Tobacco is a product which is used worldwide by hundreds millions of people but unfortunately it kills around 5 million per year. Smoking tobacco is an activity that causes heart disease, cancer, stroke, lung diseases and death. Not only does the product affect the user, but also it affects second hand smokers who are affected by tobacco smoke without a choice.

To make it worse, tobacco companies spend billions of dollars in marketing and advertising such a lethal product. One would ask; are the producers aware of the dangers of such a product? Absolutely they know but unfortunately a big fraction of tobacco consumers worldwide are not well informed or educated about all the harmful effects of smoking. Can marketing tobacco be ethical?

First of all, one would say that there is no need to consider ethical issues surrounding marketing of product which can clearly be considered inherently unethical provided the evident harms it does to society in general. However, since tobacco is legal and there is a clear demand for it, the least is to avoid advertising such a lethal product to vulnerable market targets.

It would be impossible to ethically market a product which is clearly known to be harmful. Hence, the means used to market such a product could only be described unethical. For instance, tobacco companies hire actors, young attractive models and other influential celebrities in films and different advertisements to portray the perception that smoking tobacco is cool. As a result, many people are deceived which result in the deaths of many.

Ethical climate would be considered impossible when marketers target vulnerable consumer segments and sell a product which is lethal to consumers like children, uneducated adolescents, pregnant woman and other uneducated adults. I recommend the world governments should revise ethics surrounding the tobacco industry if business ethics is to be given more importance.