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Tobacco Use Will Kill One Billion People This Century

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History “IF LEFT UNCHECKED, TOBACCO USE WILL KILL ONE BILLION PEOPLE THIS CENTURY (www.bloomberg.org).” One billion people is a staggering number to die from a consumer product that is widely available and promoted worldwide by the multinational company Phillip Morris International. The explosion of mainstream tobacco use and acceptance in the twentieth century began with an attitude of glamor and toughness. This approach fueled by magnetic film stars smoking in the movies between the 1920’ and 1950’s. With the introduction of television advertising, the iconic Marlboro man made his appearance, a rugged and tough all-American cowboy, into the homes of viewers. Tobacco and Hollywood went hand in hand; moreover, the general public had …show more content…

Surprisingly, in 1998, ten years after the Surgeon General 's report, Phillip Morris, a leading tobacco company changed their stance, saying “overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that cigarette smoking causes diseases” and, moreover, that smoking “is addictive as that term is most commonly used today (p. 10).” This change in stance by big tobacco has brought warning labels on tobacco product, informational guidance on resources for quitting and changes in marketing to what Arnold, Buechamp, and Bowie (2013) describe as susceptible consumers, in this case, teens and young adults.
Discussion
Due to the changes made with regards to marketing and packaging, among other factors, there has been a decline in smoking in the United States and other high-income countries. In lower and middle-income countries. Bloomberg asserts “every day, more than 14,000 people die from tobacco use. Most tobacco-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, areas that are targets of intensive tobacco industry marketing (2017). Bloomberg Philanthropies are addressing this worldwide to control tobacco use by educating populations about the dangers, education on quitting, banning marketing, and raising taxes on tobacco products. Their approach is designed to protect their stakeholders, the public, and aggressively change tobacco use in other countries. Mostly, efforts have been effective and are

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