When Governments Profit from Sin - Reclaiming Our Collective Moral Duty
The divine injunction "Wa ta'āwanū 'alal-birri wat-taqwā wa lā ta'āwanū 'alal-ithmi wal-'udwān" (And help one another in righteousness and piety; but help not one another in sin and transgression) from Surah Al-Ma'idah (5:2) establishes a fundamental principle for human civilization: we are morally bound not merely to avoid evil ourselves, but to actively prevent others from falling into it. This verse calls us to collective responsibility for the welfare of society, yet when we survey the landscape of modern America, we see government and corporate interests systematically violating this sacred trust, promoting industries that prey upon human weakness and perpetuate cycles of suffering.
The Proliferation of Predatory Industries
Consider the explosive growth of legalized gambling across the United States, where thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia now permit sports betting, with more states poised to follow in 2025. Americans wagered nearly $150 billion on sports in 2024, while gambling companies spent $434.4 million on advertisements in the same year, saturating the airwaves with messages that normalize and glamorize wagering. This is not cooperation in righteousness; this is cooperation in transgression, as powerful interests exploit psychological vulnerabilities for profit while wrapping themselves in the language of personal freedom and entertainment.
The human toll of this expansion is staggering and undeniable. Problem gambling now costs the United States $14 billion annually in social expenses, including criminal justice costs, healthcare, job loss, and bankruptcy. The National Council on Problem Gambling reported that the risk of gambling addiction surged by 30% between 2021 and 2023. In New Jersey, calls to gambling helplines have increased by 277% since sports betting was legalized in 2018, with 100% of recent calls coming from individuals aged 25 and under. Virginia saw a 973% increase in helpline callers between 2019 and 2023, while Ohio experienced a 227% surge in just one year. These are not mere statistics; they represent young lives derailed, families torn apart, and futures mortgaged to an industry that profits from desperation.
The Burden on the Vulnerable
The cruelty of these industries becomes even more apparent when we examine their impact on the poor and marginalized. Research from the Florida Family Policy Council and the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions shows that very low-income households have an almost 100% higher rate of gambling than the general population, with the rate of addiction to gambling also much higher among the poor. Low-income households spend approximately $412 annually on lottery tickets, money they can ill afford to lose. When a family living on less than $30,000 per year spends money on lottery tickets or casino games, every dollar gambled could mean the difference between paying rent or facing eviction, between buying groceries or going hungry. The lottery, often marketed as a dream of escape from poverty, instead perpetuates the very cycle it promises to break.
Alcohol presents an even grimmer picture of societal failure. Excessive alcohol use is responsible for approximately 178,000 deaths in the United States each year, shortening the lives of those who die by an average of 24 years. The economic cost reached $249 billion in 2010, and deaths have only accelerated since then. Between 2012 and 2022, the national alcohol death rate rose 70%, climbing from 27,762 deaths to 51,191 deaths directly attributable to alcohol. When we use a broader definition that counts deaths where alcohol is either the underlying cause or a contributing factor, the number rises to 105,308 deaths, exceeding both opioid and suicide deaths. One in five deaths among people aged 20 to 49 is attributable to alcohol. These are our brothers and sisters, our neighbors and colleagues, dying preventable deaths while the alcohol industry continues its relentless marketing and governments collect billions in tax revenue.
The Tobacco and Vaping Epidemic
Cigarette smoking continues to exact a devastating toll despite decades of public health campaigns. In 2018, cigarette smoking cost the United States more than $600 billion, including more than $240 billion in healthcare spending and nearly $185 billion in lost productivity from smoking-related illnesses. The average smoker generates roughly $6,000 to $7,000 in annual medical costs, far above the norm for non-smokers. Over 60% of these medical costs are paid by public programs like Medicare and Medicaid, meaning taxpayers subsidize the consequences of an industry that profits from addiction.
Even more alarming is the emergence of e-cigarettes, aggressively marketed as a safer alternative but already imposing substantial costs on society. E-cigarette use costs the United States $15 billion annually in healthcare expenditures—more than $2,000 per person per year. These healthcare costs attributable to e-cigarettes are already greater than the costs from cigars and smokeless tobacco combined. From 2013 to 2018, e-cigarette use among high school students soared from 4.5% to 20.8%, meaning a new generation is being trapped in nicotine addiction before they have developed the judgment to understand the consequences.
A Vision of Cooperative Righteousness
The Islamic principle of "ta'āwanū 'alal-birri" (cooperation in righteousness) demands that we ask ourselves: Is this the society we want to build together? A society where governments partner with industries that profit from human weakness? Where the poor are encouraged to gamble away their grocery money in pursuit of lottery dreams? Where alcohol is marketed as essential to celebration and relaxation, despite killing 178,000 Americans annually? Where young people are targeted by e-cigarette companies and sports betting apps before their brains have fully developed?
The path forward does not require draconian prohibition or government overreach, but rather a gradual process of weaning our society from these dependencies by making these harmful products more difficult to obtain and less aggressively marketed. Consider what could be achieved if we redirected even a fraction of the resources currently consumed by these industries toward genuine social good. The $14 billion lost annually to problem gambling could fund comprehensive mental health services. The $249 billion economic burden of alcohol could transform our healthcare system and eliminate poverty. The $600 billion cost of cigarette smoking could revolutionize education and infrastructure.
Beyond the financial calculations, consider the human flourishing that would emerge from a society less burdened by addiction and its consequences. Crime rates would decline as fewer people committed desperate acts to fund gambling debts or purchase alcohol and drugs. Road accidents would plummet without alcohol-impaired drivers, who currently contribute to countless preventable tragedies. Hospital emergency rooms, which saw a 47% increase in alcohol-related visits between 2006 and 2014, could focus on treating genuine illness rather than the self-inflicted wounds of substance abuse. Families would remain intact, children would grow up with present and engaged parents, and communities would have more resources to care for those truly in need.
The Quranic imperative is clear: we must not cooperate in sin and transgression. This means we cannot remain passive as industries of exploitation expand under government protection. It means we must advocate for policies that prioritize human welfare over corporate profits. It means creating a culture where we actively help one another toward righteousness and therefore toward health, productivity, and genuine well-being, rather than enabling each other's descent into addiction and despair.
When society truly embraces cooperative righteousness, when governments act as guardians of public welfare rather than partners in exploitation, we will have taken the first steps toward building the harmonious, healthy, and just society that divine guidance envisions for humanity. The question is whether we have the moral courage to choose that path.
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