Tobacco advertising should be banned - Essay Example

“Each year smoking kills some 431 000 people in the community, 110 000 of them in Britain” – such lamentable statistics is suggested by Vickers (p. 1995). Hence, addiction to cigarettes remains to be an important and relevant problem for people in Europe and this problem may be straightforwardly related to tobacco advertising. It is definite fact that tobacco advertising should be banned and such kind of publicity for product which kills people’s lungs and takes away its lives should be prohibited.

Actually, “in 1999, the European Parliament approved a ban on all forms of advertising for tobacco products” (K.M. Lancaster and A.R. Lancaster, 41). This decision is considered to be appropriate and wholesome. There are some straightforward reasons for such an idea and they are absolutely logical and reasonable. The essential point which is worse to mention is stopping children to become addicted to the cigarettes. It is suggested that five of six adult smokers commence this horrible addiction at the age of sixteen (Vickers, p. 1995). This is the time of rebellion and adolescent extremist orientations.

Children in that age do not realize all consequences and harmfulness of cigarette addiction. And three influential factors which induce young people to smoking addiction due to Nelson (808) are: They all are connected and presuppose young person to harmful habits like smoking for example. Advertisements itself is related to social environment sphere as we can observe them everywhere in the streets, on television or newspapers. We are a consuming generation, so advertisements are considered to be our environment.

At the same time an appealing advertisement may attract attention of young generation and encourage them to buy a pack of cigarettes. Such advertising compose a wrong perception of what cigarettes are and what implications their usage may cause. Moreover, advertising campaigns create false