Adverse comparison normalizes harmful products by likening them to benign ones

Evidence

In exoneration by advantageous comparison, tobacco is likened to other common consumer products. “The product is a ‘common consumer product intended for personal consumption, such as sugar, castor oil, alcohol, tobacco and butter” (British American Tobacco, 1987). Bennett and Di Lorenzo (1997) regard a host of substances people consume and activities they perform persistent-ly as addictions. “Many substances, including caffeine and alcohol, can produce physical or psychological dependence. ‘Chocoholics’ are ‘addicted’ to chocolate, and compulsive eaters are ‘addicted’ to food. Addiction can also arise from participating in physical activities… . But government does not attempt to regulate or ban most of these ‘addictive’ substances or activities” (Bennett & Di Lorenzo, 1997). The industry complained of being unfairly targeted because these other “addictive” products go unregulated. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1646

Categorization

• XREF: Advantageous comparison is one of Bandura’s named moral-disengagement mechanisms; links to how Islamophobic groups normalize discriminatory policy by comparing to legitimate security measures.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 1646