UK bans sale of cigarettes to future generations.
- Thread starter Aunt Bea
- Start date
Messy
Senior Member
My brother didn't mind that I tried to help him, but he wanted to stop himself. It helped me. If someone doesn't want to stop then it's indeed better to not say anything.
MarciKS
Dust Bunny Whisperer
Smokers know that cigarettes aren't good for them. Some people feel the need to tell them this like they are clueless. They choose to do it just like someone chooses to drink or eat too much or eat things that are unhealthy. Nobody needs to be schooled in the facts about how these things are bad for you. And generally if they wanna quit they will do it on their own. It's their life. It's good that you see that though.
I honestly can't say why I smoked. I just did. Maybe it was because it was something to do. I don't miss it now. Wish I had never started. But it was my choice. It wouldn't have mattered if someone told me how bad they were. I can read and see the warnings on the package.
Did your brother manage to stop?
Messy
Senior Member
He stopped but he started again. He started when he was 16 though. That's way harder. I only really smoked 2 years and then I got addicted to nicotin chewing gum. Got rid of that with nicotin patches. Wish I had done that 10 years earlier. It only annoyed me when people who had never smoked and had no idea, would say: Just stop. Thanks mate. Really helpful.
Oldeagle66
Senior Member
AgreedI’ve always been baffled why people worry more about my vices than their own.
Oldeagle66
Senior Member
Although I don't smoke and don't care who does, This law is wrong, they shouldn't be able to completely ban people from smoking. Other people there smoke so evidently it's not illegal. That is really over reach.
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
Tobacco companies specifically formulate their product to be addictive. It is estimated that smoking costs the NHS £2.5bn per year in smoking related illnesses. Having had a family member die from smoking related emphysema, I can attest to it being a truly horrendous death. Given this, I don't see any reason why society shouldn't legislate against the habit. Public health is a just concern for governments, imo.
As I mentioned earlier, this proposal is an evolution of current laws. It essentially puts a date on the board from when smoking tobacco can be totally outlawed.
It's always easier for non-smokers to be okay with such a change than it is for a smoker though.
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
A ban of smoking isn't a ban on addiction, it's a ban on tobacco products. It has nothing whatsoever to do with alcohol, or other addictive substances people indulge in. I can't get my head around an argument that might suggest you can't ban tobacco smoking because people drink alcohol.
Banning alcohol is a non-starter. You can make you own alcohol extremely easily, and with very few ingredients. In theory, I guess you can grow your own tobacco, and no-one will be able to stop that (I've never known anyone to do it though). Besides, any tobacco you grow yourself won't be the same as commercial tobacco, since all the additives would be absent.
I've heard this said many times over the years and believe likely it's trure. So maybe the solution isn't totally banning smoking but placing guidelines on the potency and additives of cigarettes. Or would that simply make people smoke more to get the same nicotine fix?
Everyone in my family were smokers but me, and I will say unapologetically I loathe the habit. My dad spent the last few years of his life drowning in his own phlegm, emphysema is a slow and ugly death. I realize people are going to smoke regardless of the consequences, but maybe if tobacco products weren't so strong and adfictive people wouldn't trade their lives for a few drags.
MACKTEXAS
Well-known Member
You're the one who pointed out the addiction in your post #83, here:
_________________________________________
So the key, according to your own logic, is to prohibit tobacco companies from making cigarettes addictive (as if they weren't already)
True, prohibition didn't work.
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
I'm not a smoker, but recall there used to be "light" brands, and "heavy" brands of cigarettes. The related to the amount of nicotine included.
Also remember, tobacco companies are heavily invested in vapes. They own some of the larger brands, for example. As smoker numbers have declined, so prices have risen. Tobacco companies are still making a profit. Smoking has actually increased a little in Africa and Asia. It tends to follow as economic trail - the poorer the people, the more smokers.
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
I did. But that had nothing to do with ALL addictions, it was specific. Context matters.
prohibit tobacco companies from making cigarettes addictive (as if they weren't already)
You can't (easily) make cigarettes non-addictive. Nicotine is in the tobacco itself, regardless of additives. I guess you could have a process that removed the nicotine - but I suspect people wouldn't bother if they weren't addicted. Nicotine is considered to be far more addictive than alcohol. In fact, I think it's generally thought to be in the same category as Heroin and Cocaine.