Tobacco industry generates highest net income per employee

One reason for this is because the Tobacco industry benefits enormously from manufacturing economies of scale. Take for example Reynolds American&#x27;s (mentioned in the article) largest manufacturing facility in Tobaccoville, near their HQ in Winston-Salem. The Tobaccoville plant is capable of producing 110 billion cigarettes a year¹, and employs just ~1,200 people².<p>Let&#x27;s say the average revenue per cigarette pack is $5, and there are 20 cigarettes in a pack. That works out to $0.25 revenue per cigarette. The Reynolds Tobaccoville plant is capable of producing $27.5 billion in revenue alone ($0.25 x 110 billion), for a labor cost of roughly 90 million (1,200 x $75,000).<p>1. <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;1987&#x2F;08&#x2F;23&#x2F;business&#x2F;what-s-new-in-tobacco-in-tiny-tobaccoville-a-giant-plant.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;1987&#x2F;08&#x2F;23&#x2F;business&#x2F;what-s-new-in-tob...</a> 2. <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.journalnow.com&#x2F;business&#x2F;business_news&#x2F;local&#x2F;update-reynolds-to-create-jobs-in-tobaccoville-to-expand-vuse&#x2F;article_cc60b98c-e283-11e3-ac51-001a4bcf6878.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.journalnow.com&#x2F;business&#x2F;business_news&#x2F;local&#x2F;updat...</a>

It&#x27;s a shame and a terrible irony that one of the most successful industries on our planet is also one of the leading causes of deaths on Earth.

Sure. Imagine how much income the crack industry would produce if they didn&#x27;t have to waste so much labor avoiding law enforcement.

I would be interested in more summary statistics rather than just mean (NIPE), particularly median. What story is actually being told by this data, that tobacco growth and sales are highly automated and they employ relatively few people, or that execs are disproportionately compensated relative to other industries, or what?

I used to work for Brown &amp; Williamson Tobacco (though I did not receive my $608k per year), and I can absolutely attest that their profits are not as the author suggests &quot;return on talent&quot;. I worked at corporate HQ, which is probably very different from the factories where the cigarettes were actually made. The vast majority of people spent the vast majority of their time looking for work to do, because we quite literally had nothing to do. We had something like 20 corporate holidays, plus many other &quot;bonus&quot; holidays announced a day or two ahead of time, and many half-days. One story goes that the CEO was talking to someone about our building and someone on the street asked her &quot;How many people work in that building&quot;, and her response was &quot;Oh, about half&quot;.

A pack of cigarettes is about 20 gram, or about 2&#x2F;3 of an ounce. So tobacco used to make a pack, is not free, but pretty close to it. Factories cost money but after the initial investment, they mint cash...<p>I&#x27;m almost certain that Marlboro would sell you a gazillion packs for around $1 each on the black market---complete with e Vegas trip and hookers--if they could. Smuggling, to avoid taxes, was a huge business a while back when getting away with it was much easier.<p>Taxes and advertising cost a lot.

160kμSv? Why? <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0</a><p>Without the combustion and rads is nicotine interesting on it&#x27;s own?

And highest externalities too?

Who would have guessed that addiction sells.

Excellent news for Legal Cannabis.

Tabacco - average of $609k per employee<p>Oil, Gas, &amp; Consumable fuels - average of $421k per employee<p>I think top 5 public software companies (GOOG, MSFT, FB, AMZN, AAPL) averages more than Tabacco.