Blog#10 Harm of E-Cigs

Matthew Beasley

Blog 10

The Harm of E-Cigs

          Being this is my tenth blog, it may be obvious by now that I am not a big supporter of the tobacco industry. This past fall, while at my sons football game I noticed that many people were walking around with these new e-cigs, that supposedly are safe to consume, and for others to be around. It kind of shocked me that this form of tobacco was allowed on school grounds, because no other forms of tobacco usually are. Hopefully with further research showing the harms of e-cigs, this trend will not be happening for long. First, I think that e-cigs, look cool to kids who are interested in smoking, and also find this technological aspect of smoking as another means to look big in front of their friends. Globally tobacco kills 6 million people a year, and although some believe that you can inhale a poisonous liquid and it not negatively effect you; I am glad to see that researchers are studying this new fad. Scientists have discovered that nicotine alone can cause cancer, and that it is not just the tobacco itself that does it.

            Also there is another harm in e-cigs, say if for instance that a infant gets a hold of these vials of liquid nicotine. Being poisoned to the point of death is a possibly for small children. The study has also found that while the vast majority of people say they switched to e-cigs to stop smoking, the results indicate that those that smoke e-cigs are far less likely to quit than traditional smokers. I firmly believe that people think this is a healthy alternative way to continue to be able to get their nicotine fix, but assuredly I feel these notions will have no scientific basis in which to stand. Beyond health concerns, I have even seen TV ads here in the states that promote these new forms of dangerous products, and I hope that soon legislation will stop these e-cigs from being able to advertise on TV. It is so easy to lure people into buying your product, when you have people like Jenny McCarthy promoting it(as this article shows). Kids, are drawn to these images, and not to mention guys that are all too pleased to stare at a hot model all day. Sex sales, and tobacco companies globally have used this technique for the advancement of their products.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/87473/there-s-bad-news-for-people-who-smoke-e-cigarettes

Blog#9 Tobacco vendors jailed

Matthew Beasley

Blog #9

With tobacco taking over in many places throughout the world, it is not surprising that many of these countries are relying more and more on their land and their people to be dedicated to the process of tobacco. Sibare Sibare, is just one of the many people that lost his job at a clothing factory, once the tobacco industry became so prominent in Zimbabwe. For the last 5 years Sibare has been unpacking and individually selling cigarettes as a vendor in order to make ends meet. Increasingly though, this has been tougher to do. The government in Zimbabwe has banned the sale of individual cigarettes that are not labeled with the mark that smoking can harm you. This doesn't seem like to big an issue, except that recently police have been cracking down on these types of vendors and forcing them to both fear and hide out from officers. The article basically makes it seem like police officers are viewing these vendors likes common drug dealers, and it is making it impossible for people like Simbare to make a living.

The reason behind this, is that in Zimbabwe 1 in 10 students use tobacco and also it is a major healthcare concern. In 2008 alone, there were more deaths related to respiratory problems than there were deaths by viral diseases. That is a serious in a country that is riddled with Aids. It would seem like the government that wanted to ban people from selling tobacco, would not invest so much of its land and resources into the making of the product. I hate it for people like Simbare and wish the government would invest in its people half as much as it does in the industry that health experts agree kills so many people. The article says that for every cigarette that a person smokes, they remove 5 and ½ minutes from their lives. Out of the 300 known chemicals that go into the production of a cigarette, 40 of those are known to be poisonous and even after a person quits smoking the effects linger in them for more than 10 years. All around it seems that cigarettes are a nasty business that ruins lives.

https://www.newsday.co.zw/2014/04/05/bleak-future-cigarettes-vendors/

Blog#8 Tobacco cures disease

Matthew Beasley

Blog#8

Tobacco cures diseases

             For longer than I have been alive, governments have provided facts about the dangers of tobacco use. This recent trial experiment is showing that tobacco in its raw form may have potentially great health benefits for certain diseases. Hopefully we all know that smoking cigarettes can cause lung cancer, but this research claims that a bi-product in young tobacco leaves called MAB's, may be a very cost effective way of eliminating the West Nile virus. These MAB proteins, they claim are good at targeting and eliminating neurological diseases and tobacco leaves seem to be a cheap way of obtaining large quantities of the protein. This is a drastic reduction in the current animal based procurement method which costs around $1 billion dollars per each therapeutic candidate. In the clinical trials on mice, it was found that these tobacco based proteins were capable of neutralizing the West Nile virus even when the virus had been present for days and already had spread to the brain.

