Tobacco Advertising Case Study

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The banning of tobacco advertising in India, in 2001, caused a debate over the ethical implications of such a ban. With expected economic, social and political ramifications, banning tobacco advertising created a series of arguments both for and against. From analyzing the case study, those who supported the ban, suggested that banning tobacco advertising was necessary for the “overall interest of the citizens” (Indian Tobacco Company Philip Morris, 2001). With the increase in knowledge and science, we now understand the harmfulness of tobacco consumption compared to fifty years ago when the effects were less understood. The World Health Organization stated that “tobacco accounted for over 3 million deaths in 1990, the figure rising to 4.023 …show more content…

The nay’s begin with the assumption of free will and choice. Amit Sarkar stated that “adults who consume tobacco do so of their own free choice”. Adults therefore understand the risks associated and in a “free and democratic society” (Supreme Court in Canada) should be allowed to choose whether they want to smoke tobacco or not. The question raised is whether the government has the right to intervene on decisions that could potentially affect the citizen’s health. The opposition also raises the point that manufacturing tobacco is legal so surely “it should be legal to advertise as well” (Indian Tobacco Company Philip Morris, 2001). Tobacco companies state that their target market is not new smokers but to entice existing smokers to their brand. The Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) found that “no one said advertising had induced them to start smoking” suggesting that advertisement doesn’t create new customers but entices existing ones. The nay’s also view the ban as inefficient, “16% of the (tobacco) market” is focused in the ban, disregarding the other 84% of dangerous forms of tobacco. This could cause an increase of more dangerous substances being smoked which defeats the point of the advertising ban initially. Those that disagreed with the ban felt that it could cause economic ramifications. The tobacco industry employed 26 million people, …show more content…

Above all, the health of the population should be one of the biggest priorities for politicians and for smoking to be glamorized and advertised this is sending out a message that smoking is acceptable, which could influence young adults to follow this trend. Furthermore, though worries regarding unemployment have been raised, the increased health cost due to smoking-related diseases puts a strain on the state budget and could be allocated to other resources. Furthermore, regarding the unemployment issue, if effective policies were implemented and caused citizen’s to reduce their smoking habits, this extra disposable income would be spent on other goods and services, re-igniting the economy and creating more jobs. Therefore it can be argued that a ban on advertising tobacco could create better economic conditions for other industries and I believe that this is important for communities, businesses and

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