best business book Ive read since Bad Blood.-Jonathan Eig, bestselling author of Ali: A LifeHoward Willard lusted after Juul. As the CEO of the parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris, he believed the e-cigarette had all the addictive upside of the original without the same apparent health risks and bad press. Meanwhile, Adam Bowen and James Monsees began working on a device meant to destroy Big Tobacco but ended up baking the cigarette industrys DNA into their invention. Juuls e-cigarette was so effective that it put the company on a collision course with Philip Morris, sparking one of the most explosive public health crises in recent memory.Award-winning journalist Lauren Etter tells a riveting story of greed and deception in one of the biggest botched deals in business history. Willard was desperate to acquire Juul, even as his team sounded alarms about the startups reliance on underage customers. Ultimately, Juuls executives negotiated a deal that let them pocket the lions share of Philip Morriss $12.8 billion investment while government regulators and furious parents mounted a campaign to hold the companys feet to the fire.The Devils Playbook is the inside story of how Juuls embodiment of Silicon Valleys move fast and break things ethos wrought havoc on American health, how a beleaguered tobacco company was seduced by the promise of a new generation of addicted customers, and how Juuls founders, board members, and employees walked away with a windfall.