Etiquette



DP Etiquette

First rule: Don't be a jackass.

Other rules: Do not attack or insult people you disagree with. Engage with facts, logic and beliefs. Out of respect for others, please provide some sources for the facts and truths you rely on if you are asked for that. If emotion is getting out of hand, get it back in hand. To limit dehumanizing people, don't call people or whole groups of people disrespectful names, e.g., stupid, dumb or liar. Insulting people is counterproductive to rational discussion. Insult makes people angry and defensive. All points of view are welcome, right, center, left and elsewhere. Just disagree, but don't be belligerent or reject inconvenient facts, truths or defensible reasoning.

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Should Cigarettes Be Banned Completely?

Finally, marijuana is becoming legal in more States but still illegal federally. Not in Canada, but then again, Canada is always ahead of the curve.

Yet alcohol is legal despite the grief it causes and ditto for cigarettes.


This idea of banning cigarettes (or all tobacco products) is not a new one, I have heard the suggestion since I was a young lad. Usually the argument doesn't go anywhere.


So one site I found explores the question:


https://soapboxie.com/social-issues/Should-cigarettes-be-banned-Arguments-for-and-against


Some of the reasons FOR the idea:

Cigarettes are the single biggest cause of premature death on the planet.

Nicotine is extremely addictive. The withdrawal symptoms are intense and there is a high rate of people who fail to quit, or relapse. Some people end up spending their entire lives addicted.

Smokers are a heavy burden on health care services, because of the severity and wide range of ailments that cigarettes cause.

1 in 5 deaths in the U.S. each year is caused by smoking.

Secondhand smoke causes around 50,000 deaths each year in the U.S.


Some reasons AGAINST the idea:

People's civil liberties are not negotiable.

Banning cigarettes would create a huge black market that would be exploited by criminals.

Smokers pay more tax than non-smokers due to the high tax on cigarettes, banning cigarettes would mean a reduction in taxation revenue for the government.

The tobacco industry creates thousands of jobs around the world.


SO, what do YOU think?




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