Paper 4: Policy Paper
Abstract
With the health risks of smoking still prevalent today, the government’s involvement in policies against smoking, especially among youth, is particularly important. A huge population in America is addicted to cigarettes, and over 90% became addicted as teenagers. A recent decrease from one out of three to one out of five high schoolers smoking seemed like a step in the right direction; however this decrease is now at a stall and rates are not moving (Steinberg, 2011). A policy to further raise the minimum age to buy cigarettes would not only lessen the amount of cigarettes purchased, but also prevent addictions at a young age.
Introduction
Even though information about the dangers and health risks of smoking have become more than available in today’s society, its prevalence is still shocking, especially among young people. Information has been collected and compiled over time; it’s no secret now that smoking is bad. In fact, everyone seems to have this mutual understanding today, even those that still smoke. The government has taken steps to reduce the prevalence; however you can still see smoking amongst youth and college-aged students anywhere you go.
The developments in science, the research conducted, and the results from studies around the world have made it clear: smoking causes death. In fact, one in every five deaths is related to the adverse health effects from cigarette smoking. It has been shown that more deaths each year are caused by tobacco use than by HIV, illegal drugs, car injuries, suicides, and murders combined. Research has also made another thing clear: smoking among teenagers is the root of the problem.
Health Risks
Smoking causes 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and 80% in women, as well as doubling the risk of coronary heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States (Center for Disease Control and Prevention,2013). These statistics are clear-cut and undeniable, yet smoking still is common. We cannot use the excuse of this information not being exposed to the public, for it has become almost common knowledge of how dangerous smoking is yet the habit is still more than popular. The health risks for young people are even more significant. Short-term risks may include respiratory and non-respiratory consequences, while also interfering with physical fitness. Smoking increases heart rate and blood pressure. Shortness of breath is a common side effect in smoking teenagers and continues to progress as time goes on. The moment you start smoking, the damage begins. This is why the younger a person is when they start smoking, the more detrimental the consequences are and the more serious the health risks become.
Addiction in Teens
Another reason age is important is because starting to smoke at a younger age increases your chances of becoming addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes. By twenty-one, not eighteen, the brain is developed in a sense of its systems being much harder to change. This is good for those who have not yet started smoking, but bad for those who have already started, similarly to drinking and other drugs. Raising the legal age may not guarantee no illegal uses, but it will help make cigarettes less available to younger kids. Many eighteen year olds are still in high school, which brings cigarettes into that setting and therefore to even younger teenagers. Cigarettes are still today easily obtainable and just as easily addictive, especially among those who pick up the habit at such a young age. Making the legal age twenty-one will expand the protection from cigarettes to younger teenagers and reduce the number of teenagers that can try it.
Target Marketing
While these facts may seem like a serious problem for us, for marketing companies they are the key to success. Marketing companies use the excuse that smoking, like drinking, is a right, or even a benefit. They say “old enough to fight and vote, old enough to drink and smoke.” Young adults and teenagers are the key to their success, and they don’t deny it. When the American Medical Association first suggested making the legal purchasing age of tobacco twenty-one, an industry strategist replied, “Raising the legal minimum age for cigarette purchase to twenty-one could gut our key young adult market where we sell about twenty-five billion cigarettes and enjoy a seventy percent market share” (An Executive Summary, 2002). The tobacco industry knows they can reach out and gain their life-long customers at a young age. Advertisements and media have been studied and show a clear appeal to a younger audience. Movies and television shows put smoking and drinking in a more positive light while grasping the attention of teenagers.
When the smoking industry first started targeting a younger audience, they did so non-discreetly, such as with cartoons and animations. Now that there is a huge push for resistance of youth smoking, the companies have adjusted their methods and often deny that they target any certain age range or group of people. Some have even advertised against youth smoking, but researchers and health advocates question how appropriate their messages really are.
Government Changes
The government has been involved in such campaigns and changes have been made. Taxes have been raised, smoking bans have been placed in public places and schools. College campuses are even beginning to set bans on smoking. Education programs around the country have informed the young and the old about these risks, and cigarette packs even display the warnings and numbers. The media has caught on and has become involved in anti-smoking campaigns that catch everyone’s attention, yet no huge drop is being seen. Age is one factor that can be further targeted when creating policies to lessen smoking in the United States. In fact, this should have been a main target all along, as an estimated nine out of ten smokers started smoking before the age of eighteen.
The cost of cigarettes has continued to rise, yet young people are still the ones trying them the most. Smoking education programs are everywhere, the media has covered every angle of smoking, yet teens still pick up the habit. The younger someone starts, the more likely they are to become addicted and make it a life-long habit. Smoking is the leading cause of death. Because the majority of these adults start smoking as teenagers, government programs or policies preventing this age range from smoking is what can create a noticeable difference.
Smoking and Alcohol
A common question, especially with today’s research, is alcohol and how it is related to cigarettes. Could cigarettes be as harmful and hazardous as alcohol? Alcohol has perhaps always been considered a “bigger deal” in terms of young people; however smoking has now been shown to be just as serious if not more. Before 1984, the drinking age in the United States was eighteen, like smoking is today. The national minimum drinking age act was passed in 1984 by the United States Congress, stating that all states would be required to legislate the age of twenty-one years as a minimum for purchasing and possessing alcoholic beverages. This act was backed by an organization called “Mothers Against Drunk Driving.” Based on a ten-year estimate, there were 443,000 deaths per year due to cigarette smoking, and 11,773 deaths caused by drunk driving. Yet, the drinking age was increased while the smoking age still remains eighteen. If the statistics show that smoking is more dangerous than alcohol, why is the age to purchase cigarettes still younger than that to buy alcohol? Creating a policy to raise the age required for purchasing cigarettes would lessen the amount of young people who try cigarettes in the first place, and have benefits similar to those from the policy that lowered the drinking age.
Conclusion
Although many policies have been made in hopes of reducing the overall popularity of smoking, more age-directed changes would have a stronger impact. The goal of this policy is to prevent teenagers from having such easy access to cigarettes, which will hopefully in turn reduce the popularity of smoking in the United States. A policy similar to the “national minimum drinking age act” that would change the age for purchasing tobacco to twenty-one would lessen the prevalence of smoking in teenagers. Raising the age and therefore reducing the amount of smokers in the long run will improve the overall health and quality of life of Americans.
Works Cited Page
“Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ( 2013): npage. Print. <http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/index.htm>.
“The Case for Taking Tobacco to Age 21.” Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation. Horizons Companies, 2002. Web. Web. 13 Apr. 2013. <http://www.tobacco21.org/executive/>.
Steinberg, Laurence. “Raise age to buy cigarettes to 21.” CNN Opinion 18 04 2011, n . pag. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.
