Smoking is a well-known subject of interest in public debate. The political struggle versus smoking has lead to several victories of the anti-smoking front; several countries in Europe are completely smoke-free and some have bans on smoking in workplaces and public places such as restaurants and bars. Now let us zoom into the United Kingdom, which has the latter form of a smoking ban. It soon will also prohibit the display of tobacco products at the point of sale in for instance supermarkets.
Why did the United Kingdom government install this new form of legislation? The answer may strike you as unlikely, but it encourages young people to smoke as it creates a perception that tobacco is easily obtainable. Also, ex-smokers and people who try to quit are vulnerable to such displays.
From a utilitarian perspective, I believe installing the smoking ban will maximize utility. Smoking has a detrimental effect on health. It is a cause for several lung and heart diseases, the most infamous of them lung cancer. This affects utility in two ways; economically and emotionally. Diseases such as lung cancer demand intensive and thus expensive treatment and are often devastating to those close to the ill. The expensive treatment, in turn, leads to higher health care costs which reflects in higher taxes or higher insurance fees. This leads to more disutility, as the spendable income of the population decreases.
I strongly believe this utility outweighs that of the tobacco industry and those who are paid to display adverts. I do not think that the companies will suffer so much as to be forced to file bankruptcy. In addition, I feel that lay-offs and wage reductions can never outweigh the suffering of those having to with smoke-related diseases.
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To ban smoking advertisements is in my opinion going a bit too far.
I think that this will lead to a suffering smoking market (reduction of jobs and companies) and maybe towards illegal advertisement because it’s forbidden.
By accepting the law of not smoking in public buildings the law made already their statement towards companies.
In my opinion I think that advertising cigarettes, etc must be possible, but under strict rules. Because otherwise we can go on towards the liquor industry. And in this way we will destroy not only the cigarette industry but also industries which are connected with the cigarette industry. Like race teams and farmers and that will cause harm to the economy.
They can better use their effort and time to inform people about the dangerous of cigarettes and re-write regulations towards treatment and insurance policies and – costs to prevent that everybody will smoke.
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