Should Cigarettes And Other Tobacco Products Be Outlawed? (Essay Sample)

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Should cigarettes and other tobacco products be outlawed?
Cigarette smoking is a prevalent trend all around the world. It is agreeable that smoking has adverse effects on the health of a smoker as well as that of people exposed to the smoke. People smoke knowing that it is harmful, just as people engage in various other activities knowing the associated risks. Politicians and the civil society try to demonize tobacco use and it is hypocritical. Banning cigarettes and tobacco use is undemocratic, encourages intolerance and is bad for the economy. This essay opines that cigarettes and tobacco products should not be outlawed.
Progressive constitutions all around the world give emphasis to on the rights and freedoms of the people. Democracy dictates that people are free to do what they want so long as it is within the confines of the law. Prohibiting cigarettes and other tobacco products is unjust given that smokers are also equal citizens. The government should let people make their own decisions just like they allow individuals to own or use guns (Eriksen, Judith & Hana 45). Imposing a ban on tobacco products means that the voice of opponents is undermined at the expense of legislators and lobby groups who are directly or indirectly funded by pharmaceutical companies (Malone & Kenneth 74). Denying smokers the right to choose what they want to do is unlawful and it only creates animosity between people.
Appreciating others for who they are is invaluable for a society. The government protects people who are in same sex marriages despite the morality questions raised. People have learnt to respect such unions. As such, it is hypocritical to ban the use of tobacco. Banning them only seeks to stigmatize a particular group. There has been anti-smoking slogans such as ‘if you smoke you stink’ that have clearly undermined the rights and dignity of smokers (Axton 18). This is creates a bad precedent as it encourages people to feel that the government has the right to stop a particular group from doing something another group does not like (Joossens & Martin 230). Tolerance is important and proponents of the idea need to engage opponents in a bid to ensure inclusivity as well as protect the economy.
Banning does not guarantee the end of smoking but encourages criminals to get in the trade. The tobacco industry is huge and it employs thousands of people. In the US for instance, over 13,000 individuals worked in the industry in 2013 (Axton 34). If tobacco products are outlawed, thousands of workers would be out of their jobs and the government would lose a considerable amount of revenue. A ban would potentially result in cartels that would continue to sell tobacco products at exorbitant prizes. Marijuana is illegal but it is easily available. The government would lose revenue yet people would continue to smoke. The ban on alcohol in the US in 1920 gave rise to a clique of wealthy criminals who took over the production and supply of alcohol despite the prohibition (Joossens & Martin 232). Proponents need not provide a leeway for cartels to get into ...