Introduction:
Advertising is a tricky industry. It is possible to convince people on doing anything, no matter how harmful it is for themselves and their surroundings. Human nature contradicts with right and wrong in decision making, as there are no certainty to what is right and what is wrong. Most likely, it depends on one’s culture and perspective. In early 2001, Government of India announced a bill that would ban tobacco advertisements in the country.
This written assignment will focus on summarizing the points in favor as well as against the ban on tobacco advertising in India. Also there will be a discussion on the conflict of interest and my own opinion on what I expect from the Government pertaining to tobacco advertising as a responsible citizen.
Arguments in favor of the ban:
It is easy to argue in favor of things that will clearly improve the standard of living of ordinary citizens. Some notable arguments placed in favor of the ban are as follows:
1. Concerns related to public health: Smoking is injurious to health and advertising helps to promote this habit in young adults.
2. Increase in employment: Contrary to the popular belief, a study (SSA, 1997) showed that reduction in smoking leads to the circulation of money in more labor intensive sections of the society
3. Reduction in Consumption: World Bank (1999) report showed that there was a steep decrease in consumption with a ban on advertisement of tobacco products. There were also evidences that the demand for tobacco products eventually reduced with less advertisements.
Arguments opposing the ban:
As it is hard to think of arguing against a ban which would support better habits among kids, there were several of them in place. One good way to understand this is to l...
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...es of India article (2004), a WHO statement points out that “poor households spend 4 to 5 percent of their disposable income on tobacco products”. The money spent can definitely be better directed towards other needs. It is important to note that the advertising had a great impact on young adults and first time smokers. By inhibiting the urge at an early age will lead to the growth of a responsible society.
Works Cited
Roy, Bhaskar. Tobacco advertising ban from May1. Times of India. Feb15, 2004. Retrieved from the webpage on 5/7/2014 : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Tobacco-advertising-ban-from-May-1/articleshow/497418.cms
SSA (Society for the Study of Addiction to Alcohol and Other Drugs), London, Press release, 20 November 1997.
World Bank Curbing the Epidemic: Governments and the Economics of Tobacco
Control, 1999 The World Bank, Washington D.C.
Tobacco companies should be prevented from using advertising tactics that target teenagers. There has always been controversy as to how tobacco companies should prevent using advertising tactics to target teenagers. As controversial as this is tobacco companies shouldn’t advertise teen smoking. Many teens may be lured to believe cigarette advertising because it has been part of the American Culture for years, magazine ads and the media target young people, and these companies receive a drastic increase financially; however, the advertising by these cigarette companies has disadvantages such as having to campaign against their own company, limiting their cigarette advertising and becoming a controversial dilemma as to encouraging teenagers to smoke. From billboards to newspaper advertisements, cigarette promotions started becoming part of the American Culture.
Tobacco companies have relied on the media to lure children. They quickly realized that ‘the company that dominates is that which most effectively targets young”(Imperial Tobacco document.) To counteract the idea of disease and other negative aspects of tobacco, the industry used imagery in the media such as natural settings and healthy actors doing active things. This helps them to insinuate that smoking leads to success, romance, sophistication and other advancements in their lifestyle, which was easily imprinted in the minds of children. A document found among Imperial tobacco files described their priority: “…having our imagery reach those non-reading young people who frequent malls should be our chief goal.”(1.170) Unaware of how important the under 18 market was to the industry, the government could only attempt to lengthen the distance between schools and billboards because they’re ineffective attempts were ignored by the large corporations. With many billboards concentrated in small areas it put the idea in children’s minds that smoking was socially acceptable and that t...
Since realizing smoking is associated to many health problems such as cancer, many advertisements are designed purposely to the end cigarette smoking. An estimated 40 million adults in the United States currently smoke cigarettes. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States (CDC, 2016). Nowadays we are more conscious about how terrible smoking is for our health. Smoking cigarettes can be one of the most destructive things you can do to your body and yet millions of people around the world continue to do so. Anti-smoking ads fight the cancerous substance and hope to transform the minds of many or even the lives of many. It has become frequent in many advertisements to see the damage that smoking causes to someone and to others due to secondhand contact.
