THE CALCULATING MATHEMATICS OF TOBACCO MARKETING: ETHICS & MORALITY NOT PART OF THE EQUATION
Mar 27th, 2013 by haileyrae
The Boards of Directors of all the major tobacco companies are in the business of making a profit for their shareholders; their continued employment and bonus awards depend upon it.
The cigarette industry spent $8 billion on advertising in 2010, most of which lured the youth market into future addictions. 1
Worldwide, 5 million people die prematurely of tobacco related diseases.1
In societies which set a high premium on freedom of choice, any attempt to restrict the consumption of any product which has been previously unrestricted would be perceived as heavy handed government interference and could have serious political implications.
Despite its predatory nature, tobacco marketing retains a unique grip on American society. It is highly unlikely that a politician who has been voted into office to represent the best interests of his tobacco growing electorate would support heavy taxes and marketing restrictions on their only source of income.
It has taken many years of doggedly exposing the dangers of tobacco use by concerned health groups to raise public awareness and the relatively recent levying of heavy excise taxes to make inroads into the status quo.
If the threat of death isn’t enough to curb the marketing leverage of the tobacco industry, is a sin tax the only answer?
It would seem to be the height of hypocrisy to exact taxes and damage settlements from the industry responsible for the problems while continuing to allow them to stay in business but, as with alcohol, prohibition doesn’t work.
Unfortunately our governments have become heavily addicted themselves. Without the massive infusions of tax money from tobacco and alcohol, we would have difficulty reducing debt and balancing budgets without these golden geese.
It strikes me that the key is to out market the marketers.
The recent incursion of no-nonsense counter advertising from vested health groups may be the strongest medicine. Smoking skeletons and humorous commercials depicting young, intelligent, non-smoking adults seem to be making headway. But as North Americans advance toward more informed decisions, it will be the developing nations who will need to make sense of the math behind tobacco marketing.
Every eight seconds a smoker dies. Those numbers don’t lie and honesty in counter marketing could be the only formula to significant change.