The U.S. government has done something about it via. PSA's and imposing large taxes on cigarettes.

http://www.ibtimes.com/price-cigaret...te-map-1553445

Regarding OP's 2nd post:

BMI is a terrible way to measure how "fat" somebody is. If we consider BMI over 25, 'fat', how about all the lean athletes (and I'm not talking bodybuilders) who have BMI over 25, such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Froning_Jr. who is "the fittest guy on earth" via winning Crossfit Games, which is basically a competition about who has the highest physical work potential, which includes sprints and some longer-distance running & swimming as well. His BMI (following WikiPedia), is 28.7.

Alcohol is cool with modesty, I drank 0.275l 5%cyder 2 nights ago. Wouldn't say it hurt me. Naw, I'm not saying alcoholism is not bad. It is, it hurts a guy's liver and often his brain. However, as a person living in Latvia, I think it's often the fact that the guy has no life, which makes him an alcoholic.

E.g. he has little income, his wife is not hot or not willing anymore, or bad in other ways, he's divorced. Or like many teens, required to drink just to be cool and get the girls, who also hang out in drink-smoke-some-drugs house parties and stuff. Probably not in US, but in Latvia it was how it went in most cases.

So why are we blaming some pitty shit like smoking or alcohol which I've never had urge to use, instead of the reason, that the person has no life, is going nowhere or has like terribad vision of life and has nobody to talk about it with, cause talking about your emotions is considered weird and people could just as well laugh you for attempting doing so. Even semi-close people, that is.

Or like even on forums, instead of showing you how to write more pro, people will just say you're dumb or your English is shit or you're too emotional or not writing too vaguely (which nobody gets) to make that perfect discussion post.

I think a important problem, which also increases alcohol-problems (which is usually the guy not just drinking, but also not working for his career or skills or whatever) but that we as society kinda contribute to these problem to fail in life and then go for bottle, smokes, too much p**n, too much games, too much TV, whatever.

You sir are very confused. Thx faint.

Anyway I think that all the pressure from social media about weed and smoking and stuff can really influence you into making the wrong choice, I mean like maybe 15% of people in my school smoke weed. It s really sad imo

People are stupid and forget what has been already learned or believe them immune to the outcome. We already see with vaccinations, how some idiots refuse to get them for flimsy reasons at best, vaccination rates dropping and herd immunity being at risk and supposedly eradicated diseases coming back in outbreaks. When vaccines were first discovered, people were overjoyed because now otherwise lethal diseases were protected against. Tens of thousands of people each year lived because of them. Now we have people who have forgotten the times when smallpox was a reality and killed thousands of kids a year, and refuse vaccinations based on a disproven study that was fradulently conducted and the person who ran it has been banned from science for life, all because Jenny McCarthy opened her big, stupid mouth and proclaimed vaccinations caused autism. People are fucking stupid about choices when left to their own devices.

The same applies to any other action. Smoking is proven to be bad for your health, but there's no shortage of people that are imbeciles and start to smoke anