Anna's 11th Post

We read an article in class about the Philip Morris company and its use of RFID technology to track its products. After our discussion in class on ethics today, I started to apply morals and ethics to this business. There is no question that cigarette companies are controversial, especially in the United States. Whose ethics determine whether Philip Morris' business is ethical?

It is common knowledge the smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. Still, millions of Americans continue to do it, and I believe that they have every right. Without getting into arguments about environmental tobacco smoke or the legal tobacco age, are cigarette companies ethical? Until the 1960s, American smoked without hesitation. In 1964 the surgeon general published a report that smoking tobacco can lead to lung cancer, and the controversy began.

I don't think that cigarette smoking should ever become illegal. However, I do think it is fair for the country to ban the sale of tobacco products to those under the age of 18, because it is much more dangerous at a younger age. I think it is fair to say that everyone knows cigarettes are bad, but I support the warning labels on cigarettes. In my mind it is immoral to sell a product that is potentially harmful to a person without making the potential effects clear. In 1984, Congress passed the Comprehensive Smoking Education Act that required four different warning labels to be rotated on tobacco companies product.

Whether or not a person chooses to smoke is a personal choice and I think it'd be unconstitutional to take that away from them even if it's harmful to them. In my opinion, the moral thing to do is warn every customer.

Morals

Well today in class, we talked a lot about business ethics and morals. While we were discussing this, I kept thinking about my job. I have worked at a fast food restaurant for almost three years now. I never really thought about it, but there are some immoral things that all fast food places do. Now I don't mean things like spitting in food or nasty things like that, but known facts that people know about, but rarely think about. Would people continue to eat at fast food restaurants if they knew all of the things that I do? I think each person is different, and that is a choice you personally have to make.

Now one thing that I think is kind of immoral is the burgers. Some people don't know that the burger that they order could have been sitting under the heat vent for a long time, even though the employees are supposed to throw away the old meat. Most employees don't, because it costs money to waste all of the extra meat that was made, and making money and not wasting food is what the business is all about. Today in class, I felt bad for all of the times that I've sold burgers to people who had no idea that they were eating food that isn't really fresh. It is actually gross to think of how long that meat could have been under the heat vent, and how it is still okay to serve it to customers.

But does this make where I work immoral or unethical? I don't think so. I feel that most people, now a days, know that when you order food, it is always pre-cooked or even pre-made. If the customer would like a fresh burger, all they have to do is ask. I'm not saying what fast food places do is right, but in order to remain in the competition between other restaurants, they need to be fast. So, again, the question arises. Is it immoral?