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The War on Nicotine

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Songbird, Jan 6, 2020.

  1. BitterYoungMatador2

    BitterYoungMatador2 Well-Known Member

    Which is really my bitch and moan about all of this. You want to prohibit them I don't really have an issue with it. But stop with this half-pregnant nonsense of we're going to ban you from smoking anywhere in public and in restaurants and bars and on airplanes (all fine with me, btw) and raise the age requirements but......you won't ban them completely because that's a sales and sin tax you won't be getting anymore. Either all in or all out. Stop fucking around.
     
    Slacker likes this.
  2. CD Boogie

    CD Boogie Well-Known Member

    Even though I smoke, I wouldn't have a problem with them banning them. I mean, who would I bum off then? No one, and so I wouldn't be as tempted to light up as I am now when I've had a few beers and I see people ripping heaters. It's a stupid, inexcusable habit.
     
  3. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  4. Regan MacNeil

    Regan MacNeil Well-Known Member

    Christ. Those are drug prices.
     
  5. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    I agree to a point. They should go all in and stop fucking around, but as you said, that won't happen for financial reasons. Instead, we get the half-measures, which are still better than nothing. I'm good with any legal measure that makes it harder for people to be able to smoke. I'm all for any legal measure that makes it harder for tobacco companies to promote and sell their products, including insanely-high taxes.

    What I want most is tougher laws against selling tobacco products to minors and better enforcement. The tobacco industry thrives based on getting children hooked, something that is technically illegal. According to the CDC, approximately 1,600 people under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette every day. Nearly 90 percent of smokers tried their first cigarette by the time they turned 18. A few more notes from the CDC page I read today:
    • In 2019, about 12 of every 100 middle school students (12.5%) and about 31 of every 100 high school students (31.2%) reported current use of a tobacco product.
    • In 2019, nearly 1 of ever 4 middle school students (24.3%) and over half (53.3%) of high school students said they had ever tried a tobacco product.
    Youth and Tobacco Use

    The use of e-cigarettes is leading to a rise in smoking, especially among young people.

    Get those bastards to stop getting children addicted and I will stop blaming the tobacco companies. Make sure nobody under the age of 18 even tries a tobacco product and then I will say it is the fault of the smoker. If you are an adult and you start smoking, I feel bad for what smoking might do to you, but I would have a hard time blaming anybody else for the pain you brought into your own life.
     
  6. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

    Was sitting next to a couple of guys at a blackjack table in London, and one of them had a pack of cigs. The UK warning label essentially reads "Smoking will kill you" in large letters. I didn't run into a ton of smokers over there.
     
  7. Slacker

    Slacker Well-Known Member

    Nicotine is addictive. In fact, it is intensely addictive. Terribly hard to quit.
    Weed is not addictive. (Despite YF!) Also, cig smoke/tar is far more deadly.
     
  8. tapintoamerica

    tapintoamerica Well-Known Member

    And that will be an interesting choice for employers. If the tobacco ban is about ensuring worker reliability, U-Haul et al will soon discover that smoking pot will cause problems of its own.
     
    Batman likes this.
  9. exmediahack

    exmediahack Well-Known Member

    I'm confused about this and talk with my kids a lot about this.

    So vaping is the society evil but let's make marijuana as easy to buy as a bag of potato chips.
     
    Batman likes this.
  10. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Who said marijuana would be as easy to buy as a bag of potato chips if it becomes legal? If it is legalized for recreational use, it should be regulated at least as much as alcohol. There should be a minimum age, which I would set at 21. Hopefully, someone in one of the states where it is already legal can fill us in on how it is being handled there, but I believe you have to be 21 to purchase or use recreational marijuana in California.

    Also, see slacker's response. Nicotine is chemically addictive. That changes the stakes of a minor trying the product. Of course, marijuana use by a minor can be damaging, too, but it won't saddle them with a chemical addiction.

    The vaping issue applies to both tobacco and marijuana and it goes beyond the previously-known risks of smoking. My understanding is that the long-term effects of vaping have not been properly tested yet. Also, we have people misusing it or buying products on the street that aren't up to par and that is causing major respiratory problems and deaths that are an additional risk well beyond that of a cigarette or a blunt.
     
  11. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

    I don't know about U.S. states, but when I was in Montreal, the legal age to buy was 18. I see that Quebec just raised the age to 21, though. Was odd to just walk into a place and buy a three-pack of joints, but kinda cool.
     
  12. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    I’m guessing it would be different as it became legal in the U.S.
     
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