Although I have made my viewpoint on this topic abundantly clear in the past, I thought these posts were interesting enough to include here. Nothing earth-shattering, but possibly blog-worthy.
"What is the ethical difference between promoting cigarettes and promoting
fatty, cholesterol-laden foods?" (Hartley, 2005).
The difference is night and day in my mind. Cigarettes are proven to kill
over time, the effect cannot be reduced or remedied fully even if the habit
is eliminated, they are addictive, and they cause injury to more than just
the person using the product.
Yes, unhealthy foods and cigarettes are both choices made by individuals.
However, one is a less than desirable choice made concerning a necessity --
providing the body with food and nutrition. The other has no benefits
whatsoever to the body.
I am unaware of many unhealthy foods that are addictive. Some are arguably
so appealing to some people that they might almost appear to be an addition,
but it is not likely a chemical one within the brain and body itself as are
cigarettes.
Probably the largest difference in my mind between the two is that eating
too many unhealthy foods generally does not directly have negative effects
on anybody else. Yes, if a person eats too many bad foods, has a heart
attack and dies, they may cause suffering to those close to them. However,
those people will not correspondingly have their life reduced also. This is
not true with cigarettes. Along with suffering through a foul-smell,
innocent people near a smoker are inhaling the same level of toxins as the
smoker, and suffering the same permanent, deadly effects.
Give me my ice cream, keep your death sticks.
Reference:
Hartley, R. (2005). Management mistakes and successes. 8th ed. Hoboken, NJ:
John Wiley and Sons, Inc..
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