The tobacco industry is big business, and it is flourishing. The industry has diversified, and tobacco companies now own food companies, pet food companies and coffee companies. Because of their diversification, the average shopper in the United States would have a hard time avoiding products owned by tobacco companies in his or her weekly groceries. Tobacco contains a highly addictive drug called nicotine.
Nicotine addiction creates a built-in incentive to buy more tobacco products.
Internal documents from the tobacco industry have revealed that the companies did extensive research on, and have long known about, the addictive properties of tobacco and its effects on the brain. The industry experimented with blends of tobacco for higher and lower nicotine content, devices that reduce a cigarette's tar level without affecting its nicotine level, and the addition of ammonia compounds that increase the delivery of nicotine to the smoker by raising the pH or alkalinity of the smoke. The industry has also experimented with food additives to make their product more addicting. Recent studies have concluded that from 77 percent to 92 percent of smokers are addicted to nicotine, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 75 percent of young regular users of smokeless tobacco are addicted as well. Tobacco use is a pediatric problem worldwide.