Not a hot deal at all. Having been raised in an abusive household and seeing the emotional scars left on my sister especially, this item totally repulses me. When I was young the more abuse my parents gave me, the more I rebelled, until I eventually just left. I was strong enough to understand that the abuse was more based on a combination of cultural background and ignorance than any other reason, my sister on the other hand has serious issues that are deep and still unresolved. I did have to deal with a substance abuse problem during my teens and early twenties, I blame that I my upbringing. Physical punishment is the easy way out - to intimidate and bully your kids into good behavior instead of a more positive approach, but it is detrimental to good emotional health.
Here is an example of a hot deal, a fee deal, one that keeps on giving in emotional well being. The key here is that you start right when the kid is born - and it requires a lot of time. Time spent away from hanging out with buddies, or away from your favorite sports team. You start off by reading to your kid or kids every day. You play with your kid, and listen and participate with enthusiasm. This is how I raised my daughter who is now twelve. Today she sees positive reinforcement as rewards- verbal reinforcements as well as physical reward such as video and pc games, eating out, and general unexpected gifts. She sees negative, and this is rare - no favorite tv show, no computer time, when she she is not so good. She is a great kid she has received first honors every school year (my sister was just as good at school). Both my spouse and I get heavily involved with her day to day stuff, we discuss everything from her Friends to the music she listens too. We stay up on everything she is doing on the pc and participate and acknowledge her interests with respect and understanding. My daughter, if at all possible, will not have "issues" with her parents when she is an adult.