Tobacco Advertisement: Why Restrict Marketing of Tobacco Products that Creates a Tremendous Amount of Revenue and Jobs in America

Guns do not kill people; people kill people. Cigarettes do not kill people; people who choose to smoke are killing themselves. The health risks of using tobacco are common knowledge. It is a known fact that if someone smokes their chance of getting lung cancer is increased drastically, yet so many Americans choose to do so. The FDA is taking steps to tighten the rules of tobacco marketing, some of these rules will include prohibiting self-service tobacco displays in stores, restricting vending-machine sales, and forbidding most free samples of tobacco products. (Reid pg. 1) These are just small hits to the big tobacco industry, but the FDA has no intention of stopping there. The question that comes to mind is, why attack the advertising campaign? Although the use of tobacco could send you to an early grave, the advertisement of tobacco does not lead to the death of anyone. It is a personal choice to buy a pack of cigarettes, or a tin of chewing tobacco. Instead of going after the advertising industry for a product that not only generates large amounts of revenue, but also creates so many jobs for people in America, our nation should seek alternatives to fighting the health risks and issues involved in the use of tobacco.

The reason Tobacco advertisement should remain at a high is because the revenue brought in from the sale of tobacco is outrageous and makes a big difference in state and federal tax dollars. Colonists who used tobacco leaves as their currency founded America, there is no other product that has roots winding through the country's history, its economy, its culture and its political institutions. (Falk pg.1) In 1994 it was shown that about 31% of the retail price of all tobacco products sold in the U.S. went ...

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...he decisions people choose to make for themselves?

Works Cited

Falk, William B. “Tobacco Money.” Newsday (Long Island, NY). 22 Jun 1997: a5+. SIRS Researcher. Web. 12 May 2010.

Freeman, B. “Tobacco Control.” Jun 2009, Vol. 18. Ebsco Online Database. Web.

Hanewinkel, Reiner. "Cigarette Advertising and Adolescent Smoking." Elsevier. Apr. 2010. Web. 19 May 2010. .

Reid, John. "FDA Issues Expanded Rules on Tobacco Advertising." Web.

"State, Federal Governments Dependent On Tobacco Tax Revenue, Strength Of Industry." Medical News Today: Health News. 03 Sept. 2008. Web. 19 May 2010. .

Tobacco... Working for America. Fuji Publishing. Web. 14 May 2010. .