Noy Thrupkaew

Declining profits due to tobacco lawsuits in the United States lawsuits and antismoking campaigns have prompted U.S. tobacco companies to look to women in developing nations as a new market, Noy Thrupkaew argues in the following viewpoint. Thrupkaew maintains that Asian women in particular, who usually smoke far less than Asian men, represent an untapped market. Cigarette advertising directed at women in developing countries encourage women to see smoking as a way to exert their independence, Thrupkaew asserts. Noy Thrupkaew is a freelance writer based in the Washington, D.C. area.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to the author, how much have Philip Morris’s overseas profits increased in the last ten years?
2. What are the five top cigarette markets worldwide, in Thrupkaew’s...