Analysis of a tobacco vector and its actions in china: the activities of japan tobacco

Smoking is a particular challenge for public health because unlike many other pathogens, this leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide continues to be actively promoted by large multinational corporations and governments. Previous writers have described the activities of the two largest transnational tobacco corporations (TTC) as summarized later. In this paper we report on the activities of Japan Tobacco (JT), the third largest TTC and one that, unlike Philip Morris (PM) and British American Tobacco (BAT), is largely owned and controlled by the Japanese government. We focus on JT's actions aimed at penetrating the Chinese market, the largest in the world and heavily dominated by another government tobacco monopoly, the China National Tobacco Company (CNTC).The domestic tobacco business of JT in Japan faces an increasingly tough environment, as overall demand declines and competition with other tobacco companies intensifies. Growth in demand for cigarettes in Japan began to slow in the mid-1970s as a result of several factors, including an aging population, growing health concerns and price increases [1].The proportion of smokers in Japan has been decreasing over the past 12 years. In 2007, smokers made up 26% of the adult population in Japan [2], down from 35.1% in 1996 and 32.9% in 2000 [3]. According to the smoking rate survey of Japan conducted in May 2008, 25.7% of Japanese adults smoke [4]. Besides, the 1987 suspension of import tariffs on cigarettes led to rapidly increased competition in JT's domestic tobacco market, which decreased JT's sales and market share. To combat the increased competitive pressures, JT has become more sophisticated and focused in their marketing efforts, transforming the company from a Japanese cigarette "manufacturer/distributor" to an International cigarette "manufacturer/marketer"[5,6]. One of its tobacco strategies is to "expand internationally into new markets to provide growth for the tobacco segment." Initially, "JT