Analysis of Principal Policy and Issues in Public Health

This assignment analyzes a hypothetical public health policy mandating graphic warnings, including images of smoking-related diseases, on cigarette packages. The student disapproves of this policy due to ethical concerns, specifically the potential psychological impact on viewers, including those not directly affected by smoking. The student argues that such images could be inappropriate, especially considering privacy concerns for patients with smoking-related illnesses. The assignment suggests alternative strategies such as awareness campaigns, public health interventions, and taxation to reduce smoking prevalence, instead of using potentially distressing images. The student references sources like Cass (2015), Eijk & Porter (2015), and Kaplan (2019) to support their argument. The assignment clearly outlines the reasoning behind the student's disapproval, focusing on the ethical implications and proposing alternative, less intrusive approaches to discourage smoking.

Running head: PRINCIPAL POLICY AND ISSUES 1
Principal Policy and Issues in Public Health
Name of Student
Institutional Affiliation

PRINCIPAL POLICY AND ISSUES 2
Principal Policy and Issues in Public Health
Different policies have been enacted to discourage specific social behaviors. However, in
some instances, the question of ethics has emerged. One good example is the proposal where the
inclusion of graphic images and warnings has been suggested on the cigarette packages. The
question arises amid the existence of controversy in terms of ethics of influence (Cass, 2015).
For example, when the images and graphics include people suffering as a consequence of
smoking.
The call for a tobacco-free world has been the debate across the globe as seen by
initiatives by the World Health Organization as well as the Food and Drugs Administration (Eijk
& Porter, 2015). However, I do not support the enactment of a law that will require the printing
of warning graphics that include images of people suffering from health complications
originating from smoking because of ethical concerns.
The use of such images is associated with a critical psychological impact on the viewers.
Not everybody is comfortable with being exposed to extreme images such as a man struggling to
smoke yet he has ventilation or a hole in the windpipe (Kaplan, 2019). Since there are no reliable
criteria that will restrict the viewership of the images on the packets to smokers, it will be
inappropriate to use such strategies to reduce the prevalence of tobacco consumption.
Additionally, people diagnosed with smoking-related complications are patients who are
protected by healthcare privacy guidelines. They have families and friends. Using such images
on packets will require the consent of the patients; however, this move is complex since the
family members should be involved before the patient decides to consent for such provisions.

PRINCIPAL POLICY AND ISSUES 3
Therefore, I recommend the use of other strategies such as awareness and sensitization
campaigns and public health interventions that target specific smokers to reduce the prevalence
of smoking. Additionally, value-added tax and other manufacturing levies have been used to
control the consumption of harmful products as opposed to using images of the affected persons.

PRINCIPAL POLICY AND ISSUES 4
References
Cass, S. (2015). The Ethics of Influence: Government in the Age of Behavioral
Science, Cambridge University Press, pp. 209-2013.
Eijk, Y. & Porter, G. (2015). Human rights and ethical considerations for a tobacco-free
generation. Tobacco Control, 24; 238-242.
Kaplan, S. (August 2019). The F.D.A.s New Cigarette Warnings Are Disturbing. See for
Yourself. The New York Times. Available at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/health/cigarette-warnings.html