TOBACCO ADVERTIZING SHOULD BE BANNED

Model argumentative essay

On 14 December 2000, the British government published The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill. This
would have implemented public health policy and met a 1997 manifesto commitment. It would have saved
many thousands of lives by reducing tobacco consumption. Unfortunately, the Bill ran out of time in the runup to the General Election, and was not included in the June 2001 Queens Speech. Now the issue is topical
again that the Tobacco Advertising Bill is due to receive a second reading debate in the House of Lords. It is
crucial to pass this bill this time, since advertising and promotion of tobacco products imposes enormous
costs on our health service and does enormous harm to the health of our nation.
Firstly, many adults struggle to overcome addiction to tobacco and nicotine and there is every reason to
reduce the pressure on them, as much as possible, and this would not exclude promotional strategies of the
tobacco companies. Indeed, tobacco advertising campaigns are also directed at people trying to quit, making
it very difficult or often even impossible for them to give up the habit that is ruining their health.
Furthermore, when the government is spending substantial sums on pro-health campaigns, it is nonsense to
allow millions of pounds of private expenditure to be devoted to achieving the opposite effect. Indeed, the
Tobacco Industry spends 130m a year on advertising and Promotion in the UK each year, in contrast to the
13m spent by the Government on anti-smoking advertising.
Finally, tobacco advertising increases the consumption of tobacco and hence increases the addiction,
disease and premature death associated with tobacco use. In fact, the government estimates that even its
cautious prediction of a 2.5 percent increase in tobacco consumption arising with tobacco advertising in the
United Kingdom would entail about an additional 3,000 premature deaths per year roughly eight deaths per
day. Although this is only a small fraction of the total premature death arising from smoking, it equates to the
total death-toll on the roads. Estimates published by another source, the World Bank, suggest the reduction
in consumption may be even greater 7 percent almost three times as great and therefore potentially
saving thousands more lives.
The idea - advanced by the tobacco industry - of a ban on advertising that appeals to children is unworkable
and ill conceived. Teenagers are attracted by the adult nature of the product and much tobacco advertising
appeals to children because it seems adult. It is impossible to draw a distinction between advertising that
appeals to children and advertising that does not.
All in all, the Government believes that an advertising ban is essential for the well-being of the citizens of the
United Kingdom. Stopping the tobacco companies from advertising and promoting their products would
reduce tobacco consumption in the longer term by an estimated 2.5%, which would translate into thousands
of lives saved per year.
Written by Kisdobos