Textbook: Chapter 12
Lesson 1, 2
Link (library article): The Doctors’ Choice is America’s Choice”: The Physician in US Cigarette Advertisements, 1930-1953 (Links to an external site.)
Link (article): The Opioid Epidemic: It’s Time to Place Blame Where It Belongs (Links to an external site.)
Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook and noted readings)
Introduction
The medical profession has a muddled and contradictory association with its approach toward the tobacco industry. While the profession now firmly opposes to smoking and vigorously publicizes the serious, even fatal, health hazards associated with smoking, this was not always so. Advertisements for tobacco products, including cigarettes “… became a ready source of income for numerous medical organizations and journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), as well as many branches and bulletins of local medical associations” (Wolinsky & Brune, 1994). Physicians and reference to doctors and smoking were once common in tobacco industry advertisements. The story of physicians and promotion of smoking can be found in “The Doctors’ Choice Is America’s Choice” (Gardner & Brandt, 2006).
The role of physicians in the current opioid crisis is now under scrutiny on television (Farmer, 2019) by trade publications (King, 2018), peer-reviewed journals (deShazo, et al, 2018), and by physicians themselves (Hirsch, 2019).
Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, research the history of the association of doctors with tobacco companies and tobacco advertising. Read about the association of doctors with the opioid crisis. Then, address the following:
In what way are the two situations comparable?
In what way are they different?
Apply the concept of moral equivalence. Is the conduct of doctors in relation to smoking and the tobacco industry morally equivalent to the conduct of doctors in the opioid crisis? Explain your position and be very specific.
Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least one peer. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.
Classmate post to respond to:
Hello Professor and Classmates,
First and foremost, cigarettes and tobacco causes cancers (mostly in the lungs because tobacco targets that area). Tobacco companies are hired doctors for promotions of tobacco product, and claim false advertisement that their products are don’t cause irritation to nose and mouth. After analyzing statistics that identify smoking causes lung cancer, doctors soon did not include themselves apart of this promotion on smoking. Doctors now encourage everybody to avoid smoking completely, and take it out of their systems before it becomes an even worse addiction.
Both, opioid crisi and tobacco are very unhealthy to human health due to the risk of overdosage/usage. Although doctors do avoid prescribing smoking, it depends on the patients situation because smoking may act as a pain reliever to certain patients (acts as a certain medicine that reliefs pain). The risk of that happening though does involve a risk of dosage, which is a risk factor.
In correlation to opioid crisi, opioid crisi is a pain killing drug that doctors use as an antibiotic. This is antibiotic is used to prevent the patient from feeling any discomfort or pain, and is classified as the fifth vital sign (which is increasing). The opioid crisi antibiotic has been approved by the FAD. Depending on the patient, opioid crisi can be an addiction if used frequently, and must be prescribed by a doctor.
References:
Farmer, B. M. (2019, August 25). The opioid epidemic: Who is to blame? 60 Minutes. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-opioid-epidemic-who-is-to-blame-60-minutes-2019-08-25/
Gardner, M. N., & Brandt, A. M. (2006). The doctors’ choice is America’s choice: the physician in U.S. cigarette advertisements, 1930-1953. American Journal of Public Health, 96(2), 222–232. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2005.066654
Sample Solution