Tobacco.org

Ali Ettefagh at PostGlobal: Profits Trump Health Concerns in Global Tobacco Debate  

But again, I might be too harsh here as there are as many "studies" and papers published in favor of smoking as there are against it. That too is good for business, or so it seems. Somehow the truth falls victim to this health vs. wealth debate. A quick look at the annual reports of the top ten tobacco companies show that sales are growing in the developing world, compensating for the decline in sales in the developed world (and thus tax revenue for those governments). As such, the tobacco debate is always framed as a business discussion. The focus always shifts to the circulation of large sums of money as the centerpiece of the debate rather than to the product itself. Companies from the developing world (Korea, China, Brazil, Pakistan and Turkey) have joined their traditional rivals in a highly profitable public-private enterprise. . . .

Banning smoking in public places is a trend that started in the nations of the developed world. Somehow they discovered their product to be harmful to themselves but absurdly less so to foreigners. . . .

We have similar laws in Iran that ban smoking in public places (restaurants, coffee shops, government offices, etc.), sales to minors and any kind of tobacco advertising. But it has not slowed the growth of the cigarette market. Moreover, it is a business big enough to punch holes in the American policy of trade sanctions against Iran . . .

However, the American sales of agricultural products to Iran are allowed and manufactured cigarettes somehow fit this definition! Lobbyists and big business, take a bow please!

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