Tobacco Advertising Research Paper

Ethics in Regards to the Ban on Tobacco Ads by the Government of India

The ban on tobacco ads by the Indian Government surely raises many concerns and ethical arguments going back and forth. There are those that strongly support such a ban, and there are those that strongly oppose it. They each have differing views and counter arguments to arguments presented. I plan to summarize each view in support of and against the ban, discuss the conflict of interest as it pertains to the government of India, as well as give my opinion on what governments should do in regards to tobaccoadvertising. The first thing I plan to do is summarize the arguments in favor of the ban on tobacco advertising by the government of India. It is stated that this ban

+ere we have the "ays’. !rom the very onset, speaking from an ethical standpoint, there is the argument of free will8free choice. 7oes the government, or anyone for that matter, have the right to say someone cannot do something$ 7oes the government have the right to ban advertising to even attempt to lower the usage of tobacco when it is argued that people should have the right to choose what they want to do with their health$ ne of the other ma'or arguments by those opposed is that a ban is that if it is legal to manufacture, then it should be legal to advertise. !urthermore, such a ban is no good for the economy. A lot of the tobacco industry is done through farming. If it were to collapse, a lot of people would be without 'obs since such an industry houses 46 million 'obs. The article also states in the section titled "ays’ that, the role of marketing was merely to assist adults in making an informed brand choice and that advertising merely enhanced the market share of a particular brand.# 9uch a ban also seems to focus on only 06: of the industry that produces cigarettes, while neglecting the other 53: with e*ually and more dangerous forms of tobacco that would not be affected and would still maintain sales. And what about foreign T; such as !ormula ne racing which is sponsored by Tobacco companies$ This is still going to be on T;. As a rebuttal to thehealthcare arguments, there is the argument about how cheap and

This leaves plenty of products like beedi and ghutkas. >any feel like this creates a conflict of interest because it not only does not impact sales, but it makes it harder for people to distinguish products of differing *ualities which in turn slows down the progression of Indian consumers up the scale from harmful consumption to more refined forms. "ow my view is *uite uni*ue. I can understand both sides. 7ue to the fact that such a ban could actually lead to greater tobacco consumption among youth, I could see this turning out terribly. ?ut, I would actually be in support of a ban I! done in a constructive manner. !or e&ample, I believe people should be educated on T; about the harmful effects of tobacco as well as the positives -if any. And if there are health benefits, then advertise !@ the benefits, yet educate about the harmful effects to prevent people from going crazy. (eople do need a choice, but where is the line drawn$ If we ban one product’s advertising on a harmful product, we need to ban it on all of the rest as