Japan Tobacco's first-half profit soars 17.9% JTの上半期利益17.9％アップ

It is obvious that cigarette is harmful to the health of a person who smokes it and who is with the smoker. After I lost my grand father due to the lung cancer my feeling against smoking got much stronger. He quit smoking long time ago but the harm was already done.

In China, known as a big market for the cigarette I see more people stopping smoking. The tobacco market will be smaller in the future and shall not grow big again. There will be fewer tobacco companies to enjoy the economy of the scale and also survive on the shrinking market. JT with its 50% ownership by the government has been protected but the government share could be smaller to finance the earthquake relief. JT will probably also buy more companies in the industry. Yen is strong so it may not be too far from now that it happens. JT sells beverages like Roots coffee( also as a former owner of the Burger King Japan) expanding its non-tobacco business.

I am hoping it will one day becomes a company free of the tobacco business. The marketing know-how in the company is fairly strong as it has been selling their products even the customers think it is "bad" to buy the products. Once it starts selling totally different products it can still grow utilising the long accumulated marketing know-how.

JTは早くタバコ事業から離れて別の事業をもっと大きくしていってほしい。健康に悪いものを長い間拡販してきたマーケティングノウハウは、別の製品をうっても生かせると思う。

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/japan-tobaccos-first-half-profit-soars-17-9