Poll: Should smoking be made illegal?

[Red-Link]

I abhor smoking. I wish that everyone would just stop it. That being said, I in no way want them to ban it from outdoor places (indoor places it should be banned from) because the government makes a nice bit of change off them. You want to kill yourself, fine, and allow me to charge you to do so so that the living can have better roads, education, etc.

I feel that way about everything from drugs (legalize and tax the shit out of them) to guns (legalize and require a godly amount of permits... and tax the shit out of them). I fully believe in people's liberty to spend money as they wish. I just want that money to go to funding government programs: the stupid kill themselves one way or another and the government gets to help its people as a result. A few not stupid people will get killed by the stupid ones, but that's the way it works.

 

[Tony Wartooth]

I understand statistics quite well actually, it has a very large place in my career. I also know that when it comes down to it, whether you survive a 1 in a million situation (as we all do every day, especially when we get in our car), is completely up to chance. Statistics are a nice guide, but in no way the book of pure fact and future prediction.

This isn't some small statistic like my chance of getting in a fatal wreck on my way to work.

Also, I have a few asthmatic friends that do smoke or hang out with a lot of smokers, a few that are severely asthmatic. The smell will not send someone into an attack. If it does, it's typically a placebo effect, more of a mental degradation than a physical one.

Basically every study ever conducted on the subject says otherwise.

If I light up in a bar that doesn't care or so forth, then I most assuredly am not the only one; therefore that wouldn't be an advisable place for your friend in the first place. It'd be like wearing a meatsuit to a shark convention. Some places just aren't for everyone, and I'm not saying that to sound like an elitist, I'm a vegetarian so I find myself sitting there at many restaurants without food when I go with friends. It is what it is.

Since you ignored it, here it is again. Why does your right to smoke trump my asthmatic friend's right to be in public? I'm fine with designated smoking areas, but you don't have the right to just do it wherever you please.

Small chance? Think about every small thing that could happen to any number of things and how that can affect your drive. It's an outlandishly large amount of possibilities when it comes down to it. Honestly, when all is broken down every statistic is 50/50. It will or will not happen. Also "basically every study" isn't exactly a legitimate response. People overthink things and panic. If they think they can't breathe and believe it, regardless of actual ability, it will begin to become more difficult and thus starting a domino effect. It happens frequently, and usually with breathing/drowning cases.

I didn't ignore anything. I plainly stated that some places aren't meant for everyone. Also, that most smokers go out of their way and smoke away from people. Since you're intent on continuously bringing up that fact and ignoring that life isn't fair and that people are(gasp) selfish creatures, I'll just end it. I have the right to because I can. If I can kill your friend with a puff of smoke, I win. Evolution was on my side, and might makes right. Even if that might was a minimal amount of secondhand smoke. I can because at the end of the day, I'm the one still breathing.

So which did you enjoy more? The polite response or the callous one? The bottom line is if you can't handle or don't enjoy something, you will in fact have to go out of your way to avoid it if others around you disagree, as I previously mentioned.

 

[Biosophilogical]

I think it should never have been legal in the first place (as it is, it's addictive, common-place and considered socially cool by a lot of teenagers, so before they are responsible enough to make life-changing decisions they go and get themselves addicted to a substance that is detrimental to your health, your social life and your wallet). However, given how much opposition it would face, I don't think it should be made illegal, the financial and political backlash would be immense. But the fact is, it is like crack or cocaine in slow motion; you get addicted, it messes with your organs, it costs you shit-tonnes of money, but it just takes a lot longer than other drugs, however, because it's legal a lot of people get addicted because those who put peer pressure on them to smoke have such easy access to it.

I propose a middle ground, heavily tax it, meaning it will be less accessible, the health industry gets an added boost to its income, it won't sell as well, less people become addicted, people looking to quit are given a 'nudge in the right direction' and it becomes less ingrained in our society, meaning we won't have to make it illegal and therefore impose upon rights, because the increased price will push the entire smoking industry to kill itself.

