Ask most people, and they would tell you without hesitation that smoking is bad for you. Even people who smoke know about the dangers of their unhealthy habits, and while anti-smoking campaigns spread the word, they can only do so much.
After acting Gov. Jane Swift cut the budget for anti-tobacco programs, Boston health officials proposed a series of actions to counter the cuts. Included in these actions are plans to ban cigarette vending machines, stop free tobacco merchandise distribution and require tobacco products to be kept behind the counter with posters illustrating their dangers. The proposed steps toward banning cigarette vending machines are surely positive, though the idea to further advertise anti-smoking messages is a waste of effort and money.
It is understandable that health officials feel they need to make up for the cuts made to anti-tobacco campaigns, but their efforts are superfluous. People who purchase cigarettes are aware of the risks of smoking. In any case, the dangers of smoking are already listed on cigarette packages via the surgeon general’s warning as well as on various billboards, websites and television commercials.
The government should not be telling people to buy something perfectly legal. It is one thing to advertise the risks involved in a product, but it is quite another to advise people against their purchases. People must be allowed to make their own choices; if a person decides to smoke, they must deal with the consequences. Leave the preaching to private interest groups.
The intentions behind this proposal are positive but unnecessary. The venues for anti-tobacco education are already out there. People must decide for themselves if they want to put their own life in danger.
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