Question

A growing number of businesses—including video game developers, cigarette companies, soft drink producers, liquor marketers, and fast food chains—are feeling the heat from the government, the press, and society at large for encouraging harmful consumer habits. But in our free-market economy, people are at liberty (free) to choose the products they consume (within legal boundaries, of course).

1. Where does corporate responsibility end and personal responsibility begin/start regarding the harmfulness factor of various products and services we choose to consume?
2. How does your response change across specific industries...Tobacco, Soft Drinks (sugary), Fast Foods, Recreational Marijuana, (violent) video games knowing they are or can be harmful to you or others?
3. What role (if any) do you believe the government should play in defining and limiting "harmfulness" for the greater good of its citizenry, which then limits freedom of choice for businesses and individual consumers?

Answer 1

These days the government across the countries is trying to make people aware of the negative effects of things like playing video games all day, smoking, drinking soft drinks, liquor, and fast food. The aim of the government is to make us aware and to put the restrictions on the production of these but not completely eliminate the production, if the government stops the production by putting heavy taxes on the companies that produces these things then this will question the liberty of the individuals in the free economy, therefore, the government can make us aware about the negative effects and can limit the consumption of these things by taxing them. The aim of the government is to make healthy and productive so that they can prosper themselves.

It is not in the interest of the corporate to limit the production of these things as they are making good profits but they are bound to follow the instructions set by the government such as mentioning the negative effects of smoking on the cigarette packet. It is our responsibility to take precautions before consuming the things which are going to affect us negatively.