Should cars come with pictures of fatal accidents? Should ice cream come with pictures of morbidly obese people on the carton? Should beer cans have pictures of drunks with their heads in a toilet, or Vodka bottles with pictures of a dead drunken driver in a car accident?
We all know smoking is bad for you. Pictures aren't needed along with the warning label already on the pack.
PUBLIC OPINION > Cigarette Packs Should Include Graphic Images
SodaHead Living
2012/03/02 23:35:01
For a while now, the courts have been discussing a mandate that would require cigarette companies to put graphic warning labels on cigarette packs, but a judge finally ousted the mandate claiming it was a violation of free speech. Addictive substances and free speech in the same issue? Sounds like the perfect topic for a public opinion poll. We asked, you answered.
The issue was predictably controversial, especially considering the way cigarettes have affected so many lives. It's not an easy topic to breach, and opinion got heated on both sides. Opponents of the mandate suggested the move would open doors for all kinds of government interference, from alcohol to automobiles. If it passed, anything the has the potential to harm could have been subject to similar mandates. However, proponents outnumbered them by about 10%, arguing that cigarettes are a unique situation. Automobile accidents take somewhere around 40,000 lives in the U.S. each year; smoking kills upwards of 400,000.
Smokers Say No
Obviously, smokers generally don't want to stare at cancer victims while they're indulging in the activity. That was kind of the point of the mandate. That means cigarette companies would have been forced to do something their customers absolutely do not want them to do, which could directly hurt their bottom line.
You'll Regret It When You're Older
Teens were actually behind the graphic labels, maybe because most of them haven't gotten into the habit, or perhaps some have even lost loved ones to the habit. But there's a huge 40-year span where voters were split on the decision. Support for the mandate didn't go back up until the mid-fifties, when the effects might be setting in.
Liberals Like the Idea
Any time the First Amendment gets brought up, it's fertile ground for political disagreement. This is especially controversial because the Amendment is actually being applied to corporations -- a separate topic that doesn't necessarily have partisan implications on its own, but consistently drives a wedge of ambiguity into any issue it touches.
If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our original poll about graphic images on cigarette packs. We'd love to hear from you!
Top Opinion
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Dee 2012/03/02 23:57:12
Who are all these people who are determined to run other people's lives? I've never known America to be so full of wannabe dictators. And please don't tell me how you have to pay for illnesses of smokers! I've been paying for drug rehab for decades though I've never done drugs, and recreational drug taking is a choice.
If we give in to these idiot PC police on this what will be next? Should we put pictures of poverty and oppression next to democrat candidates so when idiots go to vote they can "see" the effects of failed liberal policies?
Bring back Ian Smith :0))))
http://www.sodahead.com/unite...
It's all scare tactics if you ask me.
these are some pics on smoke packets over here, + graphic ads. no one i know has been detered by them, as no-one will be detered by plain packaging. so long as it is the brand im after i dont care about the packaging.
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