Introduction
Tobacco products are very addictive and highly used, even though considered very harmful to human beings. Over the past thirty years, the level of consumption of tobacco products, its production, and trade increased rapidly. The rate has, however, slowed in the last ten years. The decline in production and consumption has been experienced more in developed countries as compared to developing countries.
It can be easily assumed that the reason for this is that developed countries have more technology and techniques and funding to reduce the rate of consumption of tobacco, unlike developing countries which are still struggling with a lot of problems such as poverty and they have no funds or techniques to reduce the rate of consumption. The world trends of consumption of tobacco and its products have been determined by China (Stratton 56). This is because of its large production and consumption levels in the world
Thesis
This paper will examine in detail the different opinions and ideas of different authors on the fluctuations of cigarette consumption in the last thirty years. The period that will be focused on is the years between 1970 and 2000. The paper will deeply examine the difference in opinions and the similarities of opinions of several authors on the issue. The paper will first examine the trends in the consumption of tobacco leaf, cigarettes, and other tobacco products.
The paper will also look at the difference in fluctuations in both developed countries and in developing countries. The paper will also examine the changes in trends of consumption of unmanufactured tobacco. The trends in cigarette manufacture and tobacco leaf usage and the types of tobacco produced will also be examined in the paper.
The consumption of tobacco products, such as cigarettes, has been increasing rapidly around the world. However, there have been several divergent patterns of consumption. In developed countries, there is a very high consumption per capita even though the rate is declining, while in developing countries, there is low per capita consumption, but the trends are increasing (Selvanathan 56).
John has a difference of opinions, and he believes that per capita consumption should be used to determine the trends and rates of consumption rather than the general consumption rate. Household consumption should be used to determine the rate of and trends in consumption. (Mosby, 78). The rate of tobacco consumption in the period being examined was twice that of the last decade. The rate of consumption went up by 7.4 million tonnes from 1970 to 2000 (United States Congress house 34).
The main factors that have led to increased consumption in developing countries are the high population in these countries and the growth in income per household and national income. The high-income growth and high-income elasticity has led to increased purchasing power and has boosted the consumption of tobacco products in developing countries such as China and India (Marsh 126).
The share of developing countries in the world consumption patterns and trends has also increased because of the increase in consumption in those countries. Most of the growth in consumption of tobacco should be attributed to China (United States Congress House 67). There is a similarity in opinion between Marsh and United States Congress House because they both agree that China has a strong influence on the trends of consumption of tobacco and its products.
They believe that China has large worldwide demand of tobacco and its products. There will be little change in the world market of tobacco in the future (Stratton 213). Stratton has a difference of opinion on the influence of China on the worldwide consumption of tobacco. He believes that China is now operating a closed tobacco economy and therefore there will be little influence felt from China in the world market
Major trends in world tobacco consumption
The consumption of the tobacco in the world increased from 2.4 million in 1970 to 7.4 million tones in 2000 as earlier stated by United States House of congress. The developing countries all over the world consume a very high level of tobacco at over seventy percent of the total world consumption. That makes about 5.3 tones. There have been divergent trends over that period in consumption of tobacco in both developing and developing countries.
The consumption declined from 2.3 million tones in 1970 to 2.1 million tones in 2000 in the developed countries while it increased from 2.1 million tones in 1970 to 5.3 tones in 2000 (Marsh 154). Jonathan also agrees that China has a large impact on the increase in consumption of tobacco. China’s consumption increased from 0.7 million tones in 1970 to 2.6 million tones in 2000 (United States Congress House 78).
In developed countries the consumption rates declined over the period by five percent. This shows that the consumption is declining rapidly because of the growth in population. The decline is mostly seen in North America where consumption declined rapidly at the rate of 1.3 percent (United States Congress House 79). In developing countries however it is increasing
Consumption of cigarettes
Tobacco is generally consumed worldwide but the consumption of its products varies with different regions. This is because different regions have different practices. The most prevalent consumption of tobacco is cigarettes. The cigarettes consumed involve manufactured cigarettes and hand made cigarettes such as rolled bidis. South Asia is the region that consumes the highest amount of cigarettes at 85 percent of the world consumption (Mosby 187).
The world cigarette consumption increased from 3 million tones in 1970 to 5.3 million tones in 2000 (Stratton 211).These statistics are confirmed by Jonathan. He states that the consumption increased by two percent in that period annually. There are however differences in the consumption of cigarettes in developing and developed countries even though the consumption in both countries increased during that period. The difference is that the increase in developing countries was more than the increase in developed countries. The differences can be attributed to the differences in population and growth of income
Conclusion
The trends in consumption have been highly affected by the level of population and the growth of income. The levels have also been different in developing countries and developed countries. The statistics have proven that the rates of consumption have been increasing in the last thirty years even though in the last ten years it has declined. It is clear tat the factors in developing countries such as large populations have led to the increased consumption of tobacco in those countries
Works Cited
Marsh, Richmond. The Economic world. Michigan: University of Michigan. 2011. Print.
Mosby, Victor. Journal of chronic diseases. Cornell University. 2009. Print.
Selvanathan, Antony. The demand for alcohol, tobacco and marijuana: international evidence. New York: Ash gate. 2005. Print.
Stratton, Kathleen. Ending the tobacco problem: a blueprint for the nation. New York: National Academics Press. 2007. Print.
United States Congress House. Hearings. United States. University of Michigan. 2009. Web.