The Ways Cigarettes Contribute

The cigarette industry is a large enterprise, and the effects of its presence may be seen in many parts of the economy. When industry-sponsored analysts examine the contribution of tobacco to GNP, they focus only on items directly related to the manufacture and sale of tobacco products [6;23]. In contrast, health professionals emphasize the economic impact of diseases caused by smoking [12; 19]. There are also other goods and services which would not exist except for the cigarette industry. This paper presents an overview of all of these elements in an attempt to offer a comprehensive outline of the ways in which cigarettes contribute to the Gross National Product. A traditional view in economics has held that the Gross National Product should only measure productive output. However, it is often difficult to define production exactly. Certain goods and services may develop downstream from a given product which would not exist without that product. These goods and services might be essential to the use of the product, they might supplement the product but not be essential, or they might exist to repair the product or some consequence of its use. A given product might have decidedly negative consequences even when it is used as intended. Whether or not these downstream effects should be included in estimates of the contribution that particular industry makes to GNP depends on the extent to