Assignment 2 – Essay
Should the manufacture, supply and use of tobacco be criminalised? Provide arguments for and/or against (relates to defining crime; concepts of deviance etc)
There is irrefutable evidence of the harmful effects of the consumption of tobacco products which has resulted in a rethink of both manufacture and supply of tobacco by greater society. Global legislation initiatives have enabled the close monitoring and control of the industry however the overall consumption of cigarettes and tobacco based products has not significantly decreased worldwide.
The following discussion will seek to identify whether the manufacture, supply and use of tobacco should be criminalised or whether it should be closely regulated by government policy makers. Scientific studies have confirmed the dangers associated with passive smoking and its physiological effects on the human body. From a legal perspective, the act of public smoking could be considered a crime. Government regulation has introduced the banning of smoking in public venues yet this has done little to deter the consumption of tobacco in designated smoking areas.
This discourse will argue that smoking should not be criminalised as it removes the freedom of choice which underpins the very foundations of democratic society. The criminalisation of tobacco would also reduce the amount of revenue that government could raise by encouraging criminal profiteers in engaging in the black market sales of tobacco.
In contrast, the manufacture and marketing of tobacco has undertaken a dramatic overhaul in an attempt to discourage the appeal of tobacco products within greater society. Government has attempted to regulate and control the mass marketing of tobacco through the implementation of advertising controls. Consequently, it seems unwise to undermine the positive steps that have been achieved by this