In 1847, an Englishman Philip Morris opened a tobacco shop in London Fashionable Bond Street Area. The family-run business focussed on hand-rolled cigarettes. In 1902, the company moved to New York City, it remained small, but with time, it grew to become one of the leading British Tobacco companies for many years. In 1925, under the leadership of Ellis, it rolled out its new-premium 20 cents a pack cigarette, known as Marlboro. In the 1960s and 1970s, its popularity skyrocketed after an advertising campaign of the famous ‘Marlboro Man.” The snowball effect from this campaign led Philip Morris to become the largest cigarette company in the United States in 1983 (Smith & Malone, 2003) . From there, the company expanded into other businesses venturing into international markets. The fact that the company gains its profits from selling a harmful and addictive product that is the cause of numerous deaths each year, combined with accusations that it has repeatedly denied the medical claims stating the dangers of smoking put it in an ethical dilemma.
Since 1998, Philip Morris has spent an estimated $1billom on youth smoking prevention campaigns. In the 2000’s they introduced a “Think Don’t Smoke’ campaign to create awareness of the danger caused by smoking to the youth. The company supported the FDA regulation of tobacco which was accepted eventually by the Tobacco Control Act in 2009. Altria Group, the parent company for Philip Morris, was in 2011 listed on Fortunes Magazine 100 most admired companies. They also ranked fourth in the socially responsible category. Unlike other tobacco companies, Philip Morris refrained from the production of flavored cigarettes; these cigarettes are very appealing, especially to the younger crowd. In business ethics, tobacco creates a dilemma for policymakers; this is caused by consumers who are aware of the harmful effects of tobacco but are unwilling to quit using it.
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Smoking is rampant among different cultures, in the Global Adult Tobacco Survey there are approximately 1.3 billion smokers in the world. People of different regions smoke for different reasons; others smoke as part of their heritage, others as part of rituals and some smoke as part of their tradition. Native Americans use tobacco for spiritual purposes such as healing; this shows how the attitude towards smoking differs substantially. Native Americans generally do not condone the everyday use of tobacco. In most cities in the United States, smoking is considered a normal habit and the number of people who smoke are high. With regards to gender, most cultures abhor smoking among females in their societies, hence the greater portion of the smoking populace will be male. Traditional societies in the western Pacific, Africa, and South East Asia will often have substantially low numbers of female smokers. Often smoking is seen as a manly activity and inappropriate for women (TFL, 2016). In America and Europe, smoking is done by both females and males with no cultural expectation. Most countries in the world identify the dangers related to smoking including chronic illnesses and the risk of addiction. Therefore as much as smoking is encouraged all over the world, there are policies that govern campaigns and advertisements that discourage the use of tobacco among people.
Leaders directly influence the ethics culture in their organizations. Therefore, they have to act as role models for their subordinates so as to promote a culture of personal and ethical responsibility (Porter, 2014). All decisions from the leaders should be based on ethical principles contained in the codes of advertising ethics. Leaders are required at all times to display respect to humanity through not condoning misleading advertisements for the sake of sales. When leaders can show their employees that it is crucial to place people before profits, they create an ethical culture in their organization. Employees need to understand that the organization's primary focus is to conduct business honestly and appropriately. It is the action of the leaders and not policies/procedures that drive organizational ethics.
References
Porter, L. (2014, January 15). How Leaders Foster an Ethical Culture (or Not). Retrieved from https://associationsnow.com/2014/01/take-it-from-the-top-how-leaders-foster-an-ethical-culture-or-not/
Smith, E.A., & Malone, R.E. (2003). Thinking the “unthinkable”: why Philip Morris considered quitting. Tobacco Control 2003; 12: 208-213. Retrieved from https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/12/2/208
TFL. (2016). Culture and Smoking: Do Cultural Norms Impact Smoking Rates? Tobacco Free Life. Retrieved December 13, 2018, from https://tobaccofreelife.org/resources/culture-smoking/
