The focus of the paper is going to be the tobacco industry. It is worth billions of dollars in annual revenue in annual income. The industry has also brought both direct and indirect employment to millions of people. The tobacco farmers, transporters and employees of the companies among others all get their means of survival from the income of the industry (Institute of Medicine, 2012).

. The industries also get the government revenue annually. In spite of all these seemingly positive attributes of the industry, the companies get vilified over the health issues associated with tobacco consumption. It is rightly so considering the irreparable danger that tobacco consumption causes to the users.

The use of tobacco causes millions of death annually. Tobacco related diseases such as cancer are also a great burden to the health sectors of the various countries that struggle to treat such patients. Statistics indicate that by the year 2100, there will have been a billion tobacco related deaths. Half of those deaths will come to those in their middle ages. In addressing the issue, it is important to consider both the pros and cons of the industry (Institute of Medicine, 2012).

Death to a productive segment of the population is such a huge setback to the economy of any nation. The industries will have to go through the process of recruiting new employees who may never be as productive as the deceased ones. There also exist the social aspects of both the disease and deaths. Families have to go through mental and emotional anguish in many cases, of departing bread winners due to the tobacco related complications. The cases are more severe in developing countries where the social security insurance may not be available to care for the dependants.

The economic aspect on the healthcare facilities is another aspect of the consideration. There is undue strain on the medical practitioners caring for the patients and other victims of tobacco related complications. Tobacco remains the world’s leading cause of preventable deaths.

In the face of all these, there has been an increase in the consumption of tobacco. Tobacco companies such as Marlboro and British American Tobacco continue to advertise aggressively to increase the consumption of tobacco. The organizations have also exploited the legal and commercial loopholes to encourage the purchase of their products. Tobacco multinationals use trade liberalization treaties to ensure that they get to new markets and get more people on the drug. The addictive nature of nicotine makes it hard for the users to abandon the habit. The biggest public relation activity for these companies is the billions that they give in social work (Institute of Medicine, 2012). They channel these funds towards charitable causes such as education, health and governance among others. These companies rarely want to take the blame for the health impacts of tobacco consumption. There have been arguments that statistics implicating them are erroneous and unreliable. The best means to be socially responsible is to take care of the health disasters that result from the consumption of tobacco.

Governments around the world remain obligated to guard the health of their citizens. They have to do this without the fear of losing the revenue they get from these companies. Indeed capitalism must have some regards to the health of the public. The consumption of cigarettes by young people makes the situation more serious (World, H. O. 2012). There have to be tighter regulation against the freedom of advertisement that the companies enjoy in the media. The information that they give to the public must contain more explicit warning on the health effects of consuming tobacco. Governments need to ensure there is more controlled access to the tobacco products by the public. Such strict measures will make the companies consider diversifying and engaging in better businesses.