Removing/reducing nicotine in Cigarettes - good idea or nanny state gone to far?

Rilot · 22 Jun 2022 at 16:16

R.P.L said:
Potato potarto. Word it however you want, but I don't like it.

Neither do I. I’m also all for the complete decriminalisation of all narcotics.
If people want to smoke, let them. Tax it to high heaven but don’t ban it.

R.P.L · 22 Jun 2022 at 16:19

Rilot said:
Neither do I. I’m also all for the complete decriminalisation of all narcotics.
If people want to smoke, let them. Tax it to high heaven but don’t ban it.

I'm fine with it being taxed in line with everything else, plus the amount that it costs the NHS. I'm not in favour of taxing the crap out of smokers just because we can (even though we already do).

Haggisman · 22 Jun 2022 at 16:22

Rilot said:
Neither do I. I’m also all for the complete decriminalisation of all narcotics.

Definitely agreed. I've previously made long posts on why I think this would have multiple benefits (which outweigh the downsides), so I'm not going to repeat them, but I believe that decriminalising and instead regulating currently illegal drugs would essentially be a win scenario for everyone involved (except the criminal elements who profit purely from the illegality).

dave28 · 22 Jun 2022 at 16:28

Stumble Bum said:
Smoking is great these days because it's just a tax on the stupid.

Many kids are peer pressured into it by so called friends, not knowing the real power of the addiction.

Yes they can say no but peer pressure can make people do things that they would never have decided to do on their own, even some teens going along with serious crimes.

Efour · 22 Jun 2022 at 16:34

Ban vaping too cos it makes you look like a giant Cword.

I literally thought smoking was a "dying" trend anyway. I know 2 people that smoke now. Who on earth can afford to smoke in the uk? Isnt it like 15 quid a packet? ( lol 5 quid in Sweden, move here idiots)

I quit so anyone can.

200sols · 22 Jun 2022 at 16:39

Efour said:
I literally thought smoking was a "dying" trend anyway. I know 2 people that smoke now. Who on earth can afford to smoke in the uk? Isnt it like 15 quid a packet? ( lol 5 quid in Sweden, move here idiots)

13.5% of adults in 2020 apparently, down from 20% in 2011. I couldn't see earlier data but its fallen from about 45% of adults in 1974, been on a steady trend lower. The target is under 5% in 2030.

Graetzbridge · 22 Jun 2022 at 17:08

Quite a few people I know are switching to e-cigarettes.

Thekwango · 22 Jun 2022 at 17:19

LabR@t said:
People should be allowed to do want they want

they most certainly should not!!

Rroff said:
I'm on the fence on this - there are plenty of things which to many people make zero sense but some people still want to do - as long as the impact to other people is zero or reasonably mitigated. (Sure someone smoking themselves to death can have an impact on their family etc. but that is another matter).

Should we also ban people from anything which might hurt them? motor sports, hurling themselves off cliffs for fun (diving), etc. etc.

dunno, i get what you're saying but i don't see how comparing smoking with adventure sports and the like really works.

200sols said:
People in support, they'll come for alcohol and fatty/sugary foods next and you wont have any defence.

there'll still be plenty of defence of those activities. hell, alcohol should be banned given the governments stance on most drugs, yet isn't. i don't think anyones taking away your carling, kebab and mars bar any time soon.

Nelly · 22 Jun 2022 at 17:35

Graetzbridge said:
Quite a few people I know are switching to e-cigarettes.

gupsterg · 22 Jun 2022 at 17:40

explicit4u said:
I wish they were required to put nic levels on cigarettes too (and tar). It's a nightmare figuring out strengths unless you're familiar with the brand and know how their lines correlate with strength.

They used to put nicotine and tar levels. IIRC when plain packaging was implemented it was removed. From what I understand it was so people didn't think X cigarette brand had less effect on their health vs Y. Also cigarette manufacturers were told to change names of products, for example Marlboro Light become Gold. Any product name which suggested it was having less of an ill effect on health was no longer allowed.

D.P. · 22 Jun 2022 at 17:40

Feek said:
The minimum smoking age should be raised annually by one year. So this year it's 18 (or whatever), next year it's 19, then it's 20.

It's not rocket science, within a generation, nobody will smoke. I've been saying this for over twenty years.

This, what NZ did.

None of this fannying about, just make it illegal to start smoking.

And put another $5 excise per packet for the existing smokers.

arknor · 22 Jun 2022 at 20:42

they should remove the alcohol from alcoholic drinks to save the NHS and police time

dlockers · 22 Jun 2022 at 20:47

arknor said:
they should remove the alcohol from alcoholic drinks to save the NHS and police time

They did, 0% booze is booming

Quartz · 22 Jun 2022 at 21:13

Lysander said:
There is literally nothing good about smoking. Nothing.

Many Europeans in Africa found that smoking kept the mosquitos away, thus reducing the risk of malaria.

malachi · 22 Jun 2022 at 21:31

Quartz said:
Many Europeans in Africa found that smoking kept the mosquitos away, thus reducing the risk of malaria.

While increasing the risk of cancer.

cheesefest · 22 Jun 2022 at 21:34

Nicotine, tar levels are not listed on packs for years.

ttaskmaster · 22 Jun 2022 at 21:59

Voltar said:
If a pack of fags cost £30 and wasn’t sold in supermarkets, petrol stations, corner shops and pretty much everywhere then we would almost certainly see fewer smokers.

Or just an increase in crime...

dLockers said:
Nicotine patches just prolong the addiction to nicotine, ergo the desire for cigarettes. It was the cleverest scam by the tobacco firms ever.

dLockers said:
Nicotine is the addictive element. If you want to break the habit, you need to isolate and remove the addictive component. People don't just smoke because it is "pleasant" (as it is distinctly unpleasant).

And yet decades of reinforcement tests, in humans and other lab animals, show nicotine most often fails to result in addiction, especially at the levels found in cigarettes...

Haggisman said:
To be honest, smoking is about the least sexy thing someone can do. No bigger turn off than the stench of ashtray while you're "going about your business"

And yet, there's a whole category for it on pron sites... Somebody out there clearly has a fag fetish.

Malevolence · 22 Jun 2022 at 22:02

ttaskmaster said:
And yet, there's a whole category for it on pron sites... Somebody out there clearly has a fag fetish.

Now that's something you don't want to accidently type into a search engine.

Jokester · 22 Jun 2022 at 22:05

LabR@t said:
The true costs of treating smokers, the obese and the healthy

In 2008 the Dutch government looked into the cost of treating people from the age of 20 to death. They had three categories, the healthy, obese and smokers. The results were not what the health gur…

daveatherton.wordpress.com

Tax gyms healthy people are costing the tax payers a fortune .

People who smoke and/or are obese tend to be lower economic status, they might cost less, but I would wager they pay substantially less tax than healthy people on average.

dlockers · 22 Jun 2022 at 22:06

ttaskmaster said:
Or just an increase in crime...

And yet decades of reinforcement tests, in humans and other lab animals, show nicotine most often fails to result in addiction, especially at the levels found in cigarettes...

And yet, there's a whole category for it on pron sites... Somebody out there clearly has a fag fetish.

?? You saying nicotine isn't addictive?