Stop the Impulses

Just in the past week Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposed a law that would demand that all stores to keep cigarettes that are for sale out of sight.  I completely support this law; I think a law like this would have great potential to decrease the amount of smokers in America.  Mayor Bloomberg says; “The campaign is intended to shield children from tobacco marketing and to keep people who have quit smoking from buying cigarettes on impulse”.   This has tremendous potential to improve the quality of life for many Americans, yet there is still opposition.  This opposition is rooted in money and comes from advertisers and convenience store owners.  These are the people who make a profit off buyers.  As James Calvin the president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores says, “We think it’s patently absurd”.  Well I think it's absurd that there are 7, 000 New Yorkers a year dying from smoking cigarettes. As with anything else that is not illegal, Americans have the freedom to do things that are bad for their health, but in the end it is beneficial to limit the accessibility of those vices.  Additionally, with the emergence of universal health care the health of all Americans is an even more important national issue.  Why wouldn’t we do everything possible to reduce this number?  This dilemma of profit vs health says a lot about our society, and where Americans are placing their values.  Americans such as James Calvin clearly care more about their own profit than the well being of fellow human beings. 

The Standard of Our Society

               As Junior year continues to pick up and the stress of grades and ACT scores increases, so does the topic of Adderall.  It has been evident to me that the amount of my peers who take or are subscribed to Adderall is on the increase. Furthermore research shows that “34.5% of college students admitting use (of Adderall) in 2012” these observations and statistics show that a large amount of students depend on this drug.  It is important to note that 53.5 percent of these Adderall users attain the drug from a peer, meaning they are not prescribed, therefore these individuals don’t truly need the drug since it is meant for kids with ADD.  I asked my classmate her reasoning for taking Adderall; “It helps me a lot when studying for big tests and when I have to write really long papers, it helps me focus”. We can conclude that these individuals use Adderall to keep up with high demands imposed by society.   A situation where students are unable to keep up with the demands of a society doesn’t suggest that an individual is faulty, but instead that the society is faulty.   A society should be based on the capabilities of individuals; individuals should not be obligated to use “smart” drugs just to meet standards a society sets.  This shows a serious fault in our society since, its demands are outweighing our capabilities.  Clearly there is a problem if the only way we can keep up with society is through drugs.  Therefore I believe that schools regardless of prestige should offer more engaging and active ways of learning.  I think schools should offer hands on learning that engages students in an active way rather than imposing hours of memorization that is improved by assistance from drugs like Adderall.