The Deontologist's Perspective

Deontology
For deontologists, “ethics is focused on terms of duty and it follows from this, that some acts are moral obligations, not withstanding their series of consequences” (Somerville & Wood, 2008, p.146). The deontologist’s perspective is about doing what is right, with individual’s wellbeing as the primary and most important element of every single decision (Schlegelmilch, 2001). This golden rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” applies in this perspective. Deontologists argue that certain moral principles – known as natural law, for example honesty, promise keeping, fairness, loyalty, rights (to safety, justice, etc), responsibility, respect compassion and loyalty, are binding, irrespective of the consequences of
Deontology holds that an action is ethical if it is suitable to become a universal law (Ferrel et al., 2013). Deontology believes that certain (harmful) actions should not be undertaken, even to maximise utility. Moreover, it also emphasises that certain actions are inherently right and the determination of this rightness focuses on the individual actors, not on society (Ferrel et al., 2013). The cigarette is the only legally available product that, when used as directed, can harm or injure others (Snell, 2005). Nicotine, the most active ingredient in tobacco, has been found to be physiologically and psychologically addictive, in a similar way to heroin and cocaine (rather than shopping, or using the Internet). As a result of this addictive agent, the majority of smokers become strongly dependent on nicotine and find it difficult to quit cigarettes (Bates & Rowell, 1998). Seeing that tobacco is a very harmful product, deontologists may perceive any activity which encourages the use of tobacco to be morally wrong. In this respect, deontologists feel tobacco marketing is an unethical practice. Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are permitted in places like Indonesia with few
However, these types of advertisement messages can be perceived as deceptive as they do not endorse the danger of cigarettes to their audiences. For instance, in 2011 Sampoerna (owned by Phillip Morris International) used an advertising slogan “Dying is better than leaving a friend. Sampoerna is a cool friend”. This message implicitly suggests that dying is better than leaving (i.e. not smoking) Sampoerna cigarettes. In 2012 a TV advertisement for Dunhill Mild (owned by British American Tobacco) portrayed a male model spear-fishing before cooking up his catch with his fashionable friends while the voiceover declares it is “time to discover what fine taste is all about”. This advertisement implies and encourages the audience to discover “the fine taste” of 6 Dunhill Mild. More recently, in 2013 Indonesian tobacco giant PT Djarum (owned by British American Tobacco), promoted its popular brand of L.A. Lights cigarettes with the provocative slogan “DON‟T QUIT” and “Let‟s Do It!” (Tobacco-free kids 2013). These examples can be categorized as deceptive, because the advertisements glamorise the temporary pleasure customers get from smoking but say nothing about the products well-known