In 1984 the United States legislature enacted the Comprehensive Smoking Education Act, which required specific health warnings on all cigarette packages and advertisements. Congress has also mandated the placement of health warning labels on all alcoholic products . In the film Super-Size Me, Morgan Spurlock undergoes a thirty-day “McDiet” in which he eats McDonald's food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The results of this experiment included serious health risks: weight gain, increased cholesterol, and early signs of cirrhosis. Spurlock`s study shows that fast-food has the potential to be as harmful as alcohol or tobacco. Where, then, are the warning labels for foods that contribute to obesity? McDonald`s company has an ethical responsibility to give their customers the information they need to make informed decisions about their food. Despite the ample evidence of health problems, fast-food continues to be marketed and sold without any type of warning labels.
Alcohol, obesity, and tobacco are the three largest contributors to preventable death in the United States. Accounting for 435,000 deaths annually, tobacco is the primary cause of death. These deaths include chronic lung disease, heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. Alcohol comes in third with 85,000 deaths annually. Factors including high blood pressure, liver disease, heart or respiratory failure, and depressed immune system. Obesity comes in as the second cause of leading death in America with over 300,000 deaths annually. Thats 25,000 deaths per month, 5,769 deaths per week, 821 per hour, and 34 deaths per day. Attributing factors include cancer deaths caused by heart disease, heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, stroke, and hypertension.
Considering the nutritional information provided by McDonald's, it is surprising that they have avoided having to use warning labels. A Big Mac meal and McDonald's includes and medium coke and medium french fry. One meal alone at McDonald's is an...