I don't know if you've payed attention to cig prices, but they have gone up drastically. It started becoming huge when Clinton passed a bill that let tobacco farmers only grow tobacco on 1/4th or so of their land. With every democratic president, it goes up more and more also as they tend to tax "luxury" items more. Increased prices won't change anything, people will just be less wealthy than they already are. Cigs are 10 dollars a pack in Tampa, FL and also NYC. People still buy them, and bums still scrounge through places for enough. If anything it just makes people more desperate.

Hmmm, then I need to think of an alternative alternative, because I'd really prefer to have the government influence society into fixing itself, rather than letting them flat out control it. So, now to think of a middle ground, one where cigarettes aren't so easily accessed that society as a whole collapses into an addicted mosh-pit but at the same time, where the decline of smoking is due to increased common sense and integrity rather than government control.

Education? It might work ... okay it probably wouldn't work. Restricting smoking areas to private property, and any private venue must advertise that it is a smoking venue in plain sight? That way, smokers could only smoke at home or at specific venues, which would limit the appeal socially, promoting quitting. Alternatively, it would make places everywhere be completely smoker friendly, putting more social pressure on non-smokers to fit in.

Damn it this is hard.

Increase the minimum smoking age to 25? (at this point most people have completely developed both mentally and physically, it would also make it harder for minors to get smokes) However, I don't think this would completely fix the problem, and you'd probably have to increase the active duty age to 25 for the military for the same reason, or else face people going 'Well, if they are young enough to die they are young enough to smoke'.

 

[magnuslion]

No. that's retarded. we don't need the government, or punk@$$ straight edge punks telling us what is "Good" for us. I know so many of these straight edge bastards that eat terrible food and never exercise it makes me want too puke when they tell me how "healthy" their lifestyle is.

 

[Tony Wartooth]

I think it should never have been legal in the first place (as it is, it's addictive, common-place and considered socially cool by a lot of teenagers, so before they are responsible enough to make life-changing decisions they go and get themselves addicted to a substance that is detrimental to your health, your social life and your wallet). However, given how much opposition it would face, I don't think it should be made illegal, the financial and political backlash would be immense. But the fact is, it is like crack or cocaine in slow motion; you get addicted, it messes with your organs, it costs you shit-tonnes of money, but it just takes a lot longer than other drugs, however, because it's legal a lot of people get addicted because those who put peer pressure on them to smoke have such easy access to it.

I propose a middle ground, heavily tax it, meaning it will be less accessible, the health industry gets an added boost to its income, it won't sell as well, less people become addicted, people looking to quit are given a 'nudge in the right direction' and it becomes less ingrained in our society, meaning we won't have to make it illegal and therefore impose upon rights, because the increased price will push the entire smoking industry to kill itself.

I don't know if you've payed attention to cig prices, but they have gone up drastically. It started becoming huge when Clinton passed a bill that let tobacco farmers only grow tobacco on 1/4th or so of their land. With every democratic president, it goes up more and more also as they tend to tax "luxury" items more. Increased prices won't change anything, people will just be less wealthy than they already are. Cigs are 10 dollars a pack in Tampa, FL and also NYC. People still buy them, and bums still scrounge through places for enough. If anything it just makes people more desperate.

Hmmm, then I need to think of an alternative alternative, because I'd really prefer to have the government influence society into fixing itself, rather than letting them flat out control it. So, now to think of a middle ground, one where cigarettes aren't so easily accessed that society as a whole collapses into an addicted mosh-pit but at the same time, where the decline of smoking is due to increased common sense and integrity rather than government control.

Education? It might work ... okay it probably wouldn't work. Restricting smoking areas to private property, and any private venue must advertise that it is a smoking venue in plain sight? That way, smokers could only smoke at home or at specific venues, which would limit the appeal socially, promoting quitting. Alternatively, it would make places everywhere be completely smoker friendly, putting more social pressure on non-smokers to fit in.

Damn it this is hard.

Increase the minimum smoking age to 25? (at this point most people have completely developed both mentally and physically, it would also make it harder for minors to get smokes) However, I don't think this would completely fix the problem, and you'd probably have to increase the active duty age to 25 for the military for the same reason, or else face people going 'Well, if they are young enough to die they are young enough to smoke'.

