Industries Perspective regarding the Implementation of the "International Ban on Tobacco Advertising-.
For many years now, governments the world over have been mulling over the proposal for implementing an International Ban on Tobacco Advertising'. Some governments have already had a test run of this ban but the outcome was not too encouraging as it barely brought down the rate of consumption and purchasing of cigarettes in these countries. The World Health Organization is dealing with governments and organizations to propose a complete ban on tobacco advertising starting from the year 2007. Test runs are only the beginning of this implementation, which is still a major issue in heated conventions worldwide. "If fully implemented, the ban may bring a marginal beneficial effect (4% - 16%) on people who smoke- .
( Hastings, 2002). The final result, though, will be more damage to governments concerned.
Many parties have their own perspectives regarding the ban. Environmental groups, scientists and a substantial percentage of citizens will agree with the implementation of this ban, but, industries such as Phillip Morris International, Japan Tobacco International, British American Tobacco (BAT) and not forgetting a number of representatives of governments worldwide will disagree due to various reasons. Our group, BAT, feels that advertising should be kept in compliance with laws and standards in any country but it should not be banned outright. In short, we at BAT feel that tobacco advertising should comply with strict standards and regulation especially regarding youth smoking but a total ban on advertising our products will affect various sectors of the economy and the daily living of employees involved in tobacco production.
" BAT realizes that our core products do risk the health of citizens, and since we are involved in such a business, we believe it is all the more important that we manage our business responsibly- (Prideaux, 2002).