Tobacco

Tobacco is indigenous to the Americas and was unknown to Europeans until the late 16th century. Its use among Native American peoples was widespread by this time; it was consumed largely for medicinal and religious purposes. Successfully grown by early settlers and exported to Europe, the plant (Nicotiana spp., L.) became a crucial crop for the pre-revolutionary American colonies, which relied heavily on slave labor in cultivation and processing.

Today, tobacco is grown in more than 100 countries and most tobacco is used for smoking. Tobacco is an essential ingredient for cigarettes, pipes, cigars, hand-rolling tobacco, bidis, and kretek cigarettes. Cigarettes account for the largest share of manufactured tobacco products in the world—96 percent of total sales. Except for chewing tobacco in India, and possibly kreteks in Indonesia, cigarettes are the most common method of consuming tobacco.

China is the world's leading producer. According to data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), worldwide over 15 billion cigarettes are smoked every day. The global tobacco industry is dominated by three large multinationals: Altria Group (formerly Philip Morris) based in the United States, Japan Tobacco, which is government-owned and controls 75 percent of the Japanese market, and British American Tobacco (BAT) based in the United Kingdom. Tobacco is one of the United States's oldest and most profitable industries, but the tobacco market has been hit by price increases, higher state taxes, increased consumer awareness of health risks, and hefty litigation costs. Smoking has been linked to many types of cancer by medical research institutions. For years, the tobacco industry presented studies of its own in attempts to counter growing scientific knowledge about the additives and adverse health effects of cigarettes. Efforts to curtail tobacco use have increased throughout the world as many countries continue to tax tobacco heavily and restrict its use in public facilities.

Employment in the tobacco industry has been declining in developed countries as a result of the introduction of new technologies and national and international tobacco control policies. In developing countries, on the other hand, tobacco consumption and employment in the tobacco industry have been on the rise.

In some developed countries, consumers spend more on tobacco than they do on alcoholic beverages; however, the popularity of smoking is in decline. The main factors driving the long-term decline include: Concerns relating to the impact of smoking on health, the increasing view that smoking is an anti-social habit, growing restrictions governing where individuals can smoke and how companies can market their products, and the rising cost of legally bought tobacco. Consumers are increasingly turning to economy brands and smuggled tobacco—contraband products and those legally bought abroad account for 31 percent of sales—in response to taxation increases. Cigarettes are a legal, but controversial product.

Several Western European countries have increased taxes on cigarettes far more aggressively than the United States to discourage smoking, and they have imposed greater restrictions on cigarette [Page 1744]advertising, but have been less aggressive in prohibiting smoking from workplaces and restaurants.

Only in the United States has litigation against tobacco companies become an important feature of national tobacco control efforts. The U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing a case against the industry, citing 50 years of evidence it claims points to a cover-up of the health risks associated with smoking. Smokers stricken with cancer and other smoking-related health problems have also tried to pool their complaints together in large class-action lawsuits. Often, the courts frown upon such tactics; however, individuals have fared much better, but face lengthy appeals from the tobacco giants.

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