A. What stakeholders are affected by the U.S. tobacco industry's production and marketing of cigarettes? What stakeholder interests are impacted? How does the tobacco industry prioritize these stakeholders? Do you agree with the tobacco industry's prioritization? Why or why not? According to Wikipedia, a stakeholder is defined as a person, group, organization, member or system who affects or can be affected by an organization’s actions. There are several stakeholders that have been affected by the U.S. tobacco industry’s production and marketing of cigarettes. The retail tobacco companies are one such group that is undoubtedly affected by the developments affecting the production and marketing of cigarettes. Companies like Phillip Morris USA, Inc., RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company and British American Tobacco Limited who are interesting in profit maximization and return on investment felt that they were unfairly targeted by the imposition of restricted marketing activities and efforts to reduce the consumption of cigarettes. The tobacco companies believe that the law is excessive and will result in an increase in the cost of modifying packages and inversely, a reduction in net profit. The state (government) is also affected by the issues surrounding the tobacco industry. The government is faced with a slight dilemma because they are the regulator of the industry and the product is a legal product which is known to be harmful to both smokers and non-smokers. The industry also contributes significant tax revenue to the government coffers. On the flip side, the government has to find several millions yearly to deal with the health issues associated with smoking cigarettes. The effect of the decision to limit the production and marketing of tobacco will affect the employees of the retail companies adversely. A decline in cigarette sale will ultimately result in a reduction in production and hence less people will be needed to sell the product. The Tobacco growers will also be affected. There are a few states within the U.S. who depends heavily on the revenue generated by the sale of tobacco. States such as North Carolina and Kentucky who are responsible for sixty-five percent of the annual U.S. production are highly dependent on tobacco cultivation for revenue. Thousands of people are also employed by the farms within these states. Another stakeholder who is also affected is the consumers and the general public (non-smokers). The consumers of cigarette may feel that they are unfairly treated by the imposition of heavy tax by the state which has resulted in higher prices for a product which is legal. The general public, majority of whom are non-smokers believe that the restriction of advertising campaign will protect the most vulnerable group (children) from being expose to the product. The tobacco industry prioritizes the stakeholders in what they believe to be order of importance or primacy. Given the fact that the main objective of the retail companies within the tobacco industry is it to maximize profit and return on invest, there most important stakeholder is their shareholders and investors. The second most important stakeholder is the government. Given the fact that the government is the regulator of the industry and the players within the industry are unable to impose their will on the government, they have to obey by the laws on the land to ensure their viability. The stakeholders within the supply chain are seen as the next important group of stakeholder. The tobacco growers are responsible for providing the raw material to make the product which is consume by their customers. Without the material to supply the market, the retail companies have no business. The customers are the next important group of stakeholders. The customers fall at the lower echelon of the scale because the tobacco companies have control of their customers. The employees are next because they are the ones who make the final product (cigarette) and also ensure that the product is available for the target market. The general public (non-smokers) is next. The tobacco industry is least affected by what the general public thinks of them. The most important objective is to maximize profit and shareholders wealth.

B. Applying teleological frameworks for ethical thinking, what is your analysis of the tobacco industry's strategies with respect to the production and marketing of cigarettes?

An analysis of the Tobacco industry’s strategies as it relates to the production and marketing of cigarettes was done using the Ethical egoism theoretical framework. This framework holds the position that moral agents should do what is in their own self-interest. The interest of the Tobacco industry is to make profit on a product that is legal and the effects of its use widely known. The industry has been very assertive in defending itself against critics and lawsuits and is seen as acting on its own interest. For instance, In 2011 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed that images be placed on cigarette packages which graphically depicts the effect of smoking the result of which in their estimation, would not only decrease the number of smokers but also decrease the amount allocated to health care annually to treat tobacco related illnesses. The tobacco company’s response to this proposal was that this effort would not inform customers but instead stimulate their hate for the product. They also purported that the warning would cost millions for new printing equipment, design and compliance.
There have also been evidence which supported that tobacco companies committed fraud and violated the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) by misleading the public about the dangers of smoking, establishing agreement between companies to not compete over whose products were least hazardous to smokers, failing to warn consumers of the addictive nature of nicotine, and marketing to children. Judge Kessler argued that the tobacco industry has “marketed and sold their lethal products with zeal, with deception, with a single-minded focus on their financial success, and without regard for the human tragedy or social costs that success exacted. Tobacco companies suppressed research, they destroyed documents, they manipulated the use of nicotine so as to increase and perpetuate addiction and they abused the legal system in order to achieve their goal - to make money with little if any regard for individual illness and suffering, soaring health costs or the integrity of the legal”.

Given the WHO's estimate of annual deaths attributable to smoking, including 480,000 Americans, how would you define the limits of the tobacco industry's duty to provide its customers with a safe product?
While we have established that the tobacco industry’s motive is to earn revenue, the industry does have an ethical a role to play in protecting the safety of its consumers. This protection should be in the form of information; that is to inform the public of the dangers of smoking ranging from becoming addicted to the lethal implications. In addition, information on product content should also be present and conspicuously placed on all its products. The industry should also take responsibility for the protection of the vulnerable members of society such as minors and the unborn. This may be achieved by enforcing the ban of cigarettes being sold to minors and emphasizing through advertisement that pregnant and nursing mothers should not smoke and that smoking should not be done in the parameters of children.

Should such a duty exist in this case given the lethality of the product?

Does the fact that millions of people continue to smoke despite the known dangers relieve the tobacco industry of ethical responsibility for the health consequences associated with the use of their products?
Smoking is a personal choice and while it should only be sold to consenting adults who are deemed to be able to make rational decisions, they are not always able to do so as nicotine is a highly addictive substance and users my find it hard to quit or even exercise self-control. In addition, smoking also affects non-smokers who do not consent to partake in this activity.
In developing countries, the access to information on the effects of smoking is not as available as it is in developed countries where regulations on consumer warnings, advertising restrictions and even legislations such as selling the product to minors may not be as strongly enforced.

Do the facts that tobacco is a legal product and national governments have largely failed to regulate its exportation excuse the tobacco industry from ethical accountability for its actions?
The fact that cigarette is a legal product does not eliminate the ethical obligations of the tobacco industry. For one thing, individuals have the right to use the product but not to the extent where their use violates the right of other individuals (secondhand smokers).
The bottom line is that tobacco is very harmful and its use is responsible for the largest number of avoidable deaths in the United States. The fact that the government has failed to implement more robust restrictions on its use or exportation has little to do with the fact that the suppliers of this deadly product should be held accountable for the effects the product have on their consumers.