Introduction

        Today’s increasingly diversified tobacco companies remain dependent on tobacco revenues: Philip Morris derives less than half of its sales but more than two thirds of its profits from a product that is responsible for more than one in every six deaths in the United States. – Alix M. Freedman, 1991

Tobacco has been controversial since the first medical report of tobacco's ill effects at 1665.  As we are well aware, the tobacco industry has been facing heavy fire from civilian groups in recent years because the number of disease and death is increased significantly caused by smoking addiction.  However, every country and its government appreciate that a huge contribution of levying taxes from cigarette production.  Focus on the development of social civilization, is it ethical to ban smoking or let it have its swing?  What should we estimate the station of the tobacco industry properly?

        In this essay we choose Philip Morris Company, which is the largest American cigarette company in the world, as a typical example to discuss the issue.  Philip Morris Company has a long history of more than one hundred years and remains the industry leader today.  The company currently holds a 14% share of the international cigarette market.  Its affiliates manufacture, market, sell and distribute cigarettes in over 160 countries around the world.  To this day, Philip Morris Company, as a representative of tobacco industry, which is America’s seventh largest cash crop with exports, is contributing billions of dollars to the U.S. balance of trade.  

        From this article, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the tobacco industry separately.  Try to let the readers understand that there are no absolute ethics regarding cigarette production.  We cannot judge exactly an issue in one side or other side.

Main Body

Why do people smoke?

Some people believe smoking would make them look cool and attractive, however, it also makes them smell like an ashtray with stained teeth, and actually, smoking causes winkles. Some people think smoking will bring their weight down, which is unreasonable at all. Some people smoke just because they enjoy it, nevertheless, they neglect if people around them enjoy smoking or not. Some people suppose smoking calms their nerves, on the contrary, smoking does not relieve stress at all, people feel less stressed because they are addicted to cigarettes. There are also some other reasons for people keep smoking, such as, most of his/her family smoke, only take low tar cigarettes, too late to give up smoking, have no will power…It seems that people could find out any excuse to continue smoking.

 

In a long-term, smoking can lead to death. Smoking is the largest causes death on twentieth in the world. It kills nearly 5 million people each year in the world. First of all, smoking can cause lung cancer; the cigarette smoke has the toxic chemical can cause cancer. Secondly, smoking also can make heart disease but most people do not realize that. Thirdly, smoking kills are killing the baby before their born, because smoking can cause the cervical cancer, which is one of the main causes for abortion. Last but not the least, smoking has caused impotence in 120,000 men aged 30-50, and up to 5,000 miscarriages a year, reduces the chances of successful IVF and is implicated in cases of cervical cancer. (BMA, Feb 11,2004).  

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Do non-smokers always tell people who are smoking around them: if you smoke, do not exhale? No, perhaps not every single time, then, they become passive smokers, which mean they are involuntary breathing of other people’s tobacco smoke. For example, when there are four people sitting together for a meeting, three of them smoke and the other one who doesn't smoke is actually smoking as a second hand smoker as well. Unfortunately, passive smoking also kills hundreds people every year and causes misery for many illness.

Smoking particularly harms children. The children’s bronchial tubes are smaller and their immune ...

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