Tobacco in America

Introduction

The tobacco industry is one of the fastest growing industries in today's world. Although, the side-effects of consuming tobacco are widely known are everyone is aware of the negative impact that it has on the health of the people, the demand for this product never reduces. The global demand for this product is on the rise which is not a good sign at all. People are losing their health due to the fact that they are consuming this product frequently. Keeping the side-effects apart, this report will analyse the global tobacco industry and the impact of globalization and other policies, such as policies of WTO and IMF.

This report will highlight many aspects of the global tobacco industry which will help in analysing the industry in a more comprehensive manner. The top ten companies of this industry will be under focus in this report and the impact of globalisation on these companies. The impact of IMF and WTO will also be discussed in this paper. As discussed above, the side-effects of consuming tobacco are negative which is why ethical considerations will also be presented in this paper with respect to this industry.

Industry Overview

The tobacco industry is earning huge amount of revenues which is evident from the statistics. The industry has earned total revenues of $720.8 billion in 2010 which represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8 percent for the period of four years i.e. 2006-2010. The major contribution in this total revenue was of the sales of the cigarettes that provided revenues of $681.1 billion out of the total revenue that the company has earned. The market share of cigarettes is equal to the 94.5 percent of the overall value of the market (articles.latimes.com).

The global tobacco industry grew at a steady rate during the years 2006-2010. The main factor for the steady growth was that the sale of cigarettes was steady, as well. As soon as the sale and the demand for cigarettes went up, the industry started to grow. During the past few years, the consumption of tobacco has increased a lot and this consumption has especially increased in the teenagers. More and more teenagers are getting involved in this and are consuming tobacco which is why the consumption of this product has increased (Glantz et al, pp. 56).

Case Study

The Insider was an excellent movie that depicted a multitude of ethical dilemmas. Although the focus of the movie surrounds the two main characters, Jeffrey Wigand and Lowell Bergman, there is unethical behaviour existing amongst these individuals and everyone in their surroundings. The film's depiction of ethics is a perfect example of what situations one can face in the modern business world. Some of the ethical issues in the film include falsification, honesty, abusive and intimidating behaviour, lying, conflict of interest, libel, and an overall lack of social responsibility (articles.latimes.com). The overlying issue over the entire movie, and the reason for the 60 Minutes broadcast is the completely unethical behaviour of the tobacco industry. The industry ...