The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it is farmed on all continents except Antarctica. Species N. glauca N. longiflora N. rustica N. sylvestris N. tabacum Ref: ITIS 30562 as of August 26, 2005 Tobacco (, L.) refers to a genus of broad-leafed plants of the nightshade family indigenous to North and South America or to the dried and cured leaves. ...

Tobacco is a commodity product similar in economic terms to foodstuffs in that the price is set by the fact that crop yields vary depending on local weather conditions. The price varies by specific species grown, the total quantity on the market ready for sale, the area where it was grown, the health of the plants, and other characteristics individual to product quality. The word commodity is a term with distinct meanings in business and in Marxian political economy. ... Food is any substance consumed by living organisms, including liquid drinks. ... In biology, the most commonly used definition of species was first coined by Ernst Mayr. ...

History

For a history of how tobacco has been grown and marketed, see the wiki articles on tobacco, smoking and similar topics. For a public health network's perspective on the evolution of tobacco industry marketing strategies see Action on Smoking and Health's "Tobacco explained": [1] Species N. glauca N. longiflora N. rustica N. sylvestris N. tabacum Ref: ITIS 30562 as of August 26, 2005 Tobacco (, L.) refers to a genus of broad-leafed plants of the nightshade family indigenous to North and South America or to the dried and cured leaves. ... 1: cigar box 2: cigar 3: various pipes 4: waterpipe 5: joss stick 6: bong Various smoking equipment including different pipes, and cigars. ...

Current state of affairs

The tobacco industry generally refers to the companies involved in the manufacture of cigarettes, cigars, snuff, chewing and pipe tobacco. This industry is heavily dominated by giant firms and state-owned tobacco monopolies. Due to historical growing areas, many of these companies are concentrated in the southern United States (both Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and Winston-Salem, North Carolina). Other companies are based around the world. A cigarette will burn to ash on one end. ... Four cigars of different brands (from top: H. Upmann, Montecristo, Macanudo, Romeo y Julieta) A cigar, airtight storage tube, and guillotine-style cutter A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of tobacco leaves that have already been dried and fermented, which is lit (that is, ignited) for the purpose of... Snuff can refer to any of the following: Fine-ground smokeless tobacco, intended for use by being sniffed or snorted into the nose Swedish snus tobacco, used between the cheek and upper gums American moist snuff, or dipping tobacco, placed between in the teeth and lower gums. ... A smoking pipe is a device used for smoking combustible substances such as tobacco and cannabis. ... Species N. glauca N. longiflora N. rustica N. sylvestris N. tabacum Ref: ITIS 30562 as of August 26, 2005 Tobacco (, L.) refers to a genus of broad-leafed plants of the nightshade family indigenous to North and South America or to the dried and cured leaves. ... Raleigh-Durham is not a single city, but rather two separate ones in the U.S. state of North Carolina. ... County Forsyth County, NC Mayor Allen Joines Website Official Website Population 185,776 (2000) Winston-Salem is a city located in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. ...

Tobacco advertising is becoming increasingly restricted around the world. Tobacco advertising is the promotion of tobacco use (typically smoking) by the tobacco industry through a variety of media. ...

Industry outlook

The tobacco industry in the United States has suffered greatly since the mid-1990's, when it was successfully sued by several US states. The suits claimed that tobacco causes cancer, that companies in the industry knew this, and that they deliberately understated the significance of their findings, contributing to the illness and death of many citizens in those states. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: United States Wikinews has news related to this article: United States United States government CIA World Factbook Entry for United States House. ...

The industry was found to have decades of internal memos confirming in detail that tobacco (which contains nicotine) is both addictive and carcinogenic (cancer-causing). Nicotine is an organic compound, an alkaloid found naturally throughout the tobacco plant, with a high concentration in the leaves. ... Addiction is an uncontrollable compulsion to repeat a behavior regardless of its negative consequences. ... In pathology, a carcinogen is any substance or agent that promotes cancer. ...

The suit resulted in a large cash settlement being paid by a group of tobacco companies to the states that sued. Further, since the suit was settled, other individuals have come forth, in class action lawsuits, claiming individual damages. New suits of this type will probably continue indefinitely. In law, a class action is an equitable procedural device used in litigation for determining the rights of and remedies, if any, for large numbers of people whose cases involve common questions of law and fact. ... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party commencing the action, the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy. ...

Since the settlement is a heavy tax on the profits of the tobacco industry in the US, and further settlements being made only add to the financial burden of these companies, it is debatable if the industry has a money-producing long term outlook.

Illicit cigarette smuggling has emerged in some states where smoking bans and cigarette taxes are high. No smoking sign Smoking bans are government prohibitions on tobacco smoking in public or quasi-public indoor areas such as offices, restaurants, hotels, or even outdoor public areas such as parks and sports stadiums. ...

Conflicting points of view

There are two entrenched interests that have opinions about the tobacco industry: (a) participants in the industry, and (b) people affected by the deaths attributable to tobacco use. These interests conflict, and since they involve large amounts of money, long-held (historically) belief systems, and the premature deaths of loved family members.

Participants in the industry argue that commercial tobacco production is a vital part of the American and world economy. They state that thousands of farmers in the United States, alone, make their living from raising tobacco leaves for use by the industry. They estimate that the tobacco industry contributes billions of dollars in tax revenue to the federal government every year.

People affected by or sympathetic to the large death rate attributable to active and/or passive tobacco use cite the fact that half of all tobacco users die from tobacco-related causes. According to the World Health Organization, that means that about 650 million current smokers will die from a preventable cause. They also indicate that smoking-related health problems contribute to rising health care costs. The WHO flag: similar to the flag of the United Nations, augmented with the symbolic staff and serpent of Asklepios, Greek god of medicine and healing. ...

Recent developments

On May 11th, 2004, the U.S. became the 108th country to sign the World Health Organization's Global Treaty on Tobacco Control. This treaty places broad restrictions on the sale, advertising, shipment, and taxation of tobacco products. The U.S. has not yet ratified this treaty in its senate and does not yet have a schedule for doing so. May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The WHO flag: similar to the flag of the United Nations, augmented with the symbolic staff and serpent of Asklepios, Greek god of medicine and healing. ... The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is a treaty adopted unanimously by the 56th World Health Assembly on May 21, 2003. ... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two houses of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ...

Most recently, there has been discussion within the tobacco control community of transforming the tobacco industry through the replacement of tobacco corporations by other types of business organizations that can be established to provide tobacco to the market while not attempting to increase market demand. See for instance C. Callard, D. Thompson and N. Collishaw, Curing The Addiction To Profits: A Supply-Side Approach To Phasing Out Tobacco (Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2005). A corporation is a legal entity (distinct from a natural person) that often has similar rights in law to those of a Civil law systems may refer to corporations as moral persons; they may also go by the name AS (anonymous society) or something similar, depending on language (see below). ... Business organizations is an area of law that covers the broad array of rules governing the formation and operation of different kinds of entities by which individuals can organize to do business. ...

Tobacco companies