Do you think the "government" cares about it's citizens?

I was always of the belief that governments were formed for the well-being of their citizens. But, As I grew older and capable of evaluating things by myself, the actions of these massive governing entities didn't align with the belief everyone had about them.

There is one side where the government is trying to help people fight various diseases, provide subsidies for necessities, create awareness among the citizens, and more. But on the opposite side, the government also keeps life-threatening substances easily accessible to the people.

Let's look at some of the things that are easily accessible that are slowly destroying and putting the lives of people into flames.

• Cigarette & tobacco

Various researches have concluded the dangers of smoking cigarettes, but the world organizations created for "peace and well-being" are still not convinced to stop the supply of these substances. More than a million people die every year due to the overdose of cigarettes, and these numbers keep increasing year after year. 

Surprisingly, most of the filling in the cigarette is not even tobacco. It's reconstituted tobacco. The leftovers of harvested tobacco leaf, i.e., stem and leaf scrap, are used to created reconstituted tobacco. It is crushed, combined, & converted into sheets which are used to fill out the cigarette. Companies justify this as an eco-friendly practice where waste is minimized, and a consistent taste is given to its users. But, it just looks like another perfectly crafted message to keep people convinced about their life-threatening habit.

The governing authorities are too busy generating money from people's addiction despite knowing the irreversible effect cigarette chemicals have on the human body. Heavy taxes are imposed on the usage of these substances, compulsions to put warning messages on the significant portion of the packaging are made. But, those implementations have little to no effect on making people think about their choices.

After knowing all the adverse effects of substance abuse, the authorities are still not convinced to stop the supply. When there is no availability, there will be no demand, and eventually, people will become habitual to it. These degenerate habits are giving rise to companies creating byproducts of cigarettes like e-cigarette and vaporizers.

Another variation is non-smoking tobacco. Non-smoking tobacco is said to be less harmful than smoking, but that's not true. The form of consumption is the only difference between them. The effect on health is the same.

• Alcohol

Alcohol starts its effect from the first sip taken by the person. Despite being aware of various health challenges that alcohol possess, most people are too busy enjoying the hangover and the feeling of being drunk. Accidents, physical & verbal abuse, inability to think clearly, and obesity are some of the most common causes of alcohol consumption. The irony is, we are constantly warned through TV ads, signages on the road, and at the same time, the availability of alcohol is always kept sufficient.

India has experienced one of the most shocking moves taken by the government related to alcohol. It was the time of pandemics where most of the things were shut. Many basic shops like repair shops, garages, groceries, and many more were under lockdown. Within this chaos, where most essential products and services were hard to find, the government allowed liquor shops to operate. The entire world was trying to avoid gathering with the fear of getting infected with the virus; people were waiting in massive queues outside liquor shops to buy alcohol. Although lockdown had halted the government's revenue, considering the adverse effects of alcohol on the human body, was alcohol the only option to fuel the government's revenue?

Where reminding customers of the brand's existence is one of the most powerful principles of marketing. Brands indirectly use these tactics to promote harmful substances.

Surrogate advertisement is the most prominent form of advertisement used to promote prohibited products in India. This is a term used to define the indirect form of advertisement of banned products. Surrogate advertisement is where brands market one product intending to sell a restricted product. Similar colors, packaging, logo, and name of the prohibited product are used in the advertisement. 

Some of the brands practicing this in India are: Haywards 5000 soda, Vimal pan masala/elaichi (cardamom), Imperial Blue music CDs, and the list keeps going on and on. Not only that, companies use celebrity endorsement to influence the purchase of these products. Constantly advertising these products helps the brand stay on top of the mind of the potential customers and eventually drive business.

After attaining a certain level of maturity, the norms and practices accepted by the world seem to have massive loopholes in them. It's hard to see the lack of self-control is taking us towards self-destruction. Most people are in the phase of addiction, and many people have been consumed by substance addictions and are no more on this earth. 

We are the only species blessed to have a brain that possesses intelligence and rationality, because of which we have evolved to what we are today. No other species are as capable as humans, and that's why we are ruling the earth, and at the same time, preparing to take over planets outside the Earth. Despite the exclusive capabilities we possess, most of us don't see reason and are addicted to pleasures that take close to the end of our life. 

Authorities are not the only ones to be blamed, but self-control plays a vital role in deciding the destination of our life. We are responsible for everything that affects us, except the situations that are out of our control. We hold a great degree of influential power over the young generation. Our actions will influence their habits; our words won't.

We can point fingers at as many people and entities as we want, but it's our life; we are responsible for everything that happens to us at the end of the day. After realizing how broken the world system is, being under the impression that the government entities will take care of us is wrong. After all, a healthy body is the greatest asset a person can ever have in the entire span of life. Everyone in this world wants to live a long life without any health issues, but only a few of us are willing to take steps towards it.

This is my perspective on this situation, I won't say everything I feel is true, but we can always see things differently. What do you think about this situation?