Tobacco - Not a Consumer Product
Tobacco addiction is one of the worst addictions, with the
number of tobacco users and smokers having crossed the one
billion-mark worldwide. What is a cause for concern is that
smoking has been and is being marketed as a fashionable product;
a product that is projected to be responsible for the death of
over half a million smokers this year.
Tobacco is being promoted and projected as a consumer product.
Not being aware of the harmful effects of tobacco, the young
generation is sucked into believing that it is fashionable to
smoke. At an influential age, the youngsters lap up every
advertisement targeted at them and take to smoking without
realizing the ill effects waiting to consume them. For that
matter, you may call tobacco a "consumer product", because it
"consumes" your health and even your life, if you are not that
lucky.
It is unbelievable that such a harmful product that causes
addiction, sickness and even painful death, is allowed to be
marketed freely. Tobacco is among the few anti-health products
that are legally allowed to be sold as consumer products. Such
is the impact of the bombardment of cigarette smoking
advertisements that the warning label on every cigarette pack is
overlooked. It is the 'it-can-never-happen-to-me' attitude
coupled with glamour attached to smoking, which is the undoing
of most smokers.
Smoking is a serious addiction and every addict needs help
urgently to get out of the habit. Tobacco reform laws need to be
strict, in addition to heavy imposition of taxes, which can
discourage people from getting addicted. The idea is to make the
availability of tobacco and nicotine difficult. People may argue
that despite the ban on drugs, and their availability at
prohibitive prices drug trade continues to flourish. The counter
to such arguments is what could have been the situation today
had the consumption of drugs not been illegalized. We may have
had to confront a situation where every household had a drug
addict or two.
Imposing a sudden ban on smoking or use of nicotine is not a
very practical solution. This will leave the addicts high and
dry. The entire process has to be a well thought out exercise.
Educational programs on the ill effects of smoking need be
developed, along with all possible professional and emotional
help to help people get out the addiction. This is going to be a
massive common exercise involving the state, the corporate
world, and of course, the common man.