Honestly, the only way to change it would in fact be to force it and it would take numerous generations for social darwinism to take hold combined with propaganda until absolutely no one wanted them. Even that isn't foolproof. Moreover, people have smoked tobacco for as long as any can remember honestly. Native americans did it, Vikings did it before them, so on and so forth. It's just what happens. People find a way to make something enjoyable, and they do it.

 

[Eri]

No. If smoking is banned then drinking has to be banned as well.

Drinking doesn't harm your health unless you overdo it. Smoking harms you regardless of amount smoked.

That truly is the dumbest thing I've seen in quite a while...

OT: No smoking shouldn't be banned or heavily taxed.

Guess you have your facts wrong then.

 

[KushinLos]

Consider the dangers associated with illegal drugs.
Consider the dangers of prohibition era alcohol.
Consider the fact that most of the dangers of said alcohol went away more or less when alcohol prohibition went away (Dec. 5 = Repeal Day!).

Consider that outcome if tobacco products were made illegal.

 

[Pyode]

What rights a person has and what is currently legal has no bearing on the issue. Many things have been allowed in the past that we later abolished because we progressed as a species.

I'm not sure if I understand what you are saying here. It sounds to me like you are saying laws have nothing to do with our rights as human beings. That's a pretty scary thought.

And you're making a huge leap of logic between some people filling an establishment with harmful smoke and, say, a Wild West-themed gay bar or a restaurant that serves live bugs. If it was just mere immaturity then it'd be the inability to tolerate trivial things. Smoking isn't trivial.

First of all, I don't see how that's a leap of logic at all. Whether or not smoking is trivial is entirely subjective. To me, it is trivial. I don't smoke but it doesn't bother me in the least. There are also people who find homosexuality as offensive as others find smoking and they would feel about your hypothetical gay bar the same way you would feel about a bar that allows smoking.

Second of all, you are ignoring my point. Explain to me why, if I were to open a restaurant, I have to make it accessible to non smokers, even though they have the right to choose not to come to my restaurant if they don't want to.

 

[Mad World]

He's right though. Limited amounts of alcohol consumption have known health benefits. Smoking is bad for you in whatever amount you do it in.

Yeah - that's what I thought, too. Still, I'm not sure whether or not I think that alcohol should be legal. I used to think that it was fine (in moderation), but I don't know... people can't control themselves.

Anyway, I think that smoking should be illegal; it's damaging to one's own health.

You'll definitely find that a majority of people want to keep it legal, I'm sure.

 

[Biosophilogical]

-snip-

-snip-

-snip-

-snip-

Such a shame really. I should do a psychology and sociology degree, then I might learn enough to find an answer that doesn't involve government enforcement (though, if we discovered tobacco for the first time tomorrow and understood its effects I'd be all for making it illegal, it is just that, so many people currently want to/are pressured into smoking that you aren't 'removing an influence no-one presently wants' you are 'removing a deeply ingrained part of society'.
...
...
Time for more thinking!!!

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

-Le Sigh Snip-

Please, next time, actually realise that I was telling a joke.
Like hell I'd want someone shot just for smoking.
No, I'd have people shot, and countries burned to ashes, for other things, but not smokers shot.
Otherwise I'd have to shoot my parents, and quite a few other family members.

-All Hail Britannia Snip-
that is a very funny policy, would looove the see that one at work. *walking down the street* "oh sh!t, that guys smoking!" *pulls out a gun and shoots him* XD histerical. to bad the world isnt a little more funny

See? You got it right. If only some other people could be as observant of a joke as you are :3

-Le Sigh Snip-
I don't mean this in an offensive way, this is a serious question. Are you actually retarded?

Now that isn't a very nice thing to say in reply to a joke `,:\

-Snip-
so does that mean i can start going round shooting people who drive cars past me aswell? or the guy next door with the wood stove? or maybe even you because you didnt cover your mouth when you coughed neer me..... aww shit maybe we should nuke iceland because they filled the air with crap from that volcano......

