1. Discuss the human and social costs of quackery. Why are people vulnerable to quackery? What groups of people are more susceptible to this type of fraud?
2. Evaluate the marketing strategies of the tobacco industry. How do these strategies serve to attract and retain customers? What did the tobacco companies do that was so bad?
How did the tobacco companies attempt to deal with the accusations of wrongdoing?
3. Discuss the apparent reluctance of auto manufacturers to put consumer safety issues ahead of profits. Discuss some of the automobile or automobile-related defect cases.
Classmate’s Response: Juan Romero
1.)Quackery is deceiving the buyers of a product by intentionally telling them something about the product or yourself in relation to the product that you know not to be true. The human and social cost of quackery is very serious and very dangerous. Quackery could lead to serious injury or even death in some cases. Along with that, these are injuries that some people might spend their whole life recovering from or they might never fully recover from those injuries and they need to live the rest of their life with those injuries. On a social level quackery could cost a company its reputation or destroy the trust that people have in certain products. It can make it more difficult for the public to confide in large corporations from the most simple of items like everyday food to the medicine some people need to feel better. People are vulnerable to quackery because they usually have trust in the person that is providing them with a product. For example in the medical field when a doctor tells us that there is a new vaccine that we should get because it will help protect us we do not question it. Not only is the trust in the people or companies but it is also the lack of knowledge in the subject. Most people aren’t too knowledgeable in a lot of fields so they do not have any other choice but to trust the professional. The groups of people that are most susceptible to this type of fraud would be those that either have a language barrier or are just new to the country. The reason why these groups of people are susceptible to this fraud is that there is often more trust in those with a degree or a powerful position. They are less likely to question what they are saying and why they are being told to take specific medicines or vaccines.
