Even though cigarettes are legal, cigarette advertising causes a moral dilemma because it raises the question about the ethical standpoint of the situation. Consumers have the right to choose what they want and what they don’t, so if it’s legal to smoke, then why is it illegal to advertise cigarettes? Cigarettes are detrimental to one’s health, but so are cars, alcohol, and fast food. Cigarette advertising is an ethical dilemma that we will discussed through moral and legal situations. Stakeholders When figuring out the ethical standpoint of any issue it is imperative to understand who the stakeholders are. This is important because they have interests and concerns that need to be addressed. The biggest stakeholders when it comes to cigarette advertising are the companies who manufacture cigarettes, people who are hired to advertise …show more content…
The number one reason why most people are against the advertising of smoking is the detrimental health effects that are attributed to smoking. In 2012, there was a report by the United States Department of Health and Human Service regarding the health consequences of smoking, to emphasize the last 50 years of progress in the field. According to “The health consequences of smoking —50 years of progress” (2014), a long list of diseases are associated, at different levels, with smoking. Some of these include: cancer, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases, eye and dental diseases, reproductive negative outcomes, diabetes, immune and autoimmune, rheumatoid and inflammatory diseases, and many more. Another powerful argument against the advertising is the influence it has/can have on people, especially children and teenagers. Children are sponges of their environment, so advertising influences them the most out of any age group. These two main points are major counter points to the argument for advertising in the cigarette