Tobacco Advertising Essay

726 Words2 Pages

1. To discourage the young and old people from smoking and consuming tobacco products the government of India imposed a ban on all advertisements of tobacco products. One of the main reasons why cigarette advertising was banned in India was was due to the hazardous health issues arising from smoking tobacco. Tobacco was considered the most dangerous product consumed by humans. The website, http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/ban-tobacco-ads11.htm, states that, “According to world health organization tobacco accounted for over 3 million deaths in 1990, the figure rising to 4,023 million deaths in 1998, it was estimated that tobacco related deaths would rise to 8.4million in about 2030.” …show more content…

It was believed that consumers would not be able to distinguish between the low qualities of tobacco and highly refined ones. Which would eventually lead to a decrease in smoking harsh tobacco products. More refined tobacco would be to eliminate tobacco products entirely from their lives. Further research showed that banning of advertisement in smoking would only prove to work if they were properly put into effect, with a tobacco control policy.
2. The opposing ban on tobacco advertising argument to the ban on tobacco advertising argued that many people would lose their jobs as needs and wants for tobacco decreased. According to the article, the tobacco industry provided employment to 26 million people. Another important argument was that banning tobacco advertisements would not reduce the consumers’ consumption for cigarettes. This was because the ban did not take into account other markets of India. India had low graded tobacco products which were considered a ritual of tradition. Products such as beedi and ghutkas or even hookas were more common than cigarettes. For this reason the ban did not have its desired effect. The website http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/ban-tobacco-ads11.htm states …show more content…

So where do the governments draw the line.
3. The government of India is facing a conflict of interest where there is a moral and ethical dilemma of health and welfare of the general public. Especially the youth are getting addicted to tobacco products by enticements of ads of smoking- This addiction has led to Lung cancer, respiratory diseases resulting in death. There is also an increase in the cost of healthcare burdening the government. This issue is in direct conflict with the profits of tobacco companies. For these companies, supporters and sponsors of tobacco products, health issues are not important, profits come first at the expense of the people.
Another conflict of interest is , if the government had a right to impose their decisions on the people. Many companies in opposition to the ban government had no right to thread on the free will of the people. It was their choice to smoke or not. Each person should decide for themselves. The

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