Greeks are abandoning cigarettes in record numbers • Hacker News Board

Re: Greeks are abandoning cigarettes in record numbers

#21

Post by Rebelgecko » Sat, Jan 20, 2018, 9:50 PM UTC

baumbart wrote: post #17

I would never want to become a business partner with someone who is smoking cigarettes. Why? For me it indicates a lack of intelligence, not being good at dealing with stress and bad long-term thinking. When smoking cigarettes you are paying twice - first when spending money in order to ruin your health, and many years later when you are spending money on health-care in order to fix your ruined health. The Greeks hav…

Do you feel the same way about having a business partner that drinks alcohol or is overweight?

Re: Greeks are abandoning cigarettes in record numbers

#22

Post by DoreenMichele » Sat, Jan 20, 2018, 9:50 PM UTC

appdrag wrote: post #7

When you have to choose between food on the table and cigarettes in the pocket... I guess it's easy to quit smoking...

One reason so many homeless people smoke: it suppresses the appetite, making it easier to cope with being underfed. Sometimes when people stop smoking and gain weight because of it, they really wrestle with the question of whether or not it is worth it. I have had women tell me that the hardest part of quitting was watching their weight go up. It made it really hard to stay the course because women are given so much hell in the US about how important it is to be thin.

Re: Greeks are abandoning cigarettes in record numbers

#23

Post by phant0mas » Sat, Jan 20, 2018, 9:51 PM UTC

I am from Greece and everywhere I go everyone is smoking. Where do they get this data?

Re: Greeks are abandoning cigarettes in record numbers

#24

Post by Gustomaximus » Sat, Jan 20, 2018, 9:56 PM UTC

mabbo wrote: post #4

The only measure that has ever been shown to work to reduce smoking is to make smoking less affordable. Tax cigarettes and people smoke less. Tax them highly and kids sure can't afford them. It's more politically easy to put money into paying celebrities to beg kids not to smoke, but it's not actually effective. It's just theater so politicians can say they tried. Here, Greece is seeing the affordability fall just be…

Many countries now have rules where the packets of cigarette show people suffering serious health concerns. This is also said to work well.

I'm also sure no smoking indoors or on public streets laws works to reduce smoking well too.

Re: Greeks are abandoning cigarettes in record numbers

#25

Post by thriftwy » Sat, Jan 20, 2018, 9:57 PM UTC

On the hypothesis that smoking was covering some kind of need in smokers, what's replacing smoking? What is that need and what's covering it now?

Re: Greeks are abandoning cigarettes in record numbers

#26

Post by baumbart » Sat, Jan 20, 2018, 9:58 PM UTC

Rebelgecko wrote: post #21

baumbart wrote: post #17

I would never want to become a business partner with someone who is smoking cigarettes. Why? For me it indicates a lack of intelligence, not being good at dealing with stress and bad long-term thinking. When smoking cigarettes you are paying twice - first when spending money in order to ruin your health, and many years later when you are spending money on health-care in order to fix your ruined health. The Greeks hav…

Do you feel the same way about having a business partner that drinks alcohol or is overweight?

That's a good question. Interestingly not! For one part I think that drinking (modest) amounts of alcohol is not as bad for your health as smoking. I would avoid people who love binge-drinking though, for the same reasons as above. Also it is much harder to find non-alcoholics than people who don't smoke, I would think.

Being overweight is a different card, because it's a symptom, not an action that is chosen voluntarily. There can be many reasons for being overweight... maybe genes, some kind of illness etc.. I can't judge based on something I don't exactly know. But then again ... when I see someone eating lots of fast-food, chips and drinking Cola ... I would probably hesitate to ask him to become my business partner.

Re: Greeks are abandoning cigarettes in record numbers

#27

Post by HenryBemis » Sat, Jan 20, 2018, 9:59 PM UTC

Knowing Greeks, they are definitely not "abandoning cigarettes in record numbers". Some do quit smoking, as it is pretty expensive and 70% or the cigarettes price is taxes. But most turn to black-market cigarettes and tobacco.

Re: Greeks are abandoning cigarettes in record numbers

#28

Post by DoreenMichele » Sat, Jan 20, 2018, 9:59 PM UTC

baumbart wrote: post #17

I would never want to become a business partner with someone who is smoking cigarettes. Why? For me it indicates a lack of intelligence, not being good at dealing with stress and bad long-term thinking. When smoking cigarettes you are paying twice - first when spending money in order to ruin your health, and many years later when you are spending money on health-care in order to fix your ruined health. The Greeks hav…

Some smokers are self medicating for mental health issues:

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/depressio...

Before you say that is also justification for rejecting them, be aware that some folks on HN are vocal about the need to destigmatize mental health issues generally and plenty of very successful people have mental health issues.

Re: Greeks are abandoning cigarettes in record numbers

#29

Post by lazyjones » Sat, Jan 20, 2018, 10:00 PM UTC

mabbo wrote: post #4

The only measure that has ever been shown to work to reduce smoking is to make smoking less affordable. Tax cigarettes and people smoke less. Tax them highly and kids sure can't afford them. It's more politically easy to put money into paying celebrities to beg kids not to smoke, but it's not actually effective. It's just theater so politicians can say they tried. Here, Greece is seeing the affordability fall just be…

> Here, Greece is seeing the affordability fall just because the affordability of everything is falling for them.

Greece raised the tax rate on tobacco from 57,5% to 70% in 2010. So this effect was doubled (everything else became more expensive too, wages dropped...).

Re: Greeks are abandoning cigarettes in record numbers

#30

Post by connorelsea » Sat, Jan 20, 2018, 10:02 PM UTC

baumbart wrote: post #26

Rebelgecko wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you feel the same way about having a business partner that drinks alcohol or is overweight?

That's a good question. Interestingly not! For one part I think that drinking (modest) amounts of alcohol is not as bad for your health as smoking. I would avoid people who love binge-drinking though, for the same reasons as above. Also it is much harder to find non-alcoholics than people who don't smoke, I would think. Being overweight is a different card, because it's a symptom, not an action that is chosen volunta…

This is all seemingly a very superficial and judgmental process you've described for selecting a business partner. I'd probably want to know more about their work experience and skills - not so much their taste in cola or cigarettes.