Government of India to Ban Tobacco Ads
The Government of India pursued to create a mechanism to ban Ads on Tobacco usage. In doing so, it raised ethical concerns and arguments from two different sides, those in favor of and against it. For instance, Suhel Seth, CEO of Equus Advertisement, made a strong differing statement such as “The ban does not have teeth. It is typical Knee-jerk reaction by any Government to create some kind of popularity for itself.” Mr. Seth thought the Government was not serious enough to enact a ban for Tobacco Ads, but instead that the Government was using it to gain more acceptances. On the other hand, companies as such as ITC Ltd voluntarily withdrew its ads from events regardless “the legal position of the subject.” They were more open to “a constructive dialogue” that would lead to the development of a suitable legislation. My suggest is to summarize both the arguments of those who are in support of, as well as of those who are opposed to it, and the conflicts of interest issues that pertain to the Government of India and lastly my own point of view to what I believe governments should do in regards to tobacco ads.
First, when it comes to the arguments in favor of the ban on tobacco advertising in India, from an international point of view “countries like France, Finland, and Norway had already imposed similar bans.” To make it difficult, some advocates of the “free choice” opposed to the ban but other supporters voiced out these states have
This paper will examine the history of the tobacco industry and its advertising campaigns from the 1920s to the present. Some of the issues discussed in this paper will include: What forms of mass communication has tobacco companies used to persuade the public, how changes in technology have influenced the way tobacco companies communicate with target audiences, and how the United States government restrictions affect the current efforts of tobacco companies advertising strategies. Other topics that this paper will expound upon are, the ethics of the tobacco industry’s advertising approaches, how tobacco companies responded to health warnings from the government, and what
Although tobacco advertisements are banned, people still consume it. The ban started in 1971 and since then has become even more strict on the sponsoring and promotion of tobacco brand logos. Now, all tobacco ads used, dissuade users from consuming. Advertisements in general can be obnoxious and tiresome, but they are sometimes necessary for the seller to get their point across. Ads are either trying to get money from the consumer or driving to change a person’s mind positively. The main reasoning for the creation of advertisements is to persuade the viewer or audience through the evocation of ethos, pathos, and logos, to have a change of mind about the product. The ads I chose are both similar, but have different goals towards their audience.
Tobacco has existed for long as we have known about history, but due to the negative effects of it to the broader community Tobacco has sparked greater controversy across the globe. Many people argue that it is the government’s responsibility to protect the individual but on the contrary some disagree and believe it’s up to the individual. This essay will elaborate above mentioned aspects and lead to a logical conclusion.
The Government of India has created an anti-tobacco plan to tackle the growing issues of tobacco, health concerns, and rising death toll. Their first goal was to eliminate advertising as this was perceived to encourage the youth to take up the dangerous habit. This ban posed ethical and commercial challenges for both sides of the argument. The government has the power to pass laws to help prevent people from smoking and protect its people. They found the ethical decision was to use this power by creating and
Advertisements are a vital part of any company’s marketing strategy, and are used to inform or persuade an audience about a certain product or service. In fact, North American companies are among the world’s highest advertisers (Boone et al., 2010, 502). Today, an average consumer is exposed to hundreds of advertisements every day. It is when these companies attempt to promote a dangerous product that restrictions must be, and have been put in place. For several years, Canada’s regulations on tobacco advertisements have become stricter, while
Should tobacco advertising be restricted? This is a very controversial issue. There is the idea that young children that smoke started smoking because of advertisements, but there is also the idea that children start smoking for other reasons. Many big, well-known tobacco companies like RJ Reynolds are being sued for their advertisements. On Monday April 20th, 1998 the jury heard a testimony from Lynn Beasly, the marketing vice president of the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company. The courts believed that the advertisement was directed towards children under the age of 18, due to a document from the RJ Reynolds Board of Directors showing that they set a goal to increase the company's market share among 14
In addition, I felt astonished by who the companies were targeting. Particularly, my astonishment arose when I read that one of the target groups for advertisement were doctors themselves. In detail, Part Four of The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee stating that including doctors engendered reassurance to other consumers that smoking cigarettes are safe (251). Surely, after reading that information, I felt astonished and cringed due to knowing how tobacco causes cancer and with my impression of doctors being health fanatics, I found myself in a state of shock. Nonetheless, I had wondered where the strategy of targeting audience came from and I ought to acknowledge that targeting audience is a brilliant idea, however, I felt that tobacco companies being the target is truly the devil in its
Tobacco ads have been barred from television for over twenty years. Young children don’t need the influence to smoke or dip, considering they’ll have enough peer pressure to do so later in life. By essentially censoring television ads, the government decreases the advertising power of tobacco companies. However, there are simply some things that should not be censored. When censored, any sort of art loses its meaning. When the government tries to censor art, such as music, paintings, digital art, movies, or TV shows, people can no longer truly express their feelings or convey the message they were attempting to portray.
