Cigarette Smoking and the Ethics of Promotion

Cigarette Smoking and the Ethics of Promotion
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Cigarette Smoking and the Ethics of Promotion
The history of tobacco smoking can be traced back to the 15th century when the substances in tobacco were exploited as a drug. Nicotine, the main substance in tobacco, is attributed to Jaen Nicot Villeman, a top consumer of the substance at the time (Zalewska et al., 2009). Tobacco almost became a basic substance in the subsequent centuries, where everybody became an addict to cigarette smoking that was made readily available like any other basic commodity. Until the mid-20th century, the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer was established, backed by numerous reports in the subsequent years, notably the U.S Surgeon Report of 1964 (World Health Organization, 2018). Efforts to curtail the high prevalence of tobacco use and educate the public on the health hazards of tobacco then became persistent. However, cigarette manufacturers continue to promote their products even to the most vulnerable markets. Other than being a public health issue, this behavior by cigarette manufacturers is also out of order in many perspectives, ethics included.
Tobacco smoking and the promotion of tobacco products are unethical based on the three theories of ethics: utilitarian, deontological, and virtue-based ethics. Utilitarian ethics demands that humans as moral beings should always strive to pursue that which has positive results for many. Tobacco promotion signifies that a large number of people get to use tobacco products, causing more harm to the individuals who smoke and even those in their surroundings. Therefore, tobacco promotion and smoking must cease to enhance the public good. Besides, according to Frumkin (2010), professionals in authoritative positions should strive to promote a socially valued service while cooperating with others to achieve a common goal such as promoting the health of the entire community. The aim towards the greater good should always be the basis for the code of ethics in all organizations (Frumkin, 2010). However, through the promotion of tobacco products in vulnerable markets, the manufacturers seem to disregard this guideline.
Deontological ethics demands that moral beings have a moral obligation to act accordingly with high regard to human dignity despite having the liberty to express their autonomy (Frumkin, 2010). Tobacco smoking has been proven to deteriorate people’s health and is also attributed to being the leading cause of preventable deaths. Environmental health ethics demands that human activity should express respect not only for human life but also to the entire ecological system (Frumkin, 2010). The activities of the manufacturers are against the deontological demand to highly regard human dignity as well as the environmental ethics principles.
Virtue ethics is an ethical theory that bases its arguments on the morality of the subject rather than the act itself. In this regard, the morality of tobacco promotion is based on the acts of the manufacturers. According to the case study, tobacco manufacturers often target the most vulnerable population in the global East and South as well as the young generation. This is a clear indicati...