The Ethics of Tobacco Advertisement
Katie Simer
Professor M. Harutunian
English 101 21 September 2011
The Ethics of Tobacco Advertising Can one limit what is advertised? Who is to say whether cigarette advertising is ethical? There have been many bans on tobacco advertising. There is a notion that advertising cigarettes is unethical because society has claimed it to be. Smoking has been one of the biggest parts of advertising for decades. Doctors would promote certain cigarettes. Many believed cigarette smoking to be a way to relieve the stress of a long and stressful day at work. Today, many people view smoking as a form of suicide. It is a well-known fact that many people die from diseases that are caused by smoking. It is unethical to advertise tobacco use because smoking is unhealthy and expensive, children pay attention to advertising, and tobacco advertising lies. Smoking can kill. “Every year 350,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses. Smoking is directly responsible for 85% of all deaths from lung cancer. The Surgeon General has declared smoking the chief avoidable cause of death in our society” (Andre and Velasquez 2). Cigarette smoke can cause the build up of tar in lungs. Nicotine that is found in cigarettes is highly addictive. Promoting a product that can kill is wrong. Tobacco advertising was banned from television in 1971. Unfortunately, the tobacco industry did not hurt from the ban. Marlboro came out virtually unscathed. Their incredible print advertisements with “[…] the image of cowboys smoking cigarettes retained its power and sales continued to grow for Marlboro” (Carlson and Luhrs 2). This is an addiction that is not cheap. Cigarettes continue to become more and more expensive. Taxes on cigarettes are through the roof. The taxing will continue to increase until people eventually stop buying cigarettes. “The CDC said Tuesday that the smoking rate in adults declined from 20.9% in 2005 to 19.3% in 2010 but called for higher prices of tobacco
Professor M. Harutunian
English 101 21 September 2011
The Ethics of Tobacco Advertising Can one limit what is advertised? Who is to say whether cigarette advertising is ethical? There have been many bans on tobacco advertising. There is a notion that advertising cigarettes is unethical because society has claimed it to be. Smoking has been one of the biggest parts of advertising for decades. Doctors would promote certain cigarettes. Many believed cigarette smoking to be a way to relieve the stress of a long and stressful day at work. Today, many people view smoking as a form of suicide. It is a well-known fact that many people die from diseases that are caused by smoking. It is unethical to advertise tobacco use because smoking is unhealthy and expensive, children pay attention to advertising, and tobacco advertising lies. Smoking can kill. “Every year 350,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses. Smoking is directly responsible for 85% of all deaths from lung cancer. The Surgeon General has declared smoking the chief avoidable cause of death in our society” (Andre and Velasquez 2). Cigarette smoke can cause the build up of tar in lungs. Nicotine that is found in cigarettes is highly addictive. Promoting a product that can kill is wrong. Tobacco advertising was banned from television in 1971. Unfortunately, the tobacco industry did not hurt from the ban. Marlboro came out virtually unscathed. Their incredible print advertisements with “[…] the image of cowboys smoking cigarettes retained its power and sales continued to grow for Marlboro” (Carlson and Luhrs 2). This is an addiction that is not cheap. Cigarettes continue to become more and more expensive. Taxes on cigarettes are through the roof. The taxing will continue to increase until people eventually stop buying cigarettes. “The CDC said Tuesday that the smoking rate in adults declined from 20.9% in 2005 to 19.3% in 2010 but called for higher prices of tobacco
Cited: Andre, Claire, and Manuel Velasquez. "Morality and Marketing the Marlboro Man." Santa Clara University. Santa Clara University. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v1n4/marlboro.html>. Carlson, Michael, and Chris Luhrs. The Ethics of Tobacco Marketing. Rep. Ethica Publishing. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://www.ethicapublishing.com/confronting/5CH9.pdf>. "How Does Tobacco Use Affect the Economy?" American Cancer Society: Information and Resources for Cancer: Breast, Colon, Prostate, Lung and Other Forms. American Cancer Society, 27 June 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/TobaccoCancer/QuestionsaboutSmokingTobaccoandHealth/questions-about-smoking-tobacco-and-health-tob-and-economy>. "Medical Daily: CDC Urges Increase Price of Tobacco Products." Medical Daily : Daily Medical News and Health News. Medical Daily, 6 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://www.medicaldaily.com/news/20110906/7112/smoking-usa-tobacco-prices.htm>.