            This is potentially very big news, because there is no current cure or treatment for the West Nile Virus that has spread throughout the globe. This is a two fold treatment in that it can neutralize a already contracted virus and also protect mice from even contracting West Nile. The research showed that over 90% of the mice that were tested, were protected from this lethal infection. The next step for this tobacco based research is to develop better delivery methods to the brain and also to implement human based trials. With the risks of smoking cigarettes killing the image of tobacco, this information could be the face lift that tobacco has long needed. My hope would be that people would still stop smoking, but this could be a new revenue stream for the growers that depend on this cash crop for the survival of their families throughout the globe.

http://newswise.com/articles/using-tobacco-to-thwart-west-nile-virus

Blog#7 Changes coming for Tobacco Companies?

Matthew Beasley

Blog 7

The Next Big Change for Tobacco

               The willingness for big tobacco companies to do most anything to garner a profit is one thing I have learned this semester while doing these blogs. With the world starting to understand that tobacco is a dangerous product, I have read much about countries trying to limit and even ban smoking. So what is next step for tobacco companies? These articles contend that their new revenue may come from the sell of marijuana. Companies like Philip Morris and RJR may be starting to understand that they are globally fighting a losing battle with tobacco and could start to sell pre-made marijuana cigarettes in countries and states where marijuana is legal. Phillip Morris it seems may already have a pipe line set up with Malawi that could corner the market for cheaply grown pot. The article states that Malawi could easily grow pot at one thousandth the price of what it is being grown for here in America where it is legal. It says the total cost would only be around 30 cents to grow and pack one pack of 20 pot cigarettes. Malawi is already the 12^th biggest tobacco producer in the world and could easily switch their fields to pot where the profit margins look to be far greater.

            In Chapter 5 we learned that the decriminalization of marijuana is beginning to happen not only in the US but throughout many regions of the globe. Big Tobacco already has factories and distribution chains established almost everywhere so it does not seem surprising to me that it would be easy for them to shift to a similar product that would likely be more profitable. I along with many others feel these companies will do just about anything to make a buck and when directly asked about producing pot based products the Tobacco companies at best gave vague answers. With more and more people thinking now that marijuana is more like medicine than a narcotic, it would also make it harder for people to bash these companies for producing products that alone add 132 billion dollars to US health cares costs. A good business knows that as times change they must adapt in order to maximize their profits and stay relevant and I wonder how long it will be before brands like Philip Morris and RJR begin to shift their focus to calling themselves the makers of new “healthy products.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/03/22/global-capitalism-would-make-a-pack-of-fully-legal-cannabis-joints-cost-50-cents-not-50/

http://theweek.com/article/index/258092/is-marijuana-the-future-of-big-tobacco

Blog#6 Marlboro ad

Blog #6

Marlboro ad

Matthew Beasley

           Although I personally feel that it is counterproductive to advocate for the elimination of tobacco ads toward children, while at the same time have a flashing ad on your site promoting e-cigs. I am glad to see that the global community it trying to stop tobacco companies from having marketing strategies that are geared towards teens. It seems that tobacco companies are never going to learn that it is just plain wrong to market addictive and deadly products to minors. The new Marlboro ads again are advising consumers to be rebellious, be a risk taker, be Marlboro. The ads of course are filled with attractive young people jamming to hip-hop music, all while doing fun and adventurous things. It would seem like these companies would get it after years of fines, court room battles and a ton of negative media coverage; but they either just do not care, or are too dumb to realize that these ways of marketing tobacco products is not going to be tolerated. Maybe though that is Phillip Morris's point.

