Business and Ethics can often contradict each other. Should merchants target those customers who are not aware of the serious consequence of their product?
For example, selling cigarettes to someone who does not know about the consequences of smoking may be one of the ethical issues. Rwanda is a developing country, and the target market in Rwanda is not aware of the facts that smoking is addictive and will result in health problems in later life. Thus, to my perspective, it is indeed morally wrong to sell cigarettes in Rwanda.
First of all, I feel wrong and would never work for a company that sells any harmful products such as cigarettes. Nevertheless, if such market brings up huge profits, and the merchants would never give up this market, I suggest the company to popularize the serious consequences of the product before selling them to customers. In such case, it is completely up to the customers to decide whether or not they would like to take the risks of buying and using the products. What’s more, government or related public organizations must step out to ensure that its people are aware of the consequences before consuming any of such products.
Below is advertisement promoted by Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. This video tells about how a lady gets ready for a day after the effects of cancer throat caused by smoking. This video was posted on YouTube last year and received almost 3 million view counts until today. This is a successful example of how the public company is involved in popularizing the consequence of one product that could harm one’s health.
Below is another anti-smoking video presented by the Department of Health, UK. It is also a great example of how the public company tells the hidden harms of cigarettes.
Anti-Smoking Ad by Department of Health in UK
Last but not least, I feel the below anti-smoking commercial is extremely touchy, and I just really want to share with you all…