In the land of free trade, comprising numerous industries, tobacco industry is one of the most widely condemned and criticized industries in the majority of countries. "Tobacco is a major health hazard and an important economic commodity" (Saloojee & Dagli, 2000, p. 902). Health hazards associated with the consumption of tobacco products are well known to everybody. Obviously, "if it were not harmful to health there would be no reason to control its use" (Saloojee & Dagli, 2000, p. 902).
It also should be noted that the produced by tobacco industry are not only harmful and unhealthy for individuals consuming them, but are also damaging to the environment. Nevertheless, the tobacco industry is developing and evolving with every passing year. Governments and health organizations of various countries exert every effort to reduce the rates of tobacco consumption as well as protect and prevent people from consuming such unhealthy products by means of tobacco control interventions and other measures. However, "the tobacco industry has a formidable record of resistance to legislation and of developing new markets for its products" (Saloojee & Dagli, 2000, p. 902).
On the contrary, "if the market for tobacco were small there would be little opposition to the regulation of this trade" (Saloojee & Dagli, 2000, p. 902). The fundamental purpose of tobacco industries activities is to generate high profits. Although advocates of tobacco industry argue that it should be consumers’ choice to partake in products that are not healthy for them, people should nevertheless be protected from harmful effects of tobacco by their respective governments and health organizations. "As a result of the conflict of interest between health and corporate wealth, public policy on tobacco has evolved in an ad hoc fashion. It has emerged as a product of different pressures, including those of the tobacco industry and the public health lobby" (Saloojee & Dagli, 2000, p. 902).
In the meantime, "although the tobacco industry has asserted that its marketing efforts are not aimed at creating new demand but rather at increasing brand market share, internal industry documents contribute to the evidence refuting this claim" (Davis, Gilpin, Loken, Viswanath, & Wakefield, 2008, p. 212). In other words, regardless of all the legislation prohibiting tobacco promotion and tobacco consumption, companies and corporations operating within the tobacco industry upscale their efforts to attract as many consumers as possible.
Taking into consideration that the fundamental role of capitalism is to augment the capital and increase profits, corporate decisions taken by tobacco companies are based on these particular objectives. To put it otherwise, in the process of decision taking, tobacco companies disregard the facts that tobacco products are harmful for individuals consuming them and damaging to the environment as well.
Although the majority of tobacco companies hold themselves as socially responsible business contributing to the community and people, it is impossible for a tobacco company to cater to both its best interest and that of the consumer conjointly. Tobacco companies might invest funds for the purpose of environmental protection.
However, there is obviously no such thing as healthy or safe-health tobacco products. The consumer always fights a losing battle with tobacco companies, as he not only loses the money but also puts his health and life at risk. There is no such thing as safe-health tobacco products.
References
Davis, R. M., Gilpin, E. A., Loken, B., Viswanath, K., & Wakefield, M. A. (2008). The role of the media in promoting and reducing tobacco use. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute.
http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/brp/tcrb/monographs/19/m19_complete.pdf
Saloojee, Y., & Dagli, E. (2000). Tobacco industry tactics for resisting public policy on health. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 78(7), 902-910. Retrieved February 14, 2016, from http://www.who.int/bulletin/archives/78(7)902.pdf
