Introduction

Fellow Media & Society students!

The purpose of my blog is to shine a light on what is currently going in the area of demerit goods.
Demerit goods are products such as cigarettes, alcohol, or even playing cards. As I am sure most of you have noticed, we live in an era when it is no longer acceptable to smoke in the hospital (or even in a restaurant or bar for that matter), drink in public, see a single alcohol or cigarette ad and gamble in the privacy of..well.. casinos.

In the past, putting restrictions and limitations on these types of goods was always a controversial issue and not always met with the warmest approval from society. The American prohibition resulted in illegal bars, the current strong laws in the United States account for teenage binge drinking and drug abuse. Generally, it wasn't always the best idea.

However, we live in a society that is pro-health and these goods are no longer freely accepted. Of course, the media play a large role in the effects on society. Which is one of the reasons why we are forced to drink inside, forced to smoke outside and gamble in the shady premises of hermetically sealed casinos. Yay!

Of course, one cannot completely dismiss the fact that our newly adopted healthy society is a step forward to creating a "better" world. And though the media create awareness and significantly contribute to decreasing smoking-related diseases, increase awareness about drinking and driving, and generally going "green", some people are beginning to feel like out of a George Orwell novel.

In this blog we will look at some of these issues, how the media portray them, and what are the ramifications on society. Read on!