              Maybe the tobacco company is banking on people like me that will see these articles and talk more about tobacco, which in turn bring more attention to tobacco. To get attention is their main focus anyway. It is great though to see so much cooperation throughout the globe on bringing attention to things that can harm others. It shows there is a conscientious global awareness that is looking out for companies that take advantage of areas where the laws are more relaxed. Phillip Morris started this ad in Germany where it took almost two years before it was banned. Again I think Phillip Morris knew the ad would get banned but figured they can put out ads that they know will cause a great deal of controversy, and their harm will already be long done before a country decides to remove it. After two years it seems like a normal time for a new ad anyway. So why would Phillip Morris care if it is removed now? I feel it is great to come together to stop things that are harmful to the innocent members of this planet, but I wish it would not have to seemingly always be done after the fact. I propose it would be a good idea to have a general over-site committee that would have to approve tobacco commercials. The individual companies certainly cannot be left to decide, because clearly they do not wish to change their strategies, as stated at the end of the link. The company argues that it is a subjective viewpoint that they are targeting youths with their ads. Not plain common sense!

Criminal Side of Tobacco

Blog 5

Matthew Beasley

The Criminal side of Tobacco

This week in our Sociology class I learned that one of organized crimes main goals is to provide goods that cannot be obtain legally or that can produced illegally (fake Rolex) and still be able to make a profit from it. With laws that are beginning to spread around the globe to curb smoking habits, I came across this article and at first was glad to see laws passed to remove branding from cigarette packs. Plain packing as it is called is an attempt to removing branding from the packing of cigarettes and is an effort to remove some of the cool factor that cigarettes can obtain from its brands, camel brand and its Camel Joe logo is one that I have seen all my life. This seems like a great step at removing images from children's view that attract them to smoking. Now though in Australia where this law has taken affect, tobacco companies are claiming that this plain packing of cigarettes has only opened the flood gates for illegal smokes to fill the marketplace. Organized crime and other criminals have seized this opportunity by importing a great deal of illicit smokes.

Surprisingly, Australia has the biggest smoking population of anywhere in the Asian Pacific market and they have now seen an increase in illegal tobacco by more than 30%. The fact that the logos are removed seems to make it very easy to pass off a illegal unregulated cigarette, right along with a legal one. There has to be some legitimacy to this claim as customs agents have detected an increase in illegal tobacco from around 80 million to more than 141 million illegal cigarettes in just the single year of 2011-2012. This shows the global nature of of how criminals will find the gap where illegal activity can take place and then exploit it for as long as they can. As we learned from the Ted talks in class, organized crime is now up to 15% of the total global GDP.

With such an increase detected by officials one can only assume that the number of cigarettes that the customs officials did not detect is at least on par, and likely way more than what the officials caught. As bad as tobacco is, I would personally prefer to have regulated brands being sold than cigarettes that are unregulated. Things that are made without regulation, typically do not have the standards of regulated items, and who knows what a criminal will put in a cigarette as a filler substance so they can increase their profits even further. Admittedly part of me does question some of this information (as Sociology has taught me to question all that I read), and I do I wonder if this is an effort to bring back labeling by tobacco companies, because as they claim; the volume of smoking is staying the same, it is only the illegal numbers that are making their regulated numbers decline.

http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/news-features/australian-smoker-not-deterred-by-plain-packaging-20140304-3417p.html

Blog#4 The Few that Control Tobacco

Matthew Beasley

Blog#4

The Few that Control Tobacco

Throughout most of the world smoking is on the rise, with an expected increase from the current 1.1 billion smokers to upwards of 1.64 billion smokers by 2025. For some it may come as a surprise that with all the smoking, 81% of tobacco market share is owned by only 6 companies. This creates a huge gap between the farmers that grow the product and the companies that produce the end result.  Even more surprising is that Philip Morris is the only American based company on the list. While Philip Morris international(NYC) is ranked second, they as a company have divided there markets into those located within the US and international profits that are made overseas. This is a way for them to evade taxes here in the United States. Also clever to Americas name recognition of their brand, and the likely negative connotation, they have decided to rename the America sect of Philip Morris, with a new company name called the Altria Group. The Altria Group coincidentally is number 6 on this list, so in essence the Morris brand holds 2 of the top 6 tobacco companies in the world. The number one position now belongs to China National Tobacco corporation, which is also a state owned company. With over 16 billion in annual profits going to the state, it leaves little doubt that the Chinese will continue to smoke for many years to come. In third place is the British American Tobacco who rake in 4.2 billion in annual profit. With 1.5 billion in annual profit Japan Tobacco International ranks 4^th in the world; while 5^th belongs to Imperial tobacco who sees 2 billion a year in profit from tobacco sales.

