Eliminate smoking - based on Age >
- Thread starter Dr_Puff
- Start date
Rukaguy
Postman
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2013
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I am for the ban of all tobacco in a staggered but measurable way.
Tobacco would not be permitted if it were brought to the fore today. Furthermore, it has a direct and tangible cost to the UK tax-payer let alone the immeasurable cost to human life. Not only the people who develop cardiovascular and respiratory disease from smoking, but the families left behind.
Addiction is no longer truly an 'excuse' in the majority of people who realise that smoking is very deadly; what with the thousands of alternatives of consuming nicotine out there. Which seems to be what the 'age-related' ban is trying to get at - 'can't teach an old dog new tricks' etc.
The truth is, the tobacco companies lobby hard and they are very very very slowly, losing - but they still have a firm grasp over the economy.
If smoking was banned the so called, 'deficit' in the economy would be displaced by the slow correction of disease-cost - and even if it weren't, the benefit to human life is much more valuable.
The pragmatic side is; how does one legislate against the use of a product, used by millions - the cost of this would potentially be vast. There will always be the cry of the 'nanny state' - and this is perhaps valid. People's freedom of choice is extremely important. But this is offset by the larger complication of that every eligible individual in this country is entitled to what is essentially free long-term healthcare at the point of access and (mostly) beyond this; it is paid for by nearly the entire populous. If you were faced with a reality whereby your smoking led to your being uninsured and vulnerable, I think many people in Britain would think twice about risky and damaging behavior, particularly in the older population. When people take out private medical insurance, they are forced to confront a reality, "what if I get ill some time...?" - this is vastly more likely if you smoke. In fact, you have a 50% chance of dying from your habit.
"People would grow it in their plant-pots" - There are about 10 million adults who smoke cigarettes in Great Britain. I simply cannot envisage the widespread growing of tobacco.
In our current NHS system, which I passionately love, we rely on a, albeit, imperfect system to help us in our time of need - but the burden of smoking related disease is really something we could do without. I would love to be able to look my patients in the eyes many years down the line and think, "thank god we banned tobacco products like cigarettes".
There were 1706 male drug poisoning deaths in 2012, in the entire UK - illegal and non-illegal combined.
Smoking is the primary cause of preventable illness and premature death, accounting for approximately 100,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom.
Tobacco would not be permitted if it were brought to the fore today. Furthermore, it has a direct and tangible cost to the UK tax-payer let alone the immeasurable cost to human life. Not only the people who develop cardiovascular and respiratory disease from smoking, but the families left behind.
Addiction is no longer truly an 'excuse' in the majority of people who realise that smoking is very deadly; what with the thousands of alternatives of consuming nicotine out there. Which seems to be what the 'age-related' ban is trying to get at - 'can't teach an old dog new tricks' etc.
The truth is, the tobacco companies lobby hard and they are very very very slowly, losing - but they still have a firm grasp over the economy.
If smoking was banned the so called, 'deficit' in the economy would be displaced by the slow correction of disease-cost - and even if it weren't, the benefit to human life is much more valuable.
The pragmatic side is; how does one legislate against the use of a product, used by millions - the cost of this would potentially be vast. There will always be the cry of the 'nanny state' - and this is perhaps valid. People's freedom of choice is extremely important. But this is offset by the larger complication of that every eligible individual in this country is entitled to what is essentially free long-term healthcare at the point of access and (mostly) beyond this; it is paid for by nearly the entire populous. If you were faced with a reality whereby your smoking led to your being uninsured and vulnerable, I think many people in Britain would think twice about risky and damaging behavior, particularly in the older population. When people take out private medical insurance, they are forced to confront a reality, "what if I get ill some time...?" - this is vastly more likely if you smoke. In fact, you have a 50% chance of dying from your habit.
"People would grow it in their plant-pots" - There are about 10 million adults who smoke cigarettes in Great Britain. I simply cannot envisage the widespread growing of tobacco.
In our current NHS system, which I passionately love, we rely on a, albeit, imperfect system to help us in our time of need - but the burden of smoking related disease is really something we could do without. I would love to be able to look my patients in the eyes many years down the line and think, "thank god we banned tobacco products like cigarettes".
There were 1706 male drug poisoning deaths in 2012, in the entire UK - illegal and non-illegal combined.
Smoking is the primary cause of preventable illness and premature death, accounting for approximately 100,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom.
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