The Attack on the Young Ones Ends

. “Big Tobacco Strikes Back.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 6 September 2009. Web. 8 September 2009<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/opinion/07mon1.html?_r=1>.

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The first amendment states that everyone has the freedom of speech. Within the past three months cigarette companies have been trying to fight for their rights that they believe are being taken away. There is a bill in the process of becoming a law that will restrict some of cigarette companies’ rights. These problems began when the landmark federal law allowed the Food and Drug Administration power to control tobacco products. The cigarette companies did not like many of the things this administration was trying to pass. These companies thought the best place to fall back on was Kentucky; therefore many lawsuits were filed there. The Food and Drug Administration is convinced that these companies are targeting young people. This new law is not going to stop the advertisement of cigarettes, it is just going to limit where and how these companies will advertise. Color is known to attract younger people so therefore cigarettes companies are no longer allowed to use anything but black and white in their advertisements in magazines. This law also requires that the warning labels on cigarette packages must be more visible and larger than the current label. The author is concerned about the health of the young adults and in my conclusion I believe he supports this new law.

This article makes me think more into the first amendment. It makes me start to think that there may be exceptions to the first amendment. In some ways I do believe that this new law will restrict cigarette companies’ rights and others I do not. I strongly believe in the first amendment and that everyone deserves it until they abuse it. In recent years, I do believe these companies have started to abuse their rights to freedom of speech. These companies are deliberately targeting younger people by using colors and more “hip” ads. Cigarette companies knew their intentions when they made these ads and now they’re trying to play dumb. I believe they have abused the first amendment and used it for their own selfish game. I do not smoke so therefore I support this law. In my eyes, I believe this law will help lower the amount of younger adults who fall into the “cigarette trap” because no one thinks a black and white advertisement is cool. Black and white advertisements are dull and do not grab attention. In my conclusion I believe this may hurt cigarette companies but I honestly do not know the excitement of cigarettes anyways.