Tobacco products face scorn from the government
The obvious statement “Warning: Smoking can kill you” is brought to you by the United States Congress, telling people things they already knew for more than 200 years. Because of a recently passed law, this warning is just one of nine that must now be prominent on cigarette packaging.
These warnings are part of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which was signed into law on June 22, 2009. The new regulations are designed to deter youths from starting the unhealthy habit of smoking.
The government plans on achieving this goal through warnings printed on the packaging and by banning flavored-tobacco products, such as flavored cigarettes and flavored cigarette rolling paper.
The new warnings must take up “the top 50 percent of the front and rear panels of the package.” And be printed in a contrasting color, so they stand out. Within two years, full-color pictures of the effects of smoking must also be printed on the warning labels. These warning labels will have little effect on the habits of smokers.
Ever since that first year of health class in elementary school, the rhetoric has been pounded into our heads. Smoking is bad for you. Nobody is going to pick up a package of cigarettes and be surprised to find out they are detrimental to your health. Besides, no one actually reads warning labels anyways.
Another major change caused by the new law is a ban on flavored tobacco products. Included in this ban are the popular flavored Swisher Sweets.
Hookahs dodged the ban, despite being worse for you. According to the Center for Disease Control, “a typical one-hour-long hookah smoking session involves inhaling 100-200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette.” Despite what you may have heard, passing smoke through water does not actually remove the toxins.
The idea is that these flavored products mask the actual flavor of smoking tobacco thus encouraging youths to take their first puff. By banning flavored products, the government is punishing those of legal age, who know the risks, want to enjoy a cigarette every now and then.
Simply banning a certain product will not stop kids from smoking. There will always be kids who try smoking, not because it tastes good, but because of peer pressure and curiosity.
Washington smokers already cannot smoke inside public buildings. They are taxed more than $2 for every pack with a bill currently going through the state government, which would raise the tax to over $3 a pack.The government does not tax alcohol to the same extent because the majority of the population drinks, while only 20 percent smoke Now do not get me wrong, I do not support smoking. It is a vile, unhealthy habit. I am supporting the choice every person should have. If I want to smoke a cigarette, it is my choice – not the government’s.
I applaud the government’s efforts to stop kids from smoking, but not when they take away my privileges. Education about the effects of smoking during school has greatly reduced the amount of youth smokers, but these laws will not. They will simply annoy the average American who enjoys his grape Swisher Sweets every now and then.
Justin Rastelli
The Daily Evergreen
10/09/2009
