How to reduce smoking in america Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How to reduce smoking in america - Essay Example Cigarettes also come with huge financial implications to the smokers and their families; for instance, with a pack of cigarettes costing about 10$ in some areas, a pack per day smokers spent a whopping $3,650 in a year. In this regard, cigarette smoking not only leads to catastrophic health risks, it also comes with huge financial ramifications to the smokers and the American society in general. America should actively reduce smoking for the good of everyone as this is likely to have more benefits to the people such as improved health and financials. This paper will focus on how America can reduce smoking as a health hazard, to improve the health of its citizenry and to make America a better place for future generations. America has been traditionally engaged with the task of merely reducing preventable deaths through cigarette smoking especially in recognition of the fact that it cannot be stopped entirely. So much has been done already, but still there is yet a lot to be achieved i n that new cigarette addicts emerge every day in America. One of the major strategies that can work in America is the controversial cigarettes’ tax hike, which has a high potential of lowering the smoking rates in America. According to a research by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, there was a considerable drop in cigarette sales in 2009 after a 62-cent hike per pack was passed (Hargreaves); if this trend is anything to go by, then it means that a tax hike on cigarettes can have substantial public health benefits. Recently, president Obama’s proposal to affect a 94-cent per pack hike on cigarettes stirred a lot of debate with anti-smoking groups in support of the move against some tax experts and tobacco companies. The tax has been designed as a way of cutting smoking rates and a source of income for educational programmes across America; a cigarette free society would definitely make America a better place to live. The other approach that America should quickly ado pt in order to reduce smoking is to fund tobacco control programs that aim to limit smoking of cigarettes in America. A much disturbing revelation is that many US-state governments have not prioritized the task of reducing cigarette smoking in their expansive programs. According to Reuters, many US-state governments receive huge sums of money from tobacco sales and legal settlements with cigarette makers, but only a little is spent on funding programs that can help people reduce and quit smoking altogether (Gray). Anti-tobacco media campaigns can be another effective way of reducing smoking in America as this will raise awareness on the dangers of cigarettes to the public and the health benefits associated with reduced smoking. For instance, more aggressive approaches such as uncompromising graphic admonition on cigarette packages can be very effective on discouraging cigarette smoking; however, despite that this rule has been implemented in many countries around the world, as has b een maintained in the US federal courts (Daynard). This is largely because it is feared that the advertising may infringe on the manufacturers First Amendment rights thus cigarettes are still tolerated in American societies while the courts hesitate. Cigarette manufacturers would rather safeguard their profits at the expense of the unsuspecting public and as such would want nothing to jeopardize their trade in the

Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 23

Sociology - Essay Example This concept is what Wright Mills called â€Å"Sociological Imagination.† Mills (1956) contends that sociological imagination enables the person to look into himself as a part of a larger whole, and failed to â€Å"grasp the interplay of man and society† (as cited in Henslin, 2005). Poverty is not an isolated case pointing out to a particular country. Nations considered being the best in the world when it comes to financial capability, also having cases of families in poverty line. In the United States, though it is the source of the world’s â€Å"American dream,† was also devastated by disasters such as the memorable Hurricane Katrina, which turned the progressive New Orleans into a ghost town. Jobs were scarce after the disaster because of the damages caused by the hurricane to several business industries in both macro and micro levels (Kornblum, 2008). The problem was heightened by the recession of 2009 brought about by the foreclosure of the Lehman Brothers. Banks, real estates, and the marketing industry fell resulting to the retrenchment of jobs to save profit. The fall of the company delivered a domino effect to other businesses most especially in the real estate. Prices of mortgage have gone higher than usual; a price where the jobless and middle class Americans are unable to afford. Ling (2009) reported that families were desperate in search of job, food and shelter. The effect of the recession was clearly seen in certain places in Sacramento where people are forced to build â€Å"tent cities.† Life’s little rewards such as hot meal, hot shower, and accessibility to potable water are not the main issues; the people in the tent cities are more concerned of where to get a meal, shower and water. Living in the tent cities is like â€Å"starting to live all over again.† Poverty and homelessness may come from two significant and nondetachable things: personal and societal factors. The impact of the recession, the struggling budget