All told the “big 6” rake in 35.1 billion dollars in profit every year. These tobacco companies have a great deal of influence in many parts of the world, but hopefully the tides are changing. Some countries(not individuals) are seeking to sue these companies for the ills smoking leaves behind in their country. The Canadian Superior court is suing Japan Tobacco International to recoup some of its countries massive smoking related healthcare costs, and the Nigerian government has filed a 42.4 billion dollar lawsuit against British America Tobacco in association with their healthcare related problems based on smoking. With over 480,000 smoking related deaths in the USA alone, hopefully we will be creating a lawsuit of our own in the near future. Ever present of these potential risks, Phillip Morris USA is still the second most active lobbying organization in America with over 101 million dollars dispersed through Congress from 1998-2004. With the “big 6” making more profit than Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and McDonald’s combined, it is easy to see that this money is a splash in the bucket to one of these companies. These companies are willing to lose money to be able to stay entrenched in both the society and the culture of any nation that will allow it. We as a society and other places that form societies around the world have to do more than rely on our governments to protect us and our children from the profiteering of capitalists that will gladly cause harm to our citizens for some more pennies in their bucket. It is scary thought that the Chinese government has a blatantly vested interest in the proliferation of death onto its own people by tobacco.  Healthcare and increasing the economic divide are just 2 of the many social components that these companies could care less about.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/81365/6-mega-corporations-control-almost-the-entire-global-cigarette-industry

Blog #3 Philippines tobacco

Blog#3

Matthew Beasley

America is pushing to de-normalize tobacco and thus tobacco looks elsewhere for its chance to maintain profits. Great news has come from CVS pharmacy, which has announced that they are no longer going to carry cigarettes at their stores. Finally even retailers are forgoing profit for the benefit of the community. In the article it talks about how children that see cigarettes in its stores, think that it is a normal behavior and thus in a way retailers are supporting the continuation of cigarettes smokers.(DUH comes to mind). It seems ironic to sell emphysema medicine in the back and cigarettes in the front. The removal of tobacco in 7600 nationwide stores is a great start that I hope other retailers take a look at.

Elsewhere in the world like in the Philippines, they have yet to be so strict on tobacco companies. The government has enacted a “Sin tax law”(clever name) where they impose a P25 tax on every pack sold. But then on the next line it states that a pack of cigarettes is still only P50 or around P3 per stick. This compared to Singapore where a pack costs P400 shows the tobacco companies will lose money just to say in poor communities. I guess it only natural for me to assume that the individuals growing tobacco take the brunt of this economic impact not the companies that produce the end product. People in poor places love to smoke, because for many it is the number 1 way to alleviate hunger pangs. It is so shocking to me that this seems to be a very common reason as to why people smoke. Even in America, for example I remember my mom used to always say when she was trying to quit smoking that every time she did it she would start getting “fat”. I am not a smoker and a little “chubby” so heck even that prospect appeals to me. Thank goodness the stench of cigarettes has always turned me away from them. I guess I am lucky one because over 70% of males over the age of 15 in Indonesia smoke. It says that in south Asia alone there are 10% of the worlds smokers. I also found it interesting that groups seem to be fighting a losing battle at times because not only is tobacco a billion dollar industry but even presidents of many countries are smokers, so what chance is there of establishing much change? If the main figure of your country smokes you can bet he or she is likely not to change policy that would deny them their own habits. Heck even our own President has reported his struggles to try and stop smoking. World smoking is on the rise and still it seems the target is the poor youth many of whom substitute food for a smoke.

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_25072873/marin-medical-leaders-applaud-cvs-decision-stop-selling

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-inbox/philippines-still-smoker-heaven-151817468.html

Leaving Tobacco in Malawi:

                  Personally growing up in Mt. Airy, and Lowgap North Carolina I have been around farming all of my life. In Lowgap the main exports were boxwood for evergreens at Christmas decorations and of course tobacco has always been a staple in the fields near where I grew up. The farmers that owned these lands often employ migrant workers at very low pay rates. As tobacco hopefully is starting to see its demise in the USA I thought this article about Malawi show signs to that even in impoverished communities these citizens are catching on to the tricks of tobacco companies. These companies purely exploit these foreign lands for monetary gain and know they have little regulation to stop their efforts.

