The Pros And Cons Of Ban On Tobacco
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As a developing country India became concerned with the growing consumption of tobacco in the country. In order to stop this growing trend they decided to impose a ban on all tobacco advertisements in India in addition tobacco companies could no longer sponsor sports or cultural events. The ban caused a lot of mixed feeling with people in favor and against the ban, in this essay both views will be analyzed along with the conflict of interest as it pertains to the Indian government. As explained in the case study Ban on Tobacco Ads by the Government of India, those in favor of the ban argued that it was not unusual to pass such bans as other countries had already done it. They also said that the government was allowed to act in the interest
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This meant that in reality India was having to spend more money on healthcare than what came in through cigarette sales, so those who got ill from smoking were increasing India’s expenditure (Morris,2001, p.2). Another study showed that this policy of banning tobacco advertising which would lead to lower consumption could increase employment. This would happen because consumers would have more money to spend on other services instead of purchasing …show more content…
Furthermore, tobacco companies also argued that they did not market their products to young people but to those who were already smokers so that they could make an informed brand choice (Morris, 2001, p.3). A survey done in 1998 by the Indian Market Research Bureau backed this information up since no one stated that they were induced to smoke by advertising. The effectiveness of the ban was also doubted since some believed that the ban would have no effect on other tobacco products like beedi and ghutkas which made up 84% of the sector. They believed the lack of advertisements would lead the consumers to buy less refined forms of tobacco which are more harmful. Others claimed that it would not be efficient because they could not control advertising on foreign media and that cigarette advertising and the consumption of them were only weakly linked
This meant that in reality India was having to spend more money on healthcare than what came in through cigarette sales, so those who got ill from smoking were increasing India’s expenditure (Morris,2001, p.2). Another study showed that this policy of banning tobacco advertising which would lead to lower consumption could increase employment. This would happen because consumers would have more money to spend on other services instead of purchasing …show more content…
Furthermore, tobacco companies also argued that they did not market their products to young people but to those who were already smokers so that they could make an informed brand choice (Morris, 2001, p.3). A survey done in 1998 by the Indian Market Research Bureau backed this information up since no one stated that they were induced to smoke by advertising. The effectiveness of the ban was also doubted since some believed that the ban would have no effect on other tobacco products like beedi and ghutkas which made up 84% of the sector. They believed the lack of advertisements would lead the consumers to buy less refined forms of tobacco which are more harmful. Others claimed that it would not be efficient because they could not control advertising on foreign media and that cigarette advertising and the consumption of them were only weakly linked