Why It Is Important to Criminalize Possession of Cigarettes Research Paper

Why It Is Important to Criminalize Possession of Cigarettes - Research Paper Example Cigarettes were mass produced and advertisements were set up in every city. Cigarettes became incredibly popular. For much of this time, and certainly, in the late 20th century, cigarette companies became aware that their product was extremely dangerous and was causing cancer. They hid these facts from everyone. At the same time, independent medical practitioners were saying the same thing based on experience with their patients. It did not take a rocket scientist to realize that people could die from smoke inhalation. And yet the cigarette companies kept selling their products and deceiving the public. Cigarettes should have been banned then and there. Politicians should have stepped up to the plate for the Average Joe who w was suffering from cancer. Unfortunately, nothing happened. It is quite sad to see that the government has taken very little interest in an issue that has such a strong and clear ethical dimension. We elect our leader to stand up for what we believe is right. Ho wever, the American government was more interested in throwing people in prison for smoking marijuana than they were for arresting cigarettes executives who had perpetrated a massive, deadly fraud on the American people. This was truly shameful. But it is not too late to change things. Cigarettes should be banned. They are a severe poison and they should not be permitted to be sold in the marketplace. No government should permit companies to poison its people; even less so should companies be allowed to lie to both citizens and the government. Unfortunately, the facts on this matter speak for themselves. Even the scientists hired by these companies indicate that they have lied to the public and to the government about what is really in their product. As one recent news report put it: cigarette scientists had been altering their findings to hide the toxicity of their product: They also found, after obtaining evidence that additives increased toxicity, that tobacco scientists adjusted the protocol for presenting their results in a way that obscured these increases.