Research Paper: Tobacco Industry

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.

Now, more than ever, more and more people are beginning to look at tobacco use as a major public health concern. It is nineteen ninety nine, and the number of smokers is rising while the average age of smoking initiation decreases. There are those that believe using tobacco of any type should be illegal, or at least restricted. Others believe it is up to the person to choose whether to use tobacco products or not, however most of these people believe tobacco companies should warn their customers of their products harmful affects.

Tobacco and the U.S share a rich history; it dated back to the 17th century when the first commercial crop was planted. Many people claim tobacco had an influence in the colonization of North America and without it; the colonies would not have survived. While our history with tobacco is long and rich, it doesn’t erase the fact that it kills more people annually than cocaine, heroin, meth and all other illegal drugs combined. In the argument of whether or not tobacco should be banned, many people are evenly split. Tobacco could become a black market if banned, and it is widely practiced in Native American ceremonies, while the high mortality rates, and the financial burden have others petitioning for it to be banned.

Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, killing more Americans than HIV, drug and alcohol abuse, suicides, murders and car accidents combined. There are numerous campaigns such as D.A.R.E. and “Swipe Left” to help persuade us out of using tobacco products. Sayings like “Not even once” have even become cliché. However, studies have shown that one cigarette is all it takes to get addicted. Despite popular belief, smokeless tobacco is addictive as well. Big tobacco companies are famous for telling lies. In 1996, the tobacco industry said it was riskier to drink two cups of milk a day than one cigarette. They also said cigarettes were just as addictive as salt, sugar and internet usage. Neither of these are true, as it is the most addictive of all legal drugs. That being said, cigarettes are only the tip of the iceberg to the major problems that tobacco causes. Tobacco products have an astonishing amount of cons, to accompany very few, petty pros like “it makes me feel better for a few minutes.” Not only do cigarettes hurt the smoker, but they hurt the ones closely surrounding the smoker, especially small children. There are also a great deal of unexpected environmental issues that come with tobacco products and its industry, such as deforestation, greenhouse gasses, and fires. Because of these destructive reasons, we propose that all tobacco products should be illegal.

illegal. We must also consider the thousands of employees who will be left unemployed if such a

The negative health effects of tobacco use have been well established. Tobacco use has been shown to cause acute and chronic respiratory disease, heart disease, many types of cancer, and is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States, causing an estimated 443,000 deaths per year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2004). As the dangers of smoking have become better understood, reducing the number of people who smoke has become a major focus for those interested in public health. Efforts to restrict the advertisement and sale of tobacco, implement public smoking bans, and educate citizens through public service announcements have all had a sizeable effect on smoking rates in the U.S. In Fact, over

Many different small industries were implemented but they were unable to stay successful and/or make enough money. The economy stayed the low and remained the same until the introduction of tobacco as a “cash crop” in 1614. This crop became the main source of income for England in the New World and ensured the establishment and survival of the newly founded colony. Soon after the establishment of tobacco as a successful cash crop, the first Africans were brought over to Virginia from Angola, Africa. These African- Americans were known as the “20 and odd” on an English war ship known as “White Lion”. They were very valuable to the people in Virginia and were needed to work in the new tobacco fields to increase the amount of Tobacco produced,

Tobacco companies have been in a battle with anti-smokers for a while about regulating tobacco, and there has been a war between tobacco companies and anti tobacco crusaders, because of regulating tobacco and some lawsuits. For one viewpoint regulating tobacco would be a good thing to do, anti tobacco crusaders are saying that regulation of tobacco is necessary to protect public health; on the other hand the other viewpoint is say that the tobacco companies are saying “regulation of tobacco will do more harm than good.”

Every year, tobacco companies spend billions of dollars on advertising and promotion. Not only that but they are causing deaths of many. They try to get people of all ages to use their product. Unfortunately, this works, after a while this causes many serious issues to the body, their addiction kicks in causing the tobacco business to flourish, and causes young deaths of many kids and adults. Overall tobacco companies are causing deaths by the tobacco use and people need to know the serious topics around this.

The US smokeless tobacco industry is characterized by low power of threat of new entrants. The market’s leader, UST Inc., has the market’s largest share and is its dominant force. The major barrier to entry of the US smokeless tobacco industry is low appeal of the practice to the society. Overall, chewing tobacco is considered an antisocial practice. Another barrier is the need for substantial investment to compete with the monopolist power of UST Inc. Also, the company boasts high brand recognition, which prevents new players from entering the market.

How is the tobacco industry doing with all these acts and laws being put in place? Well a lot better than one would think with what has been happening to the industry with the government. The industry is using its First Amendment, new pricing strategy, and tobaccos power of addition. The tobacco industry is using the First Amendment to their advantage, "The tobacco industry often challenges tobacco control laws and regulations on the grounds that such measures violate its First Amendment right to freedom of speech, and interfere with its ability to communicate information about its products to consumers" (You Don't Say? Tobacco & the First Amendment). The tobacco finds a lope hole with the first amendment which is "Congress shall make no law

This is where tobacco companies play a huge role in all this. “Each year, the tobacco industry produces six trillion cigarettes, enough to create a continuous chain from Earth to Mars and back multiple times” (World Lung Foundation 2015). With the companies investing heavily in so much tobacco and mass producing cigarettes and cigars, there is a huge influence that it plays on the world, and its economies. Tobacco companies use decisive advertising to get people’s attention, and try to use persuasion and appeal to get them to purchase the products they sell. When it comes to people’s health and lifestyles, tobacco companies should be required to contribute at least half of their lucrative profits and earnings in order to help support more research and the well-being of everyone, especially more so to the people that do not necessarily purchase or use their products, but rather the ones that are in dire need to support. With that being said, “In 2006, a federal court found that the cigarette industry engaged in willful racketeering and conspiracy to conceal the dangers of smoking from the American public by improperly suppressing and terminating scientific research and destroying research documents (National Institute of Drug Abuse 2016). It’s the tobacco companies that make most of the money, so they should really be sharing the profits

Increase taxes: In 2009 The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was passed authorizing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products. It also preserves the traditional role that state and local governments have in trying to reduce tobacco use. Most states have incrementaly raised their excise taxes, specifically for cigarettes in the form of a unit tax, which is based on a constant nominal rate per unit or pack of cigarettes. States and more recently the federal government have increased tobacco taxes, both to decrease tobacco use and to generate revenue.

Nicotine use is a leading preventable cause of death in the world, directly and indirectly responsible for 440,000 deaths per year. The health problems that result in tobacco use tally an annual of $75 billion in direct medical costs (Slovic 36). That money spent on medical problems for smokers should be used to pay for more important things in our society such as schools, libraries, childcare, etc.

The tobacco industry is a very unethical industry, due to the long term effects of tobacco on humans. The industry also does not assess the ethical and social responsibility the best way that it should. There are many factors that make the industry unethical; some of the reasons are the way the cigarette companies around the world Advertise, the way governments and cigarette companies make a huge profit from the sales of cigarettes, and the labeling health risks. I do believe however that there is something that the tobacco companies can do to better their strategy as far as their ethics go. I think that they should, always be looking for the best interest on their consumers, as well as advertise strictly