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Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed
361–370 of 430 posts
Re: Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed
#362This is a good thing.
Maybe I could sit here and debate the pros and cons, supposed crap about my liberties, is the age bracket the right way to go about it. But this is a good thing, there is nothing good about cigarettes no matter which way you argue it, or compare it to anything else.
Re: Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed
#363Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It’s awesome to decide what your children, once they are adults, can’t do? You do realize that this is what basically every single law in existence does, right? That my kids, and likely yours, once they're adults, can't drive under the influence, rob a bank, impersonate a cop, lie under oath, exercise medecine without a licence, walk downtown naked, jaywalk, evade taxes, criticize the King?
I've seen confusion about this before with people that I know. You tell them it's against the law to drink, and they'll point out that it's restrictive and controlling. You tell them it's against the law to commit tax fraud, and they'll have no objection. Why? I think, at least with the people that I know, it's related to what they want to be able to do. They want to be able to drink alcohol, so it feels controlling…
I think it's also because a lot of people act like laws are passed down by god, immutable.
Reminder that slavery was legal.
Re: Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed
#364Earlier quoted context omitted.
Awesome! Where can I sign?
It’s awesome to decide what your children, once they are adults, can’t do? Seems borderline psychopathic. Kinda sums up democracy in current times though.
Why would someone be pro-tobacco without a financial motive? What’s your angle on pushing this crap?
Re: Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed
#365As a former smoker (who quit for seven years and regrets taking it up again), and as a present-day vape user, wtf. This is a clear restriction on liberty. It may be stupid that I do it. Just like many stupid decisions (junk food included), it ought to be my right to decide how to live. Cut off production so cigarettes are no longer made or imported. Don't block me from them while letting others have them. (Not in UK)…
In a country with a national health system, why should you be able to internalize the benefit of smoking whilst externalizing the cost?
Then ban McDonalds. Ban cigarettes outright for all. Give federal funding to healthy alternatives. Raise tax on sugar 200%. Alcohol 500%. Use federal funds to make cities walkable. Give police the mandate to enforce more action on violent criminals. Fund unions. Fine employers where people work longer than 8 hours per day on average. Fine employers who do not grant mandatory 5 weeks vacation per year.
This is the world where the interests of the NHS is what counts for making the rules. Many countries implement at least some of these measures, to great success.
Re: Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed
#366This is a good thing. Maybe I could sit here and debate the pros and cons, supposed crap about my liberties, is the age bracket the right way to go about it. But this is a good thing, there is nothing good about cigarettes no matter which way you argue it, or compare it to anything else.
Buckle up for more legally enforceable parental guidance for how you should live your life to serve the state
Re: Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed
#367Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sounds like a great way to avoid alcohol addiction, prevent drunk driving deaths, and save countless generations from being negatively impacted in one way or another by alcohol.
Prohibition doesn't work because people want to modulate their consciousness, chemically force-relax, reduce inhibitions, etc. It didn't work before, and it won't in the future. The more things are forbidden, the more taboo and attractive they become. This banal, smiling, petty authoritarianism sickens me. Bodily autonomy trumps "common good" arguments, and where it somehow doesn't, injustice abides. Society's job is…
Smokers already more than pay for their healthcare so punishing them further is silly. Not only is their lifetimehealthcare cheaper, because smoking disqualifies you from many procedures and kills most users right around retirement age before the expensive age-related care becomes common, but the sin-tax collected from smokers in most countries is larger than the average lifetime medical care cost.
It's basically taxing people for saving everybody else money.
Re: Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed
#368Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s awesome to decide what your children, once they are adults, can’t do? Seems borderline psychopathic. Kinda sums up democracy in current times though.
Why would someone be pro-tobacco without a financial motive? What’s your angle on pushing this crap?
People have been using tobacco for many thousands of years. if they want to use it knowing full well the consequences, they should be able to. Unless we also ban things like skydiving, rock climbing, and fast cars and motorcycles, it makes no sense to me.
Re: Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed
#369Earlier quoted context omitted.
If they wanted to ban cigarettes, they should have banned cigarettes. The whole "let's pass a law that only affects people who can't vote" strategy applied here is tyranical.
It’s the perfect way to phase it in. In ~80 years nobody will be able to smoke, but you never took the right away from someone that already had it. A huge win for society
That doesn't sound like a win to me, it sounds ultra authoritarian and restrictive. Prohibition has never cured us of a drug problem and tobacco is no different. You think jailing someone for decades for selling tobacco should be a thing? Because that is what such a policy will do.
Re: Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed
#370There are two separate issues here: 1. will this work (will the UK stop smoking) 2. is this something the UK government should be doing Setting aside 1 and looking at 2, it seems silly to me to point out that other things (alcohol) that cause problems and are not being restricted. You take the wins where you find them, and the government isn't a magical force that can impose its will on the people arbitrarily. This i…
Alcohol is quite different to cigarettes. It's fun and part of the culture - most people drink and the country is full of pubs and restaurants serving it. You couldn't ban it without most of the country, including me, objecting. Cigarettes on the other hand are not so popular. If you ask most smokers if they regret starting about 90% say yes. They mostly want to quit but are addicted. Quite different from booze.
They seem pretty popular in my neck of the woods.