by Wendy Brooks

Created on: January 12, 2009

The only tobacco advertisements that should be allowed are the ones showing the dangers of smoking. In my opinion, there's no way that a company should be permitted to advertise a product that's harmful and is the cause of so many deaths. I just lost another family member this past summer to lung cancer so I am really against the promotion of tobacco products.

I don't understand why a product as harmful as tobacco is even permitted to be sold. Smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer and other lung diseases such as emphysema. Why in the world would we want such a dangerous substance to be advertised, especially when a lot of these advertisements reach our own children. It's scary to think of the number of kids who are smoking today. It's bad enough when they see adults smoking - it must be okay if the grown ups are doing it, right? It also doesn't help when they see advertisements "glorifying" smoking. The ads always use healthy, good looking people saying how good the product is. If the companies were truthful about their products, they would have to show people with yellowing teeth and fingers, coughing and running out of breath or people who were hooked up to an oxygen mask. But of course, they couldn't tell or show the truth because that wouldn't sell tobacco. So, tobacco companies hide the truth from the public - all for the love of money. Who cares if it endangers people's lives as long as they're making their profits.

Now it's been proven that you don't have to smoke to feel the effects of smoking. Second-hand smoke is just as harmful which is why public smoking has been banned in most places. Again, if they know it's so hazardous to our health, why does the government allow the sale of tobacco products? If there's a product put on the market that ends up being harmful, that product is taken off the shelves. For example, there have been a few diet pills put out on the market that were proven to cause serious heart conditions, even death. Those products were taken off the shelves right away to protect the public. Tobacco has been proven to cause serious health conditions that even lead to death so why is it still being sold - shouldn't the public be protected from it too? Maybe it's because too many jobs would be lost if the tobacco companies were forced to shut down. I know we're living in tough economic times and it's important to keep a job once you find one but lives are more important. If you lose a job, there's always a chance to find another one. Once you lose a life, you can't get it back.

In my opinion, tobacco products should be totally banned and the tobacco companies should pay to help every single smoker kick the habit. It's about time that they were held accountable for the harm they've caused so many people and for the lives that have been lost.

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