Final answer:
The experiment's design is unethical because infants are exposed to second-hand smoke, posing significant health risks such as lung cancer and SIDS. There is no control group, which compromises the scientific validity of the study. Ethical research should avoid causing harm, and observational studies are recommended over harmful experiments.
Step-by-step explanation:
The design of the experiment conducted by the tobacco company is ethically problematic and methodologically flawed. First and foremost, it is unethical to expose infants to second-hand smoke, a known carcinogen, as it puts their health at serious risk. Exposure to second-hand smoke has been linked to an increased risk of lung cancer, heart disease, respiratory infections, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) among infants and children. Moreover, the lack of a control group renders the study scientifically invalid because it does not provide a comparison between exposed and non-exposed individuals.
Additionally, the effects of second-hand smoke cannot be considered safe at any level of exposure, as concluded by the 2014 U.S. Surgeon General's Report. Therefore, such experimentation on human subjects, especially vulnerable infants, contravenes ethical standards and is not permissible. The company should instead consider alternative research methods, such as observational studies that do not harm participants, to evaluate the potential impacts of their product without exposing anyone to health risks.