
Media Professionals
February 11, 2023
MGT6040 Digital Business Faculty of Business and Law
February 13, 2023Introduction
Ethics are important principles and values that guide individuals to differentiate between right and wrong. In every sphere of life, one needs to adopt an ethical approach so that the best and most suitable decisions can be taken that can benefit all the involved participants. A particular debate situation has been taken into consideration in the reflective essay so that an ethical approach can be adopted(Burnham, 1968).
The industries that offer products or services that are known to be addictive in nature such as cigarettes, alcohol, fast food, etc actually lead to more harm to the public than good(Hansen, 2013). The negative impact of these offerings outweighs their positive impact and it ultimately affects the people who fail to leave such addictions. Various moral sources have been used in this essay that focuses on this topic. The essay has been designed to make the readers understand that public health is much more important than supporting the commodities and services that are detrimental to people’s health.
Ethical Stance
I personally believe that the various industries that offer addictive products in the market such as tobacco, cigarette, fast food, etc harm society and its members. The various factors that I want to use to support my argument are the fact that these offerings are addictive in nature so the users have no control over their urge and addiction, even though these industries strengthen the economy to a certain extent, they also affect the industry adversely since they deteriorate the health conditions of the human resources of the society, etc. Due to the adverse impact on the health conditions of the user, the medical burden of the people increases.
Addictive nature –
The industries that supply addictive products such as cigarettes, alcohol, etc have been thriving only because the users are unable to quit their unhealthy habits. This ultimately affects their health condition and financial stability. Thus according to the paper “Human rights and ethical considerations for a tobacco-free generation” by Gerard Porter and Yvette van der Eijk, strict anti-tobacco policies and legislation need to be introduced so that restrictions can be imposed on the future generation of smokers. Since it is really hard for humans to control their addictive urges, many substance users fail to quit their habits. The addictive products become an important part of the user’s life which negatively affects their health and overall well-being.
Poor health condition –
Due to the regular use of addictive products, users experience poor health conditions due to the emergence of diseases such as dysfunctional kidneys, lung cancer, etc. According to the research “Positive and instructive anti-smoking messages speak to older smokers: a focus group study” by Janine K Cataldo, in the U.S., smoking kills approximately 4.,80,000 people in a year. This figure shows that the ill effects of the supplying industries exceed their economic benefits(Cataldo et al.,2017).
Imbalance in the family setting –
The adverse impact of substance abuse is not limited only to the primary users but the families of the people also get affected in the process. Due to the high level of addiction, the users sometimes go to any extent to meet their needs. Today young people are the target of the industry since they are the most vulnerable audience in the social setting. When young people and adults use tobacco, drugs, or cigarette, they forget their roles, responsibilities, and values which affects their well-being. Thus the industries need to understand the impact of their offering on the user’s life and not just about the economic benefit of their business.
Adverse impact on society –
Due to the availability of different kinds of addictive products, users do not feel motivated to eliminate their addictive habits. Since millions of people around the globe smoke, it affects the environment and other living beings including plants, animals, and passive smokers. This is not an ethical thing to do either for the industry or for the individual who smokes. There is a need to adopt a more humane and compassionate approach since everything cannot be measured in terms of money(Redmon et al., 2013).
Counterargument
The people that support the industries that produce addictive products and services can only show the economic benefit of the industry. But this economic earning is much less as compared to the large-scale damage that is caused y the industry in the long run. According to Pamela Redmon and Lincon C Chen, the China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC) is the largest for-profit tobacco undertaking in the nation and it acts as a major source of revenue for the Chinese government(Redmon et al., 2013). But this revenue that is generated ultimately affects the health conditions of Chinese citizens. The government would not want to generate revenue and cause the death of millions of tobacco users.
Conclusion
Thus I personally would say that the different industries that offer products or services that are addictive in nature like cigarettes, alcohol, etc cause harm to society. The business approach that they use could be ethical only in the financial sense but its disadvantage surely outweighs the damage that they indict on the people who are addicted to the offerings.
The quality of public health is definitely more important than supporting such products and services that are detrimental and cause damage to people’s health. It is high time for the activists, government, and the industry to work together so that a healthier substitute is produced by the industry so that the health condition of the users can be managed in a better way. I have taken a moral and ethical stand on the subject and I believe the industry can change for the better in the future.
References
Burnham, J. C. (1968). New Perspectives On The Prohibition” Experiment” Of The 1920s. Journal Of Social History, 51-68.
Cataldo, J., Hunter, M., Petersen, A., & Sheon, N. (2017). Positive And Instructive Anti-Smoking Messages Speak To Older Smokers: A Focus Group Study. Retrieved 4 December 2017, From Https://Www.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov/Pmc/Articles/Pmc4316656/
Gallusa Et Al. (2011). Smoking Prevalence And Smoking-Attributable Mortality In Italy, 2010. Preventive Medicine, 52(6), 434-438.]
Hansen, S. D. Et Al. (2013). Ethical Leadership: Assessing The Value Of A Multifoci Social Exchange Perspective. Journal Of Business Ethics, 115(3), Pp. 435-449.
Redmon, P., Chen, L. C., Wood, J. L., Li, S., & Koplan, J. P. (2013). Challenges For Philanthropy And Tobacco Control In China (1986–2012). Tobacco Control, Tobaccocontrol-2012.
Redmon, P.. & Wood, J. L. (2013). Challenges For Philanthropy And Tobacco Control In China (1986-2013). Tobacco Control, 22(2), Pp. Ii4-Ii8.