Tobacco Dilemma This case study is about how the tobacco industry has been selling their products to third world nations. After returning from Italy, my mother told me that while eating in an Italian McDonald's restaurant she noticed that not only did they sell those artery clogging deep fried apple pies no longer available in the United States; they were also using Styrofoam packaging that has been outlawed in the U.S. due to the unacceptable pollution levels they created. What does an Italian Big Mac wrapping have to do with the tobacco industry? Both scenarios are examples of what I feel are unethical behaviors? This paper attempts to provide insights into the social and ethical dilemma the tobacco industry is facing. Here in the United States, the tobacco industry has been forced to publicly admit that their products are addicting and that they have been lying about the dangers of nicotine and tar from smoking for many years. This admission has finally helped a great many American people to kick the habit.

Like McDonald's approach to ridding themselves of a highly pollutant package, the tobacco industry has been forced to look abroad to sell their cigarettes and third world nations have been targeted as the dumping ground. "By the year 2000 80% of the world's population will live in less-developed countries....

These countries already consume more tobacco than the developed countries." (Chapman & Leng, 2004) United States tobacco companies have even had to go as far as litigation through the international court system to open up third world nations' boarders for U.S. tobacco products. As recently 2000, the Tobacco giants sued Thailand in General Agreement and Tariffs and Trade court to lower tobacco tariffs. The Tobacco companies obviously are trying to stay profitable. But, are they being ethical in their marketing efforts?
How a product is marketed makes a big difference in sales. "Brazil also has probably the highest level of tobacco advertising per capita in the world. When advertising stopped for a year, cigarette sales fell 4.8% in nine months." (Chapman & Leng, 2004) The American Cancer Society has been very critical in the media regarding the U.S. tobacco companies' marketing strategies. As the largest exporter of tobacco products in the world, U.S. tobacco companies have been criticized for selling cigarettes with tar levels well beyond those levels allowed in the United States. Also, the marketing efforts have been focused on women and children who prior to these new endorsements had relatively low numbers of smokers in the developing countries.

There are better strategies then selling…