| Conscientious Consuming™
The Boycott Against Tobacco Companies |
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| The Boycott of Tobacco Companies: |
Actions Against Tobacco CompaniesBoycott of all Products Produced by Tobacco CompaniesAs a non-smoker you can choose to not support tobacco companies (and their actions) by not buying their tobacco products. But a conscientious consumer should know that many tobacco companies also have non-tobacco products. It can easily be seen that by purchasing these non-tobacco products your are supporting the tobacco companies and contributing to there ability to promote there tobacco agenda – addicting children to smoking, exporting tobacco addiction to other countries, etc. Each dollar they make, regardless of the source, comes as a direct expense of someone’s health and life. Disinvest in Tobacco CompaniesIf you choose not to support tobacco companies by not purchasing their products, you probably don’t want to support them as an investor either. As an investor, you are a shareholder and owner. As an owner the tobacco company represents you when they sell tobacco and destroy people’s health and life. If you purchase individual stocks its very easy to avoid tobacco stocks. See ………. for a list of tobacco companies. If you invest in mutual funds there are certain companies the have tobacco-free mutual funds. If you want to see if your mutual funds invest in tobacco companies there are a number of ways to check. On of the easiest ways to do this is from Yahoo’s investment site. Enter the mutual symbol and look at its “Profile.” Many of the profiles include a link to “Holdings” which will list out the funds major holdings. This isn’t a complete list of all the fund’s holdings and these holdings could change at any time, but it’s a quick way to check. A more complete list can be obtained from the mutual fund company or at their web site. Look for the Annual or Semi-Annual Reports. If you choose to divest in a mutual fund because it does invest in tobacco companies, be sure to let the mutual fund company know why you are selling your shares. Boycott Tobacco Promoters/BeneficiariesJust as it makes sense not to support tobacco companies, it also makes sense not to support those who promote or benefit from tobacco. Some celebrities promote tobacco products outside the U.S. and other celebrities promote non-tobacco products of tobacco companies. Bill Cosby sells Jello (owned by Philip Morris) and Michael Jordan and Grant Hill endorse Wilson Sporting Goods (owned by Finland’s largest tobacco company, Amer Group PLC). Whether celebrities promote tobacco or non-tobacco products for tobacco companies, their actions benefit tobacco companies. Certainly the boycott of tobacco-profiting celebrities and their entertainment products is a reasonable measure. Support the Halt of Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and SponsorshipWhile tobacco ads are no longer seen on television, they are seen and heard in many other types of media. Conscientious Consumers should boycott all newspapers, magazines, or other types of media that advertise tobacco products. Is the newspaper or magazine owner who allows tobacco advertisements any less immoral than the tobacco company itself? They both profit from the sale of tobacco. Tobacco companies also sponsors many entertainment activities including music concerts and sporting events. Tobacco companies see such sponsorship as advertising and in the case of sporting events, a great way to impress the youth. Whether the sponsorship comes in the form of a donation to an organization or in the form of sponsoring a specific event, the organization must understand that they are giving the tobacco companies access to their people. A Conscientious Consumer should boycott such organizations and events. Keeping in mind that boycotts are most effective when the targeted company is informed exactly why the boycott is occurring. Making Tobacco Retailers AccountableIt’s easy to avoid doing business with tobacco shops. However it’s impossible to do business only with companies that don’t. Most grocery stores and gas stations sell tobacco products and it very difficult to avoid these businesses. However, when at a retail business you can be an active consumer. You can encourage employees to check ID’s of youthful tobacco purchasers, make sure that tobacco products are not openly displayed, and encourage businesses to be responsible tobacco retailers. If the business managers or owners are unresponsive to you concerns, contact your local law enforcement organization. |
For a listing of
non-tobacco products that are produced by tobacco companies see:
Check on Your
Investments: Social Investment
Resources:
Web
sites that list celebrities that smoke and movies that feature smoking: The Art of Smoking in
Cinema Sylvester
Stallone proposed to feature Brown & Williamson tobacco products in
five films for $500,000.
Lists of Newspapers and
Magazines That Don’t accept Tobacco Ads: Arts and Sports
Sponsorship: |
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The Conscientious Consumer's Response Responding Action Against Tobacco Companies The Right Way to Boycott Tobacco Tobacco Companies and Their Non-Tobacco Products Return to Conscientious Consuming Home Page
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