o file a civil lawsuit in 1999, against the largest tobacco companies, to recover the cost that federal government has to spend on smoking-related illness each year. However our concern here is not only about the cigarette as a product but with the ethics of cigarettes as well, that affect the social process of marketing. This is because marketing process makes things worse and is also considered as unethical, and as a result has a significant negative impact on the societal welfare. Multinational tobacco companies apply sophisticated strategies ( such as putting flavor in the cigarettes and placing cigarettes in the shops near the sweets to make them more appealing) and invest huge amounts of money for marketing, in order to establish brand familiarity and future loyalty among young peoplem, to secure profits in the long run. ‘The tobacco epidemic is a man-made international health crisis, created and sustained by multinational tobacco corporations.’ (Yach, Brinchmann, Bellet page 2). Fortunately, the tobacco industry’s behavior is likely to change due to the increasing legal and societal pressures. Much legislation has been imposed to tobacco firms based on codes of behavior, different government strategies and litigations, especially after 1980 where anti-smoking groups reactions, led to higher restrictions throughout Europe. As long as behavior is concerned, Aristotle said, ‘ethics is a rough and ready business determined by ordinary practical men of common sense, not by inbred ascetic experts with their heads in a remote and austere world.’ (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders, Wong page 65). Therefore, ethics goes beyond any codes or regulations and are determined on moral, cultural, social and personal (according to personal judgment) principles. As a result, an individual can have personal, social, professional and organizational ethics which may be in conflict. As Machiavelli said, ‘thi...
