Is fast-food the new tobacco?

       When considering the title, "is fast food the new tobacco?" I've concluded that this statement is accurate to a lot of the information we see today. Fast-food has become extremely advertised and heavily pushed to society similar to tobacco after it launched its product, cigarettes. Something we see in common between these two products is the health hazards they cause long term. Despite the obvious health complications they cause, both products were still heavily pushed in the market. This issue is bigger than it may seem specifically within the fast food industries. Companies like McDonalds are advertising to children despite the lack of information on the true effects it has on your bodies. We fail to see proper labels for portion sizes and accurate calorie information. Parents should be able to know what their children are consuming and should be provided with the correct information so they can accurately make decisions on their child's diet. Similarly, when cigarettes first came out, there were no warning labels on the packaging to let people know what they were made of or that the ingredients were harmful to a person's health.  It was only years later when it become obvious that cigarettes were killing people that the companies were forced to put labels like "causes cancer" on the packaging.  I feel like only after it becomes obvious how harmful fast food is for people, that those companies will be forced to do the same.  In the article entitled "Don't Blame the Eater" the author states “Fast-food companies are marketing to children a product with proven health haz­ards and no warning labels.” He then goes on to state “They would do well to protect themselves, and their customers, by providing the nutrition information people need to make informed choices about their products.”. This is an important statement because is isn't right for people to be lied to when we all know these companies have a lot of power in the statements they make. When it comes to providing information to the people, corporations like McDonalds have enough funds to make sure people around the world see their advertisements. So even if misinformation is being spread, buyers will see it and this can lead to harmful personal decisions. I definitely believe that the type of food provided to people by these mass corporations has a huge impact on how people live their lives and eventually how they are effected by it. It is important for the government to provide factually correct information to people so they can make beneficial decisions on what to consume on a daily basis.

  However, it is not only up to the government to create a healthy lifestyle. That also depends on the consumer. I do not necessarily believe the government should be able to regulate the products you consume. In the article "What you eat is your business" the author states "Instead of manipu­lating or intervening in the array of food options available to American consumers, our government ought to be working to foster a sense of responsibility in and ownership of our own health and well-being".  It is important for people to take accountability when it comes to their own health and well being. Your well being is not necessarily "public health".  It is somewhat of your own job and something you need to take charge of.  No one knows your body better than you so only you can be your best advocate. The author also states " if the gov­ernment is paying for my anti-cholesterol medication, what incentive is there for me to put down the cheeseburger?". If the government has total control over your health and wellness decisions you have no necessary obligation to do anything healthy for yourself. If insurance companies charge the same amount of money to a person living a healthy lifestyle that they do to a person living a very unhealthy life style this "effectively removes any financial incentive for maintaining a healthy lifestyle". This can be harmful to society in the long run. Now, I do not think the government is innocent, as they should be insisting on accurate product labeling.  It is hard to make your own decisions when you don't know what information to believe, but it's not always good to have decisions made for you either. According t0 the documentary, "What the Health", the government actually encourages an unhealthy lifestyle for consumers by pushing advertising to increase the amount of cheese on everything.  In the film, David Simon states that the USDA, a federally funded program, wants to increase consumption of dairy products and sponsors fast food companies like McDonalds, Wendy's and Pizza Hut to advertise and sell items with extra cheese and extra beef or pork, which according to this documentary is extremely harmful to your health. This is a complicated argument, but in the end the important thing is to provide people the correct information so that, on their own, they can accurately make the best decisions for a healthy life.

Cato.org, https://www.cato.org/commentary/what-you-eat-business. 

Zinczenko, David. “Don't Blame the Eater.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Nov. 2002, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/23/opinion/don-t-blame-the-eater.html. 

https://www.whatthehealthfilm.com