Should the U.S. add photo warnings to cigarette packs?
Yes
Side Score: 3
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No
Side Score: 6
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1
point
Sure, the same day we get around to putting photo warnings on fast food and automobiles and the like. When the billboards for automalls display mangled corpses hanging out of wrecked car windows, you can put photo warnings on cigarette packs. When your McWhatever comes stamped with a gristly photo of some morbidly obese individual undergoing liposuction, sure, you can put photo warnings on cigarettes. Personally I don't really want to go around being graphically shown all of the worst possible case scenarios for everything I do. I'm well aware cars can kill me; I don't need disgusting, regular warnings to remind me. I know fast food can lead to obesity and health complications; same deal, I don't need to be grossly reminded. Cigarettes, unlike the other two, already come with a warning to remind everyone of the obvious facts they already know - a photo warning, in this case, would be redundant overkill. When the rest of the potentially dangerous behaviors (driving, eating, school sports, biking, etc.) catch up to cigarettes and have blunt label warnings and graphic photo warnings, sure, cigarettes can get equal treatment. Side: Yes
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1
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2
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They already to tax the hell out of them. In the US, anyways. And elsewhere. And if we stripped all branding I think that would just confuse people - not stop them from feeding their habits and addictions. I smoke. How am I supposed to know what I'm buying if there isn't any branding? If there wasn't I would still buy cigarettes, I would just have no idea what cigarettes I'm buying because all the packages presumably look the same. Side: Yes
People are already informed about the dangers of smoking, at least in the USA. Children are shown pictures of diseased lungs and the worst cases of smoking diseases. These images won't scare the crap out of them any more when they've already been exposed to them. Smokers choose to ignore what they already know. Side: No
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