Call for a Blanket Ban on the Sale and Marketing of Cigarettes in the US - Essay Example

of the of the Concerned English 15 November Call for a Blanket Ban on the Sale and Marketing of Cigarettes in the US Human civilization has indeed come a long way in its quest for survival. They way humans approached health issues today are indeed very different from the way things happened to be at the dawn of industrialization. The wheel of progress has indeed left the values affiliated to the industrial economy and mindset far behind and the things have progressed into the realm of information age. The things, habits and consumption patterns which were earlier taken for granted is today appearing in a new light with the information being furnished by the research and development in the field of medicine. People in the developed world and especially in the United States of America today approach the concept of health with an enhanced dedication and commitment. The food habits, lifestyles orientations and nutritional preferences are indeed altering in consonance with the guidelines and information available regarding health and healthcare. People today well understand that choosing a healthy lifestyle not only adds to the longevity, but also enables a person to be more productive and positive. However, relinquishing bad habits and making new choices does not seem easy when one intrudes into the area of addictive substances like tobacco. Moreover, the consumption of addictive substances like tobacco being legally valid and acceptable, most of the times people fail to realize that are the victims of a vicious addiction, which has the potential to take their life and to make them seriously sick. Considering this fact, the Federal Government should out with a law envisaging a pan-American ban on the sale and marketing of cigarettes and other tobacco products so as to reduce the healthcare costs, to save human lives and eventually to give way to a healthy and progressive society. The proposal for the coming into existence of such a law is not merely an emotive appeal, but is as much based on the existing data and information regarding the health implications of smoking. It goes without saying that to call for a blanket ban by the Federal government; it would be really pragmatic and reasonable to cull out the data from the existing government institutions and organizations regarding the mortality potential of smoking. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined (Online).” Also, smoking tobacco in any form are it cigarettes, cigars or pipe, has been found to considerably enhance the chance of dying from cancers of larynx, oral cavity, esophagus and lungs (CDC: Online). Cigarette smoking is responsible for one in every five deaths in the United States of America (CDC: Online). Cigarette smoking claims 443,000 lives every ear out of which 49,000 deaths are attributed to exposure to second hand smoke (CDC: Online). Men smoking cigarettes are 10 times more likely to die of bronchitis and emphysema and are 22 times more vulnerable to lung cancer (CDC: Online). The magnitude of the loss to human resources in the United States of America by cigarette smoking gets amply clear when one considers the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s claims that, “An estimated 46 million people, or 20.6 percent of all adults (aged 18 years and older), in the United States smoke cigarettes (Online).” Considering these figures one could also estimate the burden on the national and local healthcare systems that could be traced directly to cigarette smoking. So, when the government bodies are themselves aware of the health consequences of cigarette smoking on the nation’s population, considering the statistics provided by them, the Federal government should not have a problem or excuse regarding coming out with a blanket ban on the sale and marketing of cigarettes. In the contemporary information age, impacting public choices is essentially about creating the right perceptions. In any country or nation it is the government and the law enforcement agencies that are primarily responsible for preventing the sale and usage of addictive substances. Considering the fact that tobacco is as addictive as any other narcotic like heroine, the Federal Government’s current stance of allowing for the sale and marketing of cigarettes in the United States of America is giving way to faulty perceptions, which are directly responsible for a high smoking rate. The fact is that tobacco does qualify to be labeled as a narcotic. Again it would be more pragmatic and appropriate to cite some government aided body of opinion to bring home this point. According to a letter by Nora D. Volkow, the Director of the National Institute on Drug abuse, “Nicotine, a component of tobacco, is the primary reason that tobacco is addictive, although cigarette smoke contains many other dangerous chemicals, including tar, carbon monoxide, acetaldehyde, nitrosamines, and more (Online).” The same letter also mentions that like any other drug or narcotic, tobacco smoking can impact the brain functions (Volkow: Online). Now, as per the information provided by the leading government agencies associated with drug abuse, tobacco practically qualifies to be called a narcotic, one simply fails to understand as to why since the past many decades, Federal Government has been pursuing an indirect approach towards tobacco abuse. The government agencies and medical bodies of opinion tell people to quit smoking because it is injurious to health rather than mentioning that tobacco is a narcotic that has an immense addictive potential. The Federal Governments approach towards other narcotics like cocaine, heroin and LSD is very direct and their exist laws that legally ban the sale and consumption of these drugs. One simply fails to understand that why the Federal Government can’t do the same in the case of tobacco products like cigarettes. This one step forward and two steps backwards Federal stance on the sale and marketing of cigarettes is grossly vitiating the public perceptions. People are told that cigarette smoking is injurious to health, however they still many a time fail to quit because it is a known psychological fact that people seldom promptly respond to a risk imminent in the long run. In contrast, if the Federal Government takes a more direct stance on tobacco by banning the sale and marketing of tobacco products like cigarettes, it will bring in a sense of urgency to the public perceptions about smoking. People will realize in the present the health risks associated with tobacco and will desist from getting involved in tobacco abuse, So, one primary impact of a Federal ban on the sale and marketing of cigarettes in the United States of America will be that it will allow people a reality check in a present context, forcing them to be more responsible with the smoking related choices they make in their life. The other great impact of a pan-America Federal ban on the sale and marketing of cigarettes will be that “it will serve as a direct deterrent against the sale and consumption of tobacco products (Gostin 14).” The issue of the narcotic status of tobacco and the immense negative health potential of smoking is not something new in the American socio-political life. However, the tobacco companies operating in the United States of America so far had been successfully able to circumvent the issue, courtesy the immense lobbying potential and say they have in the national and state politics and the commensurate dilly dallying approach of the Federal and State governments towards the sale and marketing of cigarettes of other tobacco products. In that context a complete and unexceptional ban on the sale and marketing of tobacco products in the United States will act as a final blow to this controversy. Once the sale and marketing of cigarettes and other tobacco products is banned, it will automatically make any person or organization selling cigarettes to be a common criminal entity. Besides, there is no denying the fact that a significant proportion of the smokers in the country happen to be law abiding citizens. So, once the sale and marketing of cigarettes is made illegal, a large proportion of the smokers will desist from smoking as doing so will deem to be illegal. Some experts say that banning the sale of cigarettes will give way to a black market as in the case of other drugs. Even if it is true, this will again serve the cause in the sense that the exorbitant prices charged by the black marketers will discourage many people from smoking. It goes without saying that today there stands no doubt as to the drastic health impact and the addictive potential of cigarettes. Reports and data furnished by many government agencies amply testify to this fact. So now is the time that the Federal Government takes a direct stance on smoking by banning the sale and marketing of cigarettes. This will not only redefine the public perceptions regarding smoking, but will also serve as a legal deterrent against the sale and consumption of tobacco products like cigarettes. The public bodies, medical community and health activists also need to place an enhanced pressure on the Federal and State governments to make possible the conception of such an epoch making law. References Gostin, Lawrence O. Public Health, Law and Ethics. Berkley: University of California Press, 2002. “Smoking and Tobacco Use, Data and Statistics”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . 2010. CDC. 15 November 2011. Volkow, . Volkow, Nora D. “Tobacco Addiction”. National Institute of Drug Abuse. 2009. 15 November 2011. . Read More