Our portfolio showcases how some changes in cigarettes packaging and advertisements can save lives and raise awareness around the smokers how smoking harms their bodies. We will go through how government have changed the rules about cigarette packaging. We will also cover how smoking marijuana is different from smoking a cigarette Listen to our podcast about why do we need to discuss these problems.
Discussion
Smoking and The Law (Ravi Kumar)
As we all know that smoking is a biggest concern among teenagers. Smoking ultimately destroys the life of an individual by mentally as well as physically. In Canada, there are approximately 4.6 million active smokers. Smoking and vaping are totally controlled by government and it is a big industry. Smoking is strictly banned in indoor public spaces, workplaces, colleges, and public transits. 13% of Canadians aged 15 and older smoke daily. Nowadays, federal govt. has also legalized the cannabis products.
Retailers who sell tobacco to minors then they have to pay 10000 $$ fine. So, it shows that government of Canada is very strict on smoking and vaping.
Ontario has also banned smoking in public spaces and workplaces in year 1994
It is prohibited to smoke in municipal properties like park, playgrounds and govt. buildings.
In Nov 2019 government of Canada has introduced plain packaging for all the smoke packs.
Vaping and Smoking industry is a big source of revenue to the federal govt. There are so many E-hukkas, Vype and Juul E- sticks which are very popular among youth.
Causes of Smoking
Lungs of an individual can be affected seriously. Most of the deaths in Canada are caused by smoking
There are so many causes of smoking such as:
– Lung Cancer
– Bladder Cancer
– Throat cancer
– Stroke
– Heart attack
– Eye Itching
– Cataracts
– Esophageal Cancer
– Yellow teeth
– Tooth decay
– Loss of sense of smell and taste
– Cancer of the nose, mouth, tongue
How to quit smoking
Nicotine is very addictive, and it is very hard for people to quit smoking. But nowadays people are switching to vaping and studies shows that vaping is a good measure to avoid smoking.
There are so many companies and Ngo’s who are working to help the people to quit smoking. There are so many Kits which can help the user to quit smoking.
By chewing the Medimix or Nicoderm gums one can shift his/her mind from smoking cravings.
By attending seminars on the disadvantages of smoking might also be a positive manner.
By spending more quality time with friends, family or to read a good book can also be helpful.
New Regulations on Cigarette packaging in Canada (Alex Maleshev)
Cigarette advertising has come a long way. Even when looking back only several decades ago, it was considered normal to show a beloved cartoon character pull out a pack of Marlboros and start smoking. However, in this day and age, cigarette companies are losing real estate on their own packaging by the day.
Every country has their own views on smoking and the restrictions they deem fit to regulate it. However, Canada doesn’t spare any expense when it comes to limiting what cigarette manufacturers can and cannot do with their advertising. Canada has always been serious with the portrayal of cigarettes to minors and people in general, and just a few years ago, cigarette manufacturers could lighten up their product as much as they wanted with creative control for labeling, but in the last few years, many new regulations have come to the forefront. The most recent regulation placed on cigarette packages by the Canadian government would have to be the removal of creative control for manufacturers of cigarette products (The Canadian Press, 2019). This applies for all brands of cigarettes, and it details that all the package colours will be the same brown colour, the font size and font colour will all be the same, and each package will have the same amount of real estate devoted for warnings of the dangers of smoking (The Canadian Press, 2019). Not only will the regulations be applied to packages, but the actual cigarettes themselves too. Cigarettes will all have a standardized appearance in terms of size and colour (The Canadian Press, 2019).
It’s interesting to look at the United States’ cigarette packing regulations as well because they’re actually quite a ways behind Canada. Yes, the U.S. does have cancer warnings on their
packages, but it’s only a fraction of the surface area that Canada has on their packages (BBC News, 2019). Also, ninety-one countries in the world have already put in place hefty regulations on cigarette packaging which accounts for fifty-two percent of the entire world population (BBC News, 2019). Several questions may arise, the first being “Why is the U.S. so far behind?” I think it’s important to acknowledge that the FDA has tried many times over the past few years to get something done about this, but the main obstacle for that is the first amendment of the United States Constitution (BBC News, 2019). Freedom of speech is something that is considered much more important than warnings on packaging, so the FDA is having a hard time getting anything passed that won’t be an infringement to the rights of the people.
Going back to what Canada has done, these newly implemented regulations are in my opinion a good measure that the government has taken. I agree with the premise that cigarette packages with a colourful and vibrant depiction on the label will completely undermine the use of cancer warnings on the label, and that this is a step in the right direction in an attempt to prevent children and people in general from smoking or from obtaining a life altering addiction. I personally have many friends and family who smoke regularly, and although this measure may not necessarily alter their behavior at this point, I hope it will act as a precedent that may in turn prevent future young people from picking up this harmful habit.
Health Problems Relating to Smoking (Christian)
There are so many things that cigarettes can affect a person not only physically but as well as mentally. Firstly, when we are talking about physically this can be very detrimental to your health. This can cause major health defects within the body itself. By spreading awareness about how it can affect your physical health I hope that people reconsider smoking and put their physical health first. Secondly, this is bad for your mental health as well. This is also a worrisome effect of smoking. This can affect your cognitive skills.
