Smoke-Free in Tasmania

1. Who are the stakeholders and what are their stakes? How would you deal with the stakeholders whose interests conflict, such as people born after 2000 who want to smoke and people who are affected by secondhand smoke and the other costs that smoking incurs?

Stakeholders are people who are concerned with something mostly in a company. They can also be victims of policies and deeds carried out in a company or business. A stake means a concern in a given activity, for example, a business. In this situation, the stakeholders The Legislative Council in Tasmania whose stake is to build a generation that is clean without the use of tobacco. It is to be achieved by ensuring that tobacco is not accessed by everyone born after the year 2000. It means that the generation to be brought has no idea about the use of tobacco. People born after the year 2000 who want to smoke can be helped by giving them access to things like articles and records which show the effects of tobacco. Of use are the pictures which show the results of using tobacco on human health. Showing them the impact of smoking on the body will stop them compared to telling them about the effects without pictorial proof. People who are affected by second-hand smoke should be given medical help to prevent the smoke from making them ill. They can also be used to campaign against the use of tobacco since they are victims and know the suffering it causes. After all, it is the wearer who knows where the shoe pinches. They can also help the government educate the public about the effects of smoking tobacco because people learn better when taught by people who have had first-hand experience with a situation.

2. Is the ban fair? If so, to whom is it fair? To whom is it not fair?

The ban on the smoking of tobacco is fair because it favors everyone. Through banning, the government gets to have a healthy nation, and healthy people are easy to govern and live with. It also reduces the cost incurred in acquiring the drugs to be used for treatment and funds to be used in setting up rehabilitation centers. It is fair to the young generation because it gets to live in a clean environment where chances of suffering from diseases caused by tobacco are minimum. Besides, the ban helps the residents of Tasmania become helpful instead of wasting time selling and smoking tobacco. The ban is not unfair to anyone because even the ones dealing in it can change and earn a living through many decent ways that do not people’s health at risk.

3. In fairness the issue? If so, whose decency takes precedence? If not, what ethical principles apply to this case?

Fairness is not the issue in this case. The problem is to create a smoke-free Tasmania where people are spotless. It will ensure that other generations to come to know nothing about tobacco. Bringing fairness into the picture means the people who are responsible for the selling of tobacco will have chances to sell it even though at a low rate. It means the people born after 2000can still access it thus increasing the number of deaths resulting from tobacco smoking. Ethical principles are guidelines that govern the actions of people. The proper policy which applies to this case is the principle of beneficence. The law of beneficence requires that people should not be put in harm’s way. The goal of the 2010 Tobacco Control paper and the 2000 Smoke-Free Generation Initiative is to ensure people are not expoded to danger by tobacco. Banning it is the best way of protecting people. If we have to talk about fairness, then the government is being fair to its people because the ban is meant for the good of its people. Every government aims at running things smoothly and boasting healthy people so for this to happen, and all possible measures have to be taken.

4. Is this move within the government’s responsibility to protect the community or is it an example of government over-reach? Where would you draw the line in terms of what the government could and should do to deal with the societal problems that smoking creates?

It is the responsibility of the government to give every kind of protection to its people whether from crime and violence or from the dangers of using drugs, among them tobacco. In Tasmania, for instance, the government will spend a lot of money to try and give medical help to the people affected by tobacco smoking. The secret to good governance has a nation that has healthy people thus reducing the goals of the government like common ones like achieving great education for everyone. Tobacco smoking causes a lot of harm and could bring a government to a standstill.  The government is entrusted with the lives of its people; therefore it’s its responsibility to take necessary measures to protect the people. It is the people who give the government its name and role, and without them, the government could be in shambles. There should be no limit to what the government should do to handle the problems caused by tobacco smoking in society because it has the help of experts who know the best ways of managing their issues. In dealing with the matters of tobacco smoking, for instance, the measures taken involve the opinions of medical experts and other people whose specialty is human health.The government should not be told what and not what to do for the wellbeing of its people. However, some actions like executing people like those who deal in and grow tobacco are extreme and could call for my opinion. These people should be offered help like monetary help or rehabilitation because there are many possible reasons for doing that. In case these cannot help, they should be arrested and punished according to the law. The punishment should be human.

Smoking tobacco leads to other problems in society besides affecting people’s health. Smoking tobacco may lead to truancy of school going children. The government should make sure there are people assigned the responsibility of getting them to school and keeping them there. Cases of theft may arise in society as a result of smoking tobacco. The government should work with its people to stop this by educating its people about the effects of theft and punishing culprits for setting an example to the rest of society. Failure to do this will cause other social ills like sexual abuse and violence which can turn away foreign investors and destroy business done with other countries or nation because no one wants to associate with a state that does have its people in order. Smoking tobacco may look like something small, but it can cause a lot of harm in a nation if not well taken care of. In conclusion, the ban on smoking tobacco in Tasmania is a great move which should be borrowed by other countries if they want to move forward.

Reference

Carroll B. & Buchholtz K. (2015): Business & Society; Ethics, Sustainability, and Stakeholder Management. Cengage Learning