Cigarette advertisements reflect society’s love-hate relationship with tobacco products through the ages. During its heyday of popularity, cigarette advertisements were not governed in any way, allowing tobacco companies to use any means necessary to sell their products including advertising during popular children’s television shows. This practice came under scrutiny around 1964 when the Surgeon General released its first report on “smoking and health.” This report stated that smoking may be hazardous to your health. Soon to follow the release of this report was a ban on all cigarette advertisements on television and radio.
Thank you for smoking, it’s what big companies like Marlboro and Camel want to let us know, and keep smoking. Tobacco has been around for thousand of years, but today’s cigarettes contain many harmful and poisonous toxins. Yet, its simple: Tobacco smoking kills, reduces economic productivity, and strengthens poverty. But lets be frank, everyone’s aware of these issues already, everyone’s out to get cigarette companies; however, there’s a bigger problem. What happens when cigarette companies target today’s children?
Furthermore, since young children have been introduced and exposed to tobacco advertising, children younger than the age o...
The Surgeon General reports evidence between marketing and and initiation of tobacco among youths. Ads have become the onset of
It can be questioned if cigarette advertising actually does have an impact on demand for cigarettes. A study titled “A Simultaneous Model of Cigarette Advertising: Effects on Demand and Industry Response to Public Policy”, by Barry J. Seldon and Khosrow Doroodian, a mathematical model was used, and it was found that “the estimated demand coefficients [they had found] suggest that advertising increases cigarette consumption and health warning reduce aggregate demand for cigarettes” (Seldon & Doroodian 675). This not only demonstrates how the graphic warning are effective as stated previous, but also that the advertising that is out in the general public’s will have an impact on the economic demand of cigarettes. Because of the major advertising bans, and the evidence found in this study, it can be concluded that demand for cigarettes is thus reduced with a reduction in advertisements. Although tobacco companies are spending more in today’s society on advertisements (Qi 246), they are less prevalent and less found in the general public because of strict regulations that have been put in place. Seldon and Doroodian state that their results “imply that the government could decrease demand by banning all forms of advertisement”, but they go on to stating that “such a ban would not eliminate smoking due to habit persistence and the “advertising” that occurs when individuals see
Cigarette advertisements give the feeling that smokers are "bursting at the seams with joy" and that smoking is useful to you. Shockingly, nothing could be further from reality. The U.S. government has marked cigarettes as an unsafe medication that causes lung malignancy, coronary illness, and numerous different genuine sicknesses and conditions. Numerous individuals everywhere throughout the nation are discussing whether tobacco organizations ought to be permitted to publicize cigarettes or even to make cigarettes in today 's general public ("Analyzing Assorted Tobacco Advertisements").
One way that the tobacco industry can be more ethical is changing their advertising strategy. I believe that today’s advertising strategy is very misleading about cigarettes. Examples of this unethical advertising is in Argentina, here 20 percent of television advertising is spent on smoking commercials, as well as in countries in and around Africa there are billboards that depict a man in a business suit stepping out of a black Mercedes as a chauffeur holds the door. This displays that cigarettes make people classy and sophisticated, making cigarettes look not only harmless but stylish. Another good example of unethical depiction on cigarettes is in Nigeria; here they promote a cigarette for graduates, with a picture of a university and a student in a cap and gown. As if this wasn’t a misleading visual they add a slogan that says, "A very important cigarette for very important people." These ads and slogan are ...
Summarize the arguments in opposition of the ban on tobacco advertising in India. The fact that the product is still out there and available may
Saffer, Henry. "The Effect of Advertising on Tobacco and Alcohol Consumption." The National Bureau of Economic Research. The National Bureau of Economic Research, Dec. 2004. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.
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