The Tobacco Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Tobacco Industry - Essay frameworkThis paper will examine the historical mechanisms through which the baccy companies exercised their political influence, assess whether they influenced the public form _or_ system of government motion legitimately, and discuss how this particular case study affects people generally.As a preliminary matter, from an historical point of view, the tobacco industry has most certainly influenced the public policy process. Their general approach has been fundamentally twofold. First, the tobacco industry has relied for many decades on fiscal contributions made to political parties and to individual candidates and incumbents. These financial contributions were no. made on the basis of any particular ideological affinity indeed, until the election of the Clinton administration in the mid-1990s, the tobacco industry contributed roughly the same amount to both political parties. This changed, however when the Clinton administration began to play up t he public health issues involving tobacco. In short, financial contributions were used for many years to influence both parties by and by Clinton took a harder stand against tobacco, the contributions continued but predominantly in favor of the Republican Party. These contributions were supplemented by financial contributions, made through political action committees,, to individual candidates and incumbents. In addition to these soft money contributions, a second mechanism was the creation, funding, and support of lobbying groups with interests in line with those of the tobacco industry. As the case study notes, the tobacco industry, either of its own initiative or through its proxy, the Tobacco Institute, funded or supported advocacy groups, gauge tanks, and other research projects consistent with their economic and public policy aims. There was no particular connect for scientific integrity quite the contrary, as the case study explains, the tobacco industry was most interest in partisan research that could be used to influence public policy in it is favor. In sum, these financial contributions and lobbying efforts formed the primary mechanisms by which the tobacco industry influenced public policy. This influence was profound and unusually successful to be sure, the tobacco industry had never lost a product liability causal agent until 1996, and governmental efforts to regulate tobacco had been fundamentally feeble. The question, in hindsight, is whether the tobacco industry influenced the public policy process in a legitimate manner. The answer must be, despite technical niceties, a resounding no. This is because the tobacco industry effectively corrupted the public policy process for its own ends rather than change to an honest public discussion. Politicians were afraid to lose their financial