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In public statements such as the one below: The government has placed buyout programs in place to deal with the regulated amount of tobacco that is allowed to be harvested and sold each year.
We are keen to work with governments, public health authorities and other tobacco companies to agree on rules and regulations for our industry. We want to do what we can to respond to public health concerns and, at the same time, establish a stable business environment for our company (Why we support strong legislation (http://www.philipmorrisinternational.com/PMINTL/pages/eng/busenv/Tob_regulation.asp)."
The industry provides an attitude of compassion and caring for the products they place on the retail shelves and therefore in the hands of innocent buyers.
They further combat the regulations however by making statements like the following:
It can be difficult to create a regulatory environment for a product that is dangerous yet remains popular (Why we support strong legislation (http://www.philipmorrisinternational.com/PMINTL/pages/eng/busenv/Tob_regulation.asp)."
The industry has given up the fight against public smoking bans and instead decided on a smart advertising strategy of agreeing with such bans in the interest of public health.
Phillip Morris issued the following statement a few years ago.
It can also address the issue of smoking in public. We believe that governments should regulate smoking in indoor public places. We even support total bans on smoking on public transport and in such places as schools, where there are children. In fact, we urge adults not to smoke around children (Why we support strong legislation (http://www.philipmorrisinternational.com/PMINTL/pages/eng/busenv/Tob_regulation.asp)."
The company then urges the government to allow businesses to offer smoking areas.
The industry as a whole has decided the best fight against the regulations is to provide support for them while at the same time asking the government to be sure to remember that the products are for adult use and free will among those adults.
The tobacco quota buyout program provides two types of payments for those associated with tobacco farming.
First a $3 per pound payment is made to growers of tobacco, and second, a $7 per pound payment is made to owners of tobacco quota for the buyout of that quota (Buyout program (http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/search?encquery=31b830daa0f3dd91&invocationType=keyword_rollover&ie=UTF-8)."
CONCLUSION
The tobacco industry is heavily regulated by the federal government. The industry at first fought against those regulations but a few years ago decided to switch tactics and agree with regulations as long as they were still allowed to produce their products and sell them to adults. Government regulations can place a chokehold on a profit industry but with the proper attitude, strong lobbyists and the right response it does not have to mean the end of the one's ability to make a profit in business. The tobacco industry has proven this while still selling products that are directly responsible for deaths throughout the world.
References
Buyout program (Accessed 12-06-06)
http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/search?encquery=31b830daa0f3dd91&invocationType=keyword_rollover&ie=UTF-8
Kraft Boycott (Accessed 12-06-06)
http://www.infact.org/helpstop.html
http://www.imperial-tobacco.com/files/financial/reports/ir2004/index.asp?pageid=23
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=11223
Why we support strong legislation (http://www.philipmorrisinternational.com/PMINTL/pages/eng/busenv/Tob_regulation.asp)."
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