With regard to physical health, smoking can effort most functions of the body in a way that can deteriorate your body. These can affect vital organs such as the heart, lungs, and brain, (Smokefree, 2019). We need these organs to survive; if by any chance one these organs fail in the body; humans can be in critical condition which may lead to death.
The heart is considered the most vital part of the human body it keeps the circulation of blood flowing through the body. The reason that affects the heart is because the tar from the cigarettes is a toxin, and when it enters the blood poisoning the blood flow through the body, (Smokefree, 2019). When the poisons enter the blood flow it creates blockages with the stream due to the blood getting thicker causing blood clots, (Smokefree, 2019). Smoking can also cause higher blood pressure because they hear has to work hard to pump blood due to how thick the blood is getting, (Smokefree, 2019). When the rich oxygen is not being supplied by the heart, this is bad for other organs in the body, which can cause damages internally, (Smokefree, 2019). Smoking causes the risk of giving you a heart attack, you have double the chance of dying from a heart-related disease compared to a non-smoker, (Smokefree, 2019).
Another body part that is affected by smoking would be the lungs. This can badly affect the lungs and can cause many lungs related diseases such as asthma, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer, (Smokefree, 2019). These diseases can cause you respiratory issues for example quick to lose breath while doing a simple task, (Smokefree, 2019). This is caused by the deterioration of the airway to the lungs, (Smokefree, 2019). “Smoking causes 84% of deaths from lung cancer and 83% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).”, (Smokefree, 2019). It is not worth losing the ability to breathe properly than smoke.
The last organ I would like to take about in regards to how it affects your physical health is the brain. When smoking you are likely at risk of have a stroke than a non-smoker, (Smokefree, 2019). You are at risk of having a stroke because you can develop a brain aneurysm, (Smokefree, 2019). This is a bulging blood vessel that can potentially pop are in medical terms rupture causing hemorrhaging [bleeding within] to the brain, (Smokefree, 2019). “In fact, smoking increases your risk of having a stroke by at least 50%, which can cause brain damage and death. And, by smoking, you double your risk of dying from a stroke.”, (Smokefree, 2019).
With my second point being mental health. Mental health is one of the most important things you have to look after. Smoking might give you pleasure for a few mins while you are on break with your collogues. Its when you are finished when it really starts to affect your mental state. This can cause mental health issues such as anxiety and believe or not stress.
I would start with the smoking and how it connects with anxiety. Smoking is supposed to help you relax, right? The answer is ‘That is not the case’. “Nicotine creates an immediate sense of relaxation so people smoke in the belief that it reduces stress and anxiety”, (Mental Health UK, 2019). You have to remember nicotine creates relaxation, relaxation is temporary and that feeling will soon disappear. You will start craving cigarettes which will create anxiety, (Mental Health UK, 2019). A person may be asking themselves, ‘I can wait until the next time to smoke again.’
The last thing in regards to mental health in connection with cigarettes is stress. As mentioned about cigarettes create relaxation. People think that believe that it is truly making you stress-free is wrong. The reason I say that is that “The idea that people smoke cigarettes to help ease the signs and symptoms of stress is known as self-medication”, (Mental Health UK, 2019). My option on this is that people are stressing that smoking will help them stop stressing but in reality, it is not working cause the person to second guess themselves.
Smoking Marijuana and Tobacco (Kratik)
Many resources states that there have been linkage between smoking cigarettes and smoking marijuana that’s actually not true there is next to none link between both of them. Unlike cigarettes, marijuana offers numerous health benefits to the person who intakes it. It’s not like smoking marijuana does not come up with any effects or health problems but they are likely not harmful as smoking a cigarette. Nicotine is the content which makes cigarettes addictive, our body grows on it keeps demanding nicotine more if we stop smoking, but in the case of marijuana there are less chances you will get addicted you can quit whenever you feel like or reduce it. We know that smoking brings up heart diseases and many kinds of cancer but a study conducted by CTV news states “ Strong evidence linking long-term cannabis smoking to worse coughs and more frequent bouts of chronic bronchitis, according to the report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine”.
To bring up another perspective people are mixing these two substances there’s a kind of cigar called Blunt- marijuana in a cigar wrapper that includes tobacco leave, these kinds of products have gained popularity over the years, especially after the legalisation of marijuana in Ontario. Studies have found that more cigarette smokers have used pot and the other way around, compared to non smokers, that is the reason government needs to encourage laws in marijuana package and provide proper health warnings on the packaging of marijuana products too, as we stated earlier constant use of marijuana does brings up some health diseases with some health benefits. Cigarettes contain nicotine which tends to increase dopamine levels in the brain which gives us the sense of achievement and happiness, this why our mind wants more and more dopamine levels to rise, whereas smoking marijuana releases chemicals similar to naturally occurring in our body which are responsible for the functions of time and coordination, pleasure, memory, and cognition.
These are two different things but what makes them similar is the they way people consume them, as marijuana is having multiple ways of inhaling it and does not need to be smoked, they can take it as a form of edible too whereas cigarette needs to be smoked this is where the consumer gets confused and thinks that there are same consequences of smoking marijuana as smoking tobacco.
Marijuana Advertising
Even though marijuana is having less bad health effects, it should be sold with some warning labels around the packaging warning the consumer about what it brings to the table and what does it contain it.
Conclusion
https://soundcloud.com/kratik-varshney/conclusion
Smoking and Its Advertisements 