The Face of Big Tobacco
We know all of the commercial or “pop culture” identities for the major tobacco brands including some famous cowboys and camels, but do we know the real companies behind the tobacco industry? The nickname of “Big Tobacco” is a somewhat negative title for the groups that comprise the industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. These groups are also frequently called the “big three” and include Philip Morris, Reynolds American, and Lorillard.
There are other tobacco companies all around the world too, and some of them can often fall under the identifying term of Big Tobacco too. For example, the four United States tobacco companies that were part of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement with 46 of the states included Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation and the Lorillard Tobacco Company too.
What do consumers need to know about Big Tobacco in general? Does it help to know their names and in which countries they operate? Should we take their settlements with consumer groups as a sign of good? What are the important issues?
The most significant things to know about any of the major or key tobacco companies are that they produce a serious threat to the well-being of consumers. They produce products that cause billions of dollars of harm each year, and they are directly responsible for over five million deaths around the world each year as well.
Big Tobacco is just a corporate distribution system for smoking and non-smoking tobacco products that lead to a bevy of health problems and death. There is no nice way to view tobacco use because it is so tremendously harmful to the vast majority of people who use it on a regular basis. While there are some who argue that they knew a lifelong smoker who lived to an advanced age, the general or “average” smoker has a significantly shorter life span than the non-smoker. The quality of life of a smoker will also be reduced by their habit too.
Consider that a smoker may not develop the life-threatening cancers that tobacco use is well-known for, but they will develop some serious respiratory, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart, or even dental and vision problems from their smoking.
Tobacco use has become such a well-known evil that Big Tobacco has begun to sponsor websites and programs aimed at preventing underage use and prevention techniques for schools or parents to use as well.
