Health: Shall we treat a french fry like a cigarette?
Fast food represents a major health cost to society. This decade, under serious legal pressure, the McDonald’s corporation agreed to:
+ Include healthier food items.
+ Provide more nutritional information about fat and calories.
+ Stop supersizing.
+ Warn customers not to eat in their restaurants more than once each week.
(http://banzhaf.net/suefat.html)
Is it enough? If we treated a cheeseburger or french fries like a pack of cigarettes:
– there would be no advertising,
– there would be a health warning,
– the food would be taxed excessively, and
– if you were under the age of 18, you could not buy it.
But seriously, the fast food industry may face the same types of lawsuits that the asbestos manufacturers and tobacco manufacturers faced. How can we as a society deal with the huge cost burden of fat and out-of-shape people?
Is a french fry like a cigarette?
What are your thoughts?
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3 comments
Ann-Marie on May 23, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Very intriguing and thoughtful dilemma.
I agree with the first answer to some extent, i.e. that you have a choice regarding what you eat but don’t have control over inhaling second-hand cigarette smoke.
However – I feel that the food/advertising/media industry must bear some responsibility for the rise in obesity and should be enforced by law to both cooperate in and promote a healthier way of eating.
Initially – Asbestos manufactures/suppliers were unaware of the health dangers of asbestos, but once this was known – the law banned it from being mined and used. BUT – the food industry are aware of how fat foods are driving people to a host of health problems or an earlier death, and ‘they’ and the ‘law’ are not taking the relevant action to improve the problem.
I think that the government are far more concerned about the effects of what a sudden ban of fat foods would do to the economy right now – Instead they are storing problems up for the future – ‘AS ALWAYS’.
Great question – you have got me really pondering on this one.
Included my website on asbestos if anyone is interesed.
Ann.
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lilmissjacobblack on May 23, 2010 at 7:46 pm
I think there is a difference between the 2. I really don’t think its any of our business what people do to themselves or their health. The difference is a french fry only harms the person who consumes it a cigarettes smoke affects the smoker people near by and to some degree the people who come in contact to this person. I wouldn’t treat the 2 the same its not our right to regulate the food options of someone else if you have a problem with a french fry don’t eat french fries. Its your choice and yours alone. Cigarettes are a different matter those i believe should be regulated.