Having lost many close friends and family members to smoking-related cancers, which prompted and has

Having lost many close friends and family members to smoking-related cancers, which prompted and has continued to fuel my career in health education, smoking is an issue of deep concern to me. I could teach an entire course on the business, marketing, products, economy, politics, and health outcomes of tobacco! However, in this course we are limited to just one chapter. Please watch the following video, and discuss your impressions of the facts provided. How aware were you of the current practices of Big Tobacco? How did the information make you feel (as a current, former, or non-smoker)?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riIQ4KtKGtU?rel=0

For those of you wishing to quit, or to help someone you care about to quit, check out the resources on

https://smokefree.gov/

ANSWER

Smoking and Health

I was aware that despite the many advertisements on the dangers of tobacco use, the tobacco companies still keep making money, and the tobacco smokers keep smoking. However, I was not aware of the big tobacco companies’ devious methods to stay in the market. The tactic used where they increase the rice of the expensive brands of cigarettes and decrease the cost of the cheap brands was infuriating because it means that the poor in society will not benefit from the government initiatives to increase taxes in order to aid the smokers with quitting (The Guardian, 2019). Smoking cigarettes is linked to several health issues, including cancer. Therefore, it is frustrating that the companies are still making money out of cigarettes and are doing nothing towards helping smokers deal better with cigarette addiction.

I am a non-smoker, but I have friends and family who smoke. Some of them have even tried quitting and failed. One of my friends confided in me and advised me never to try smoking because quitting is quite hard. He also told me he wishes he had never started. Seeing how the companies are using their tactics to attract customers in developing countries makes it unethical. I understand that they aim to make money, but what about that teenager in Africa or India who will start smoking because they saw an advertisement or because cigarettes were readily available and get hooked. It concerns me that the big tobacco companies do not think about this and that they are more concerned about pushing their agenda and not the many lives they destroy. Big tobacco companies should be held accountable for making smoking look cool. They should be heavily taxed, and all advertisements that make smoking look cool should be removed from mainstream media.

References

The Guardian. (2019). We’re quitting smoking, so why is big tobacco booming? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riIQ4KtKGtU