Shoot them all, but go easy on the nukes. It tends to make people paranoid. Well, countries/nations, not just people.

 

[Skoosh]

I'm so tired of people being so harsh on smoking. If you don't like it, don't do it. I think if a restaurant wants to ban smoking or move it to specific areas, that's fine, but the government should do nothing more than require tobacco companies give full disclosure. And they have. Hell, now we've gone the opposite route and instead of hiding the risks we're exaggerating them. There was a whole generation that smoked that didn't die in 2 years. Yes, it's unhealthy and a waste of money, but so is fast food. You get addicted to fast food too and it will give you a heart attack in the same time smoking would give you cancer, but if that's what you want to do, that's your choice.

Keep it away from kids since they don't know better, but once you're 18, I'm pretty sure you can understand it's highly addictive, will make you short of breath, and might give you cancer. Some people just enjoy it, just as some enjoy drinking. Stop getting so draconian about this.

 

[Tony Wartooth]

-snip-

-snip-

-snip-

-snip-

Such a shame really. I should do a psychology and sociology degree, then I might learn enough to find an answer that doesn't involve government enforcement (though, if we discovered tobacco for the first time tomorrow and understood its effects I'd be all for making it illegal, it is just that, so many people currently want to/are pressured into smoking that you aren't 'removing an influence no-one presently wants' you are 'removing a deeply ingrained part of society'.
...
...
Time for more thinking!!!

If it weren't cigs, we'd find something else to take the edge off. I mean, look at how many drugs have been created out of things that are man made. LSD, DMT, Meth, Uppers, Downers, the list keeps going. The real problem, in my eyes, is that we've lost focus on what life really is so we're overly stressed. We forget that life can be peaceful, and simple. Instead it's all about getting to work on time, then paying the bills, then dealing with bosses, then get togethers for holidays, all sorts of inane things that are only in effect because we thought we were progressing. Sure, we have medicine to make us live longer, but at what cost?

 

[GlitchZero]

I think things should just stay par for the course. I'm a smoker, and the taxes are high enough as it is, but I don't think I should be entitled to smoke around non-smokers anywhere indoors, or at a bar, or anything like that, but there are 2 problems I have with non-smokers;

1) Standing at a bus stop. Ok, I do my best not to stand at least 3-5 feet away from anyone when I smoke, but I can't control the fucking wind people. Sitting directly east of me when the wind is blowing goddamn east, then bitching that the smoke is going in your face? Maybe you should, I dunno, take an entire step back, you fucking idiot? I always try to blow up too, so it's not at head level with anyone near me, but again, elements > my lungs.

2) This fucking smoke-free Mall shit. Again, don't get me wrong, I agree with smoking areas. Completely. They're designated, they show smokers where to go, non-smokers where not to go. However, when the rules are 9 meters from entrances (puts you in the middle of the goddamn parking lot, making you a hazard to drivers) and putting fucking TWO at a mall that's 815,000 square feet is plain retarded.

 

[DragonChi]

I think most smoking should be heavily taxed until it is universally socially unacceptable.

i'm fine with people smoking weed, but cigarettes are disgusting and you shouldn't smoke them where people can see you. You should be too ashamed. But it is reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally fun to cough at smokers when running by them

What makes marijuana better than cigarettes? Marijuana is in fact worse for your lungs and overall health than cigarettes are. Big gaping hole in your argument.

How can Marijuana possibly be worse than a cancer-causing,lung blackening,teeth staining,life reducing TAR stick that comes out of a packet that has a POISON label on it? are you nuts? MJ actually has medicinal properties, it actually helps certain symptoms that some people have. You don't see doctors prescribe cigarettes to patients. weed is virtually harmless unless you smoke it recklessly to the point of making yourself dumb. Even then, its still not as bad as blackening your lungs and causing cancer. Also, second hand MJ smoke doesn't harm anyone.

