The piece looks at a recent paper titled 'Daring to Dream' in which anti-smoking advocates look at "end-game strategies" to wipe tobacco from the face of the earth. What could possibly go wrong, eh?
It also looks at a study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy—called 'History of Bhutan's prohibition of cigarettes: Implications for neo-prohibitionists and their critics'—which looks at how tobacco prohibition has been going in Bhutan. The answer, of course, is not well.
There is, says its author, “a thriving black market and significant and increasing tobacco smuggling… 23.7% of students had used any tobacco products (not limited to cigarettes) in the last 30 days… tobacco use for adults has not ended or is even close to ending… cigarette prohibition is instrumental in encouraging smuggling and black markets… The results of this study provide an important lesson learned for health practitioners and advocates considering or advocating, albeit gradual, but total cigarette ban as a public policy.”
That’s right. Prohibition still doesn’t work.
Do pop over and have a read...
It doesn't matter if tobacco becomes more dangerous through a thriving black market, or that young people start smoking because this is not about health. It's about the criminalisation of the product, its industry and its consumer by zealots who have somehow infiltrated main stream govt. This is about hate and the issue is becoming very dangerous to the stability of society and the concepts of choice and tolerance.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe anything can turn this back except for a compete and radical change of Govt and policy which is never going to happen under our current three-party system.
Congrats on your baby, btw. She's gorgeous. My new grandson was born a month ago. I do fear for the future world they are going to grow up in and the future of smoker parents like yourself and what kind of relationship we adults will have with the next generation of created smokerphobics in 20 years.
Aaaaaaaaaaaahh! Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteI do hope you had a cigar to celebrate.
She looks like you. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteExcellent news, she looks great. Congratulations! The rapid ageing process starts here. ;)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
ReplyDeleteShe's very lovely.
Rose
Congratulations Chris. There's definitely a resemblance. JHB.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. She looks great And maximum respect for being able to write such an excellent article less than 6 months from the event.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for your next book about prohibition.
Eh? You're a smoker - I have it on good authority that it's impossible for smokers to have kids.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, congrats. A beatiful baby.
Congratulations!!
ReplyDeleteGary K.
Oh Chris, she's delightful. Congratulations to the two of you. As for prohibition I'll discuss that another time. A new family member is far more important.
ReplyDeleteFirst, Congratulations! You and Mom must be very proud.
ReplyDeleteI first came across the term "Endgame" this spring in the TOPHC programme.
"Tobacco Endgame: Evidence, Knowledge Exchange and Politics (So Close and Yet So Far)"
http://www.oahpp.ca/about/events/tophc/documents/TOPHC%20Programme%20Wed%20Apr%206%20-%20updated%20Mar16-11.pdf
The abstract is on page 22 and for some reason, they still believe that the tobacco industry is the cause or as they put it "disease vector".
It looks to me like the next step will be reducing availability by limiting the number of retail outlets allowed to sell tobacco. "For the children" of course...
Congratulations to Mr and Mrs S. Doesn't she look like dad. The first 4 weeks are the worst being woken up at 3 hourly intervals for food and nappy changes.
ReplyDeleteOn prohibition the anti tobacco crowd have just enough rope to hand themselves.
Congratulations from a new reader of this blog. But also a question - though you may have covered this topic in the past. I refer to the statistician Fisher and his seizing on the strange evidence about the effect of inhalation of cigarette smoke on lung cancer rates. I first saw it mentioned here:
ReplyDeletehttp://members.iinet.com.au/~ray/TSSOASb.html
I loathe cigarette smoke myself, and would be astonished if ("first hand") smoking weren't pretty much as dangerous as it is made out to be, but that's a rum anomaly he identified. Have you any views?
Congratulations on the new arrival. All the best to the three of you...
ReplyDeleteMark Butcher
Congrats to you and Mrs. S.
ReplyDeleteAs George Speller points out, it's a miracle that you not only managed to overcome the smoking related erectile dysfunction that all male smokers suffer, but that you also had a normal, healthy child, despite there probably having been the odd whiff of second-hand smoke around your pregnant wife.
Could it be that all we read in the papers is not completely true? Nooooo - surely not. I mean - they wouldn't lie, would they? After all, those people at ASH are experts, and know everything...
Congrats to Chris and Mrs. Chris on their beautiful new arrival! So much for smoking interfering with that fertility.
ReplyDeleteYes, prohibition still doesn't work. Here in California, it is the plethora of small, Mom and Pop Pot grows that are keeping the big drug cartels at bey. So it is the legalization which is diminishing resources for big crime drug syndicates. Unfortunately, smoking continues to be criminalized, so our policy direction is now going in the wrong way fast.
Chris - We may have our differences. But I'm delighted about your news. Many congratulations.
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone for their best wishes. I shall return soon.
ReplyDeletedearieme,
As I recall, the number of non-inhalers in the study was unfeasibly low (ie. they were kidding themselves or lying), thus making the finding meaningless.
Well congrats are in order for the Snowdon family!!Congrats, man.
ReplyDeleteTa
ReplyDelete