After a year-long study, a scientific advisory panel for the U.S Food and Drug Administration released a 231-page report on the harmful effects of smoking menthol cigarettes. The study revealed that smokers may have a harder time quitting and because menthols lessen the harshness of tobacco smoke the cigarettes may even be easier for non-smokers to get in to. Because of these statements, the FDA is now considering banning the mint-flavored cigarettes.
Being an occasional smoker who among many other young colleagues my age enjoys menthol cigarettes, I was surprised. Although I had heard that menthol cigarettes may be worse for you than other cigarettes I did not think they would ever consider banning them completely. For long we have known of the dangers of smoking, but like other harmful products that make money, I never thought we would attempt get rid of them. With a reported 30 percent of cigarette sales in the U.S. coming from menthols how could smokers who are particular about the kinds of cigarettes they smoke be suddenly cut off from them? It seems to me like another case of the government telling us what’s good and bad for us without giving us the option of making our own decision.
Earlier this year the FDA ruled that the alcoholic energy drink popular among young drinkers called 4 Loko was unsafe due to its mixture of malt liquor, caffeine, taurine, and guarana. It was argued that the contents in it that give you energy also made you able to drink more alcohol for longer amounts of time. The canned beverages were called “blackout in a can” by some. The drink was subsequently banned and pulled off of the shelves in liquor stores across the country. This serves as yet another example of a time where the government chose to make the decision for its people and deny them of the freedom to formulate their own opinion and make up their own mind. It is understandable that the government wants to protect their citizens, but seriously, what’s next?
If the government feels the need to rid our country of anything that could remotely be bad for us, we may possibly find ourselves in a bubble wrapped world of stuffed animals and smiley faces. Want to go to a concert? Not after the government decides that the loud music is damaging to your ear drums. Want to sun bathe at the beach? Not after the government decides that the sun’s UV rays are too damaging to your skin. Heck, we might as well start spending all of our days inside watching television, but maybe that new 60” plasma screen will hurt your eyes so a book might be a better call.
The fact of the matter is while cigarettes and alcohol aren’t good for you neither are a lot of things. The reports that products such as these pose a great risk to our well being and should be banned are ridiculous. If menthols are bad why not pull all cigarettes o the shelf? Aren’t they bad as well? It appears here that since the FDA knows they cannot pull all cigarettes off the shelf they are trying to slowly hack away at the problem, but this is the wrong approach. Instead, the FDA should spend their time and money campaigning against smoking in general. Advertisements and commercials have been used over the years speaking out against the dangers of smoking and while they are a bid abrasive at times for smokers, at least this approach gives smokers the option to do what they want to do while educating them about the dangers of smoking and possibly preventing future smokers from picking up the habit.
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