                Countries like Malawi become economically dependent on the tobacco industry and then in turn the tobacco company tightens the screws to further the gap between owners profits and workers pay. These people may be poor, but it is good to see that they are not dumb. Many people become ensnared in the traps of working for the elite and many times generationally do not change things based on a multitude of factors. In Malawi up to 80% of people are tied to the tobacco industry and the vast majority of them make less than a dollar a day. Their countries currency has been devalued and combined with lower prices for raw tobacco have forced the farmers to change over to better paying crops.

                 A couple ladies depicted in this article now sell vegetables in a marketplace after ten years of struggling with tobacco farming. In turn they are now making almost triple that of their previous jobs at a rate of 3 dollars a day. Other people as well have left the country to become tradesmen, and woodworkers in the cities because they too are tired of the hard work for very little pay. This seems like a good start towards giving them better opportunities for income and not to mention the fact that the farmers now selling the food they grow not only pays them better but also provides a source of nutrition in these communities that have long been malnourished. Tobacco still is 53% of the exports of Malawi, but hopefully the people there are starting to turn the tide to empower their lives and not the lives of the vultures of the tobacco industry.  

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2014/02/pictures-malawi-tobacco-industr-201427104648363823.html

Blog#1 Cigarettes in Africa

              Due to little regulation and corruption by tobacco companies, smoking tobacco is still globally on the rise. In Africa for instance cigarettes are marketed by pretty ladies, film stars and sports figures. This is an attempt to make smoking seem cool in underdeveloped places throughout the world where there is still little regulation. Tobacco companies use the same tricks they once got away with in the United States but now it is in countries that have yet to modernized. These marketing strategies work especially on the young impoverished people throughout the world. Tobacco companies do not care about the health hazards associated with their products. They only care about the bottom line. They use the benefits of money to entice governments of these poor countries because tobacco creates jobs and a source of income that seems as important if not more important than a individuals health. The Glamorization of advertising and branding creates allure amongst poor Africans that too want a piece of the life that is shown to them through advertising.

              In the United States I think for the most part we all would agree that smoking at least is harmful to a person's health. Smoking tobacco is declining in America due in part to regulation on how it is marketed in our society. In many parts of the world there is little to no regulation on how smoking is advertised. If you are starving and for a few cents you can relieve stress, reduce your hunger, and also bond with the “hot chick” on the High Society brand of smokes, then that person is likely to at least try it. That is what Tobacco companies like Phillip Morris are banking on. They say they do not target kids, but they also said that about the hipster Camel brand of cigarettes back in the 70's and 80's here in the States. These companies have for years claimed they do not target kids but the study in this article says 68% of 6 year old's can identify at least one cigarette company logo. Tobacco companies know that if they can get people to try their products the consumer will likely become addicted to both the nicotine and the ritual of smoking. Many people simply claim that it relaxes them and thus they “need” to smoke. While the companies push to keep things unregulated some communities are fighting back. In South Africa the government has stepped in to ban advertising, free distribution and all forms of sponsorship.

            Stratification is also linked to tobacco use. Tobacco companies most effective advertising strategy is to make smoking cool and seem as though you too can live like the people you see in their advertisements. Young people looking to escape find it as a way to bond with each other and also think they are apart of a bigger collective of cool people that all do the same thing. Furthermore if you are poor and without work then suddenly a tobacco company comes to town and creates jobs for your community including yourself, then that person is likely to be grateful to the company and not want to see them leave. Being from the country I have seen many families make a living producing tobacco. What the poor soul's do not realize in these under-developed countries is the land now used for growing tobacco lowers the available land for food, and in essence widens the the gap between themselves and the capitalists that exploit them. These companies pay little for work and often take the profits made from these communities and do not invest it back for things they badly need like infrastructure. The people think they are getting a piece of the good life, but it is a costly piece that ensures the downfall of their community. Instead of a child going to school they many times head for the fields and factories that continue them in a lifestyle of farming over specialized training. While their country may benefit for the scraps these companies leave behind, it seems a heavy toll for their communities to endure.

http://thinkafricapress.com/health/big-tobacco-african-young-smokers

tobacco a global social problem

I would like to cover tobacco use around the world and its increase especially in developing countries.