Smokers

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Nope, and this weeks assignment on smoking has put me off the idea even more. :O
 
Yeah i started drinking when i was ten and smoking about a year after that. I took part in research for life expectancy and thats what they came up with for me. Despite all this im very active and thats why my life expectancy is high.

Also guys its not fair to criticise us smokers either.My cousin is 3 months older than me and was recently diagnosed with cancer even though she never smoked or drank. So that woke me up and realised it could happen anytime even if you avoid smoking or excessive drinking.

"Life is for living",dont waste your time trying to be perfect because nobody is
 
stafford said:
Yeah i started drinking when i was ten and smoking about a year after that. I took part in research for life expectancy and thats what they came up with for me. Despite all this im very active and thats why my life expectancy is high.

Also guys its not fair to criticise us smokers either.My cousin is 3 months older than me and was recently diagnosed with cancer even though she never smoked or drank. So that woke me up and realised it could happen anytime even if you avoid smoking or excessive drinking.

"Life is for living",dont waste your time trying to be perfect because nobody is
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Started drinking when you were 10?????????????????
 
It can happen to anyone, it's just much more likely to happen to a smoker, which is indisputable.
 
Joel -- I'm interested to know what other reason (s) you think the government has for allowing smoking to continue within the UK. Personally, I believe the overall profit figure of almost £11 billion (in 2009-10 according to HMRC &TMA) must carry some weight when they huddle around the discussion table. It's easy money for the government who, in all honesty, don't care about the everyday gal and guy as much as we would like them too.

They have a legal, taxable and highly addictive product on the street that is an accepted part of society atm. But, there would be enough public support for it's banning should they wish to do so, and 'really' aid us all with our health etc. Why then, don't they do it?

This is NOT a rant btw :) I would just like someone with more information on the matter to tell me why the government are knowingly selling their public a product that has been proven to kill? If it's not for the money, then why? I am a smoker btw, but I would love it if they banned it as my will-power is almost non-existent :(
 
I didn't mean to put your words in the mouth, I was just using your quoted figure as a basis for a counter argument since it's a pretty common argument relating to smoking, sorry anyway..
 
Don't apologise to madsheep we all think he's a ****** really. Just he's a mod so we try keep quiet :p.
 
Joel` said:
I didn't mean to put your words in the mouth, I was just using your quoted figure as a basis for a counter argument since it's a pretty common argument relating to smoking, sorry anyway..
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dont worry, looking back, it looks like im in the context of pro-smoking, which im not, some of your arguments suggests we are actually on the same page.
 
Stann;721966[SIZE=6 said:
]Don't apologise to madsheep we all think he's a ****** really. Just he's a mod so we try keep quiet [/SIZE]:p.
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howcome i think he's an epic mod who posts good intresting things
 
Joel` said:
I didn't mean to put your words in the mouth, I was just using your quoted figure as a basis for a counter argument since it's a pretty common argument relating to smoking, sorry anyway..
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deleted wrong post, but i think they are getting round to banning it, slowly but surely. look at the way advertising has disappeard, the warnings on the packaging, the banning of smoking in pubs, almost turning smokers in pariahs. but the 6 billion in profit is no small amount. and as carine said, easy money. especially when you consider the 6.5 billion in cuts having to be made
 
The cost to your nhs is probably less than the revenue in taxation that the government gets from cigarettes sold each year. Its the same in ireland,our taxation covers the cost to the health service ten times over :)

Personally i wouldnt advise anybody to start smoking, its rich for me to say this but i would love to quit but dont have the willpower to do it....

So kids DONT SMOKE!!!!!!
 
Carine said:
Joel -- I'm interested to know what other reason (s) you think the government has for allowing smoking to continue within the UK. Personally, I believe the overall profit figure of almost £11 billion (in 2009-10 according to HMRC &TMA) must carry some weight when they huddle around the discussion table. It's easy money for the government who, in all honesty, don't care about the everyday gal and guy as much as we would like them too.

They have a legal, taxable and highly addictive product on the street that is an accepted part of society atm. But, there would be enough public support for it's banning should they wish to do so, and 'really' aid us all with our health etc. Why then, don't they do it?

This is NOT a rant btw :) I would just like someone with more information on the matter to tell me why the government are knowingly selling their public a product that has been proven to kill? If it's not for the money, then why? I am a smoker btw, but I would love it if they banned it as my will-power is almost non-existent :(
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£5bn of profit is £5bn extra than they'd have if they made it illegal. The majority of the price for cigarettes is tax, the tobacco market is already a well established industry, that as you say does turn a profit. The government could make it illegal, however that just encourages trade for it illegally. The illegal trade can't be taxed, so the social problem isn't solved (Maybe reduced numbers for the people who don't want to buy illegally, however it could also be said that would even out since demand could rise due to the subtraction of tax from the price.) And they also lose the tax revenue, and the ability to regulate and control the industry.

It's far easier to regulate and control a legal industry than an illegal one. Does the class system really discourage people from smoking cannabis for instance? There's also the problem of the increased crime rates from the new product that can be traded illegally. This should result in increased spending for the police, but this raises an opportunity cost, would we rather spend more on the police than we need to or spend it on education etc.?

Just look at what happened when America tried to ban alcohol: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States#Society
We're left with the government either gaining money into the economy from smoking, with a social cost. Or making it illegal, which I doubt would solve the social cost, which would be the only beneficial result of the action. We would also have to put up with smoking then becoming a drain on the economy.

Some may disagree with me, but there are no rights and wrongs in Economics! :)

I also realise this contradicts my other post, but goods like smoking are going to have negative effects if we allow them or not.
 
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Joel -- thanks for the reply and thanks for the effort you obviously put into it :)
 
stafford said:
Just because you dont smoke doesnt make you perfect.....

Ah Dunc,dont say perfect...lets say "special" haha
:p
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Didn't say not smoking made me perfect, everything else does tho.

Personally, I would rather smell of awesomeness than ash/smoke/aids.
 
Actually i smell more of cow s*** now than smoke, Also possible to get menthol cigarettes that leave a fresh smell. But if you look above i dont condone smoking or encourage it. Sorry if it seems that way... :)

off topic but::Are u ginger dunc???
 
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