A controversy over tobacco has been the main interest of the Indian Government and Tobacco Industries. The value of profit and ethical concerns are the primary factors underlying the debate between two opposing parties.
The following statistics gave a solid argument as to why the government of India was on track in banning tobacco advertisement. In 1981, the Supreme Court (of Appeal) in Belgium gave its ruling that a ban on tobacco advertising was not unconstitutional. In 1991 the French Constitutional Council declared that the French ban on advertising tobacco products was not unconstitutional as it was based on the need to protect public health and did not curtail the freedom of trade.
The topic of marketing, tobacco, and ethics is a fantastic topic to stimulate conversations on ethics in general. In 2001 India considered the banning of tobacco product advertising which led to a huge debate in ethics, marketing and the role of government. The many deaths and lives touched negatively by tobacco while corporate entities have gotten rich is a battle ground rich with examples and research. I personally am an ex-smoker and smoked for over 15 years of my life before I quit. There are many good reasons to quit smoking but smoking always my choice. I have seen many different regulations applied and experienced the pressures of graphic pictures on packs of cigarettes that are designed to influence your desire to quit personally. Is it ethically okay to ban smoking advertising?
Advertisements involving smoking should be prohibited. Kids and teens that are the most impressionable and easily influenced. Cigarette promotions make smoking appear harmless and cool and have led to many kids under the age of 18 to have smoked for years. The advertisements on quitting smoking and how bad they are for you may be effective for older viewers however many teens and kids are drawn to cigarettes even more because adults are saying it is bad for you and it appeals to their “bad boy/girl” ideal. Many might argue that forbidding a company from advertising its product is against freedom of speech. This essay will show that the harmful effects of cigarettes will justify dramatic means to prevent people especially our youth from being encouraged to start smoking.
Those against the ad ban point out that the tax revenue generated by the tobacco industry add to the government coffers. They further argue that in India, the government contributes so little to its health and welfare systems that the benefits of tobacco’s monetary contribution to the economy trump the cost of healthcare. They further argue that the cost illnesses caused by tobacco usage are offset by those who die early from tobacco related illness. Premature deaths save the cost of government benefits and pensions. (2010. “Ban on Tobacco Ads by the Government of
ITC has a quite favorable impact of political factors in the FMCG and Hotel business. Indian budget of tax regulation for the tobacco is 55%, which makes the company to spend the most the profit in the excuse duty. Advertising in the mass media is not allowed where as it can be done in the point of sale with a certain restrictions. Government of India also imposes the packing and labeling on the tobacco products like health-warning labels is to be pictorial and text for safety of the consumers. The cigarettes company operates in India with intolerable political factors, ruling party often changes the regulations keeping in mind about the safety of people but affects the companies like ITC business majorly. Which is also shown with potential customers are reducing day by day because of the price, results in lower sales. Apart from the government’s pressure, NGO’s in India are against the tobacco consumption and which in turn makes the selling of tobacco to consumers becomes tougher for the company. Though all the huge pressure company still able to make 65% of sales in the country and almost it’s the monopoly brand for the people for the consumption of
Tobacco advertising refers to promotion display of tobacco products in media such as; radio, television, print, billboards and at retail stores. The ban on tobacco advertising by the Indian Government has many effects on the people as well as their ethics and freedom of choice. This paper will provide a summary argument in favour of the ban as well as opposing the ban. And to conclude with my opinions on what the government should do with tobacco advertising.