6 ms·

I quit for the longest of time...(started at 16), all of the sudden I found myself in Colombia, and all the restrictions I've gotten used to (no smoking in publ

I quit for the longest of time...(started at 16), all of the sudden I found myself in Colombia, and all the restrictions I've gotten used to (no smoking in public places, etc) where non-existent. Further more, the packing of the cigarettes was still all branded, almost no warnings, and all kinds of 'clicky' flavored types. Don't want a whole pack? no problem, we got you! Buy singles on every corner... Needless to say I started smoking again... I then quit again for a few years... went to northern Africa, and guess what? People literally smoking at the airport, £1 packs of camel, etc... I haven't had one in a bit now... People think the restrictions don't work, but they absolutely do.

hankchinaski 3y ago
I stopped smoking when I moved to the uk. A pack of 20 is 4 times as much as it is back in Spain or Italy. That alone made the trick
- pelagicAustral 3y ago
  Absolutely, and I love it. No branded packs, no flavored cigarettes, no menthol, huge horrendous depictions of what you're exposing yourself to, £12 a pack, cannot smoke near public buildings, cannot smoke in public places, etc... This is beautiful. I will never stop saying, please, tax me on this crap, tax me more.
jkubicek 3y ago
> People think the restrictions don't work, but they absolutely do It's wild to me that people make assertions like this. We can (and should) argue about the effectiveness of smoking restrictions on decreasing cancer and heart disease, but to make the argument that they have no effect is just silliness. You hear the same arguments from the right whenever gun control, environmental protections or really any sort of government regulation comes up, and from the left (though to a much lesser degree) on the topic of tax rates. We should all be able to agree that any sort of regulation will have a marginal effect, and be able to have a discussion about the level of that effect.
- objektif 3y ago
  How about legalizing drugs? Somehow people believe that it is going to magically work.
  - dools 3y ago
    A regulated drug market such as cigarettes can do more to reduce harmful consumption than an unregulated drug market. It also eliminates criminalisation for what is essentially a health issue.
  - mr_toad 3y ago
    Well we could make Tobacco illegal too, at the cost of creating a black market and increasing crime. Would we start locking people up for smoking? Would workplaces include nicotine in their mandatory drug testing?
    - objektif 3y ago
      I just think it is better for things like fentanyl to stay illegal than freely available in streets. I would be interested to see an alternative universe where tobacco was illegal. You do not necessarily lock people up but just reduce the supply as much as you can.
      - GuB-42 3y ago
        The big problem with fentanyl is that it is an extremely potent drug with a low therapeutic index, which, with the poor quality control of street drugs, is a perfect recipe for overdoses. I am not saying the fentanyl should be made legal, but its criminalization is a big part of the problem. It is also why it is used so much over other, less risky opioids. Because it is so potent, only small quantities are needed, which makes trafficking easier.
        objektif 3y ago
        This is the part I also do not understand. Why is criminalization the issue? Do you think having such drugs makes the world better in any way? We are not talking about buying eggs. These are super addictive substances.
ohthatsnotright 3y ago
Counter-dote: I started smoking when deployed. It took me a few years to quit and that was a smoking -> chew -> patch/gum -> nothing. No restrictions on sale other than 18+ (I was 24 when I started), and inside public places were only restricted a few years after I came back so I smoked a fair bit in local bars. Smoking and similar habits are such a wild spectrum you can't prescribe any one thing and restrictions might help some who are prone but aren't really a cure.
thefz 3y ago
Now that we are no longer used to smell the smoke, even getting close to someone smoking a cigarette makes me nauseous. Does not work with rolling tobacco, though.

hankchinaski 3y ago

I stopped smoking when I moved to the uk. A pack of 20 is 4 times as much as it is back in Spain or Italy. That alone made the trick

pelagicAustral 3y ago
Absolutely, and I love it. No branded packs, no flavored cigarettes, no menthol, huge horrendous depictions of what you're exposing yourself to, £12 a pack, cannot smoke near public buildings, cannot smoke in public places, etc... This is beautiful. I will never stop saying, please, tax me on this crap, tax me more.

jkubicek 3y ago

> People think the restrictions don't work, but they absolutely do It's wild to me that people make assertions like this. We can (and should) argue about the effectiveness of smoking restrictions on decreasing cancer and heart disease, but to make the argument that they have no effect is just silliness. You hear the same arguments from the right whenever gun control, environmental protections or really any sort of government regulation comes up, and from the left (though to a much lesser degree) on the topic of tax rates. We should all be able to agree that any sort of regulation will have a marginal effect, and be able to have a discussion about the level of that effect.

objektif 3y ago
How about legalizing drugs? Somehow people believe that it is going to magically work.
- dools 3y ago
  A regulated drug market such as cigarettes can do more to reduce harmful consumption than an unregulated drug market. It also eliminates criminalisation for what is essentially a health issue.
- mr_toad 3y ago
  Well we could make Tobacco illegal too, at the cost of creating a black market and increasing crime. Would we start locking people up for smoking? Would workplaces include nicotine in their mandatory drug testing?
  - objektif 3y ago
    I just think it is better for things like fentanyl to stay illegal than freely available in streets. I would be interested to see an alternative universe where tobacco was illegal. You do not necessarily lock people up but just reduce the supply as much as you can.
    - GuB-42 3y ago
      The big problem with fentanyl is that it is an extremely potent drug with a low therapeutic index, which, with the poor quality control of street drugs, is a perfect recipe for overdoses. I am not saying the fentanyl should be made legal, but its criminalization is a big part of the problem. It is also why it is used so much over other, less risky opioids. Because it is so potent, only small quantities are needed, which makes trafficking easier.
      - objektif 3y ago
        This is the part I also do not understand. Why is criminalization the issue? Do you think having such drugs makes the world better in any way? We are not talking about buying eggs. These are super addictive substances.

ohthatsnotright 3y ago

Counter-dote: I started smoking when deployed. It took me a few years to quit and that was a smoking -> chew -> patch/gum -> nothing. No restrictions on sale other than 18+ (I was 24 when I started), and inside public places were only restricted a few years after I came back so I smoked a fair bit in local bars. Smoking and similar habits are such a wild spectrum you can't prescribe any one thing and restrictions might help some who are prone but aren't really a cure.

thefz 3y ago

Now that we are no longer used to smell the smoke, even getting close to someone smoking a cigarette makes me nauseous. Does not work with rolling tobacco, though.