Granted, both of them smell bad, and neither of them are good for you really, but they are still on VASTLY different levels of danger. Some of this does boil down to how cavalier you are with a recreational drug, but cigarettes in ANY amount is bad. a little MJ, will just relax you for a little while then your back to normal.

 

[Cowabungaa]

In public places, yes. Destroy your own health all you want, but you don't have the right to force your filthy habit upon me. Do that kinda shit at home.

I'm all for legalising weed as well, if one wants to get high; be my guest. Just don't do it in public and bother us with it.

 

[Blunderman]

I'm not sure if I understand what you are saying here. It sounds to me like you are saying laws have nothing to do with our rights as human beings. That's a pretty scary thought.

No. My point is that laws are not final testaments to what is good or bad. The fact that smoking is currently legal is not an argument to keep it so.

First of all, I don't see how that's a leap of logic at all. Whether or not smoking is trivial is entirely subjective. To me, it is trivial. I don't smoke but it doesn't bother me in the least. There are also people who find homosexuality as offensive as others find smoking and they would feel about your hypothetical gay bar the same way you would feel about a bar that allows smoking.

"Trivial" is not an opinion. You can't choose to not be affected by its harmful effects. Human beings do not choose to be biologically vulnerable to the toxins and chemicals in cigarette smoke. If you don't mind the idea of sitting in a room full of poison (excuse the dramatic expression) then it may not disturb you on a psychological level - that does not mean your lungs can take the same approach.

Being offended, on the other hand, is entirely voluntary. You're not biologically programmed to hate homosexuals. Bigots have no right to claim special treatment because they are intolerant of something that causes them no grief outside their own minds. As a side note, being offended should have zero relevance in the face of the law.

Second of all, you are ignoring my point. Explain to me why, if I were to open a restaurant, I have to make it accessible to non smokers, even though they have the right to choose not to come to my restaurant if they don't want to.

You're asking this question as if there was ample reason to not do so, and you seem to be approaching this whole issue backwards. I don't agree with the current smoking laws (i.e. I want it made illegal everywhere) so I'm not going to motivate one aspect of them.

What's important is not legality or making sure our free will stays absolute, but the practices and consequences that are invariably related to smoking. Do you honestly think that it's better for society to have smoking? If you had a way to magically end the practice of smoking worldwide, would you turn it down?

As I've previously stated, smoking has no tangible benefits, it's exclusively detrimental, and should be phased out completely.

 

[drdamo]

Theres worse problems in the world than smoking, like 1 billion people who lack sufficient drinking water and food. At least we smokers up the ante with extra taxes, yet you non-smoking people should be ashamed; Complaining about personal health and not paying extra taxes while people starve to death.
Seriously, all the complaining about health and what others do will only make your mental health weaker. You will have stress, depressions and perhaps a decline in social value which would result in a further decrease of the first two.
As long as a smoker isn't blowing his smoke directly into your face you shouldn't make it worse for yourself and contemplate how good your life is compared to a billion others who don't even have chances.

 

[inflamessoilwork]

No. If smoking is banned then drinking has to be banned as well.

EDIT: Everyone who is quoting me are you all idiots or something? The bottom of this? Heres the bottom, drinking causes just as much problems as smoking. Ever hear of drunk driving, bar fights, abuse due to alcohol, poor judgement under the influence, or alcohol poisoning? Or do all of these just fly past your heads? You don't cancer right away from smoking, you get it later on. ITS THE SAME WITH DRINKING. IF SMOKING GETS BANNED THEN DRINKING SHOULD AS WELL. Fucking hell, think people think

Just to make sure everyone sees it before quoting me again.

Tobacco was the leading cause of death in 2000: 435,000
Alcohol was the third: 85,000

 

[YouCallMeNighthawk]

As a smoker myself, i know the risks that come with it but ...... i really couldn't care less, we are all going to die some day why not do it doing something i enjoy.

I'm not one of those dickish smokers who blow smoke in peoples face and what not, when i walk by kids i hide the fag and hold the smoke in until they pass and if i'm with a non-smoker i will ask if i may have a ciggy (if in there house).

If you make smoking illegal you make free will illegal. it's our choice let us get on with it!