by Robert Weissman

About the author: Robert Weissman is the editor of Multinational Monitor, a monthly magazine that reports on the practices of multinational corporations.

Japanese multinational corporations may long ago have supplanted U.S. companies as the dominant economic power in Southeast Asia, but don’t tell that to U.S. cigarette manufacturers. Their involvement in Southeast Asia is only in its early stages and it is growing rapidly.

Capitalizing on the worldwide fascination with U.S. culture and mythology, U.S. tobacco companies are aggressively hawking their cigarettes in the economically fast-growing region as the embodiment of U.S. lifestyle.

“Taste Kansas”

“Winston. Spirit of the U.S.A.,” blared television commercials in the Philippines during telecasts of the U.S. professional...