Free Essays on Teen Smoking

The facts are right there on the pack: â€Å"Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease and emphysema and may complicate pregnancy.† Many teen smokers say that they regret beginning to smoke when such particulars are conveyed. However, most youth attribute their tendencies of smoking to the glamorization of smoking in the media, depression, and lastly easy access to tobacco. Yet, with all the facts about smoking at their disposal, â€Å"†¦every day almost 5,000 U.S. teens try cigarettes for the first time and about 2,000 continue to become regular smokers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Therefore, the question remains, why exactly are teens lighting it up. Some speculate that many young people start smoking because of the glamorization of smoking on television, in the movies and in advertisements. When he was still â€Å"alive,† Joe Camel, the cigarette-smoking camel, was reported to be as familiar to 6-year-old children as Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse. Youth are more impressionable as far as reacting to what they see and hear on the television. Hence, Joe Camel was the perfect marketing tool to attract the attention of teens worldwide. To counteract this practice the FDA stepped in and made a ruling. The FDA rule places restrictions on Tobacco Company’s marketing practices that target large numbers of kids. For example, outdoor advertising will be banned within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds, and tobacco company sales or giveaways will be prohibited, as would tobacco company brand-name sponsorships of sporting or entertainment events . With this newly instituted plan, the FDA plans to substantially reduce the number of under age smoking amongst teens. There are also a couple of other factors of teen smoking. One is that smoking is associated with depression. Anxiety and low self-esteem in some cases parallel many teens’ usage of tobacco products as a way to â€Å"self medicate.† Smoking has an effect on the development of depressio... Free Essays on Teen Smoking Free Essays on Teen Smoking In today's world there are many moral issues that take place in society as well as in the business world. On Friday, February 4, 2000, the Washington Post printed an article titled "Underage Smoking Fine Sought for Big Tobacco." Currently and in the past, the tobacco industry has fought many moral issues with the Federal Government and the general public. This particular article written by Charles Babington has two problems, which are, the federal government's threat to increase taxes and fines on the tobacco industry and the industries practice in their advertising which is targeting underage smokers. The first problem the article states is that the Federal Government is threatening to raise taxes on cigarettes and issue fines for any underage smoking. Fining underage smoking could be a possible ploy for the government to raise taxes on all tobacco products. By issuing a $3,000 fine for every underage smoker, the government would generate as much as 6 billion dollars a year. In addition to the fines, President Clinton may also propose to put a 25-cent-per-pack increase in the Federal tax on cigarettes. The moral aspect of this problem is that the federal government is receiving billions off of raising taxes on tobacco products and fines for underage smoking. This money is absorbed into the government and redistributed into society towards other social issues. The excess money the government collects on higher tobacco taxes and fines issued to for underage smoking should be used to educate the general public on how the tobacco companies are providing a dangerous product and can be extremely harmful to the human body. The government also needs to provide a program to help prevent underage smoking in the future. Another problem that was stated in the article was that the tobacco industry was targeting new underage smokers. The underage smokers were targeted through the advertisements on radio programs, television commercials, and so... Free Essays on Teen Smoking The facts are right there on the pack: â€Å"Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease and emphysema and may complicate pregnancy.† Many teen smokers say that they regret beginning to smoke when such particulars are conveyed. However, most youth attribute their tendencies of smoking to the glamorization of smoking in the media, depression, and lastly easy access to tobacco. Yet, with all the facts about smoking at their disposal, â€Å"†¦every day almost 5,000 U.S. teens try cigarettes for the first time and about 2,000 continue to become regular smokers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Therefore, the question remains, why exactly are teens lighting it up. Some speculate that many young people start smoking because of the glamorization of smoking on television, in the movies and in advertisements. When he was still â€Å"alive,† Joe Camel, the cigarette-smoking camel, was reported to be as familiar to 6-year-old children as Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse. Youth are more impressionable as far as reacting to what they see and hear on the television. Hence, Joe Camel was the perfect marketing tool to attract the attention of teens worldwide. To counteract this practice the FDA stepped in and made a ruling. The FDA rule places restrictions on Tobacco Company’s marketing practices that target large numbers of kids. For example, outdoor advertising will be banned within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds, and tobacco company sales or giveaways will be prohibited, as would tobacco company brand-name sponsorships of sporting or entertainment events . With this newly instituted plan, the FDA plans to substantially reduce the number of under age smoking amongst teens. There are also a couple of other factors of teen smoking. One is that smoking is associated with depression. Anxiety and low self-esteem in some cases parallel many teens’ usage of tobacco products as a way to â€Å"self medicate.† Smoking has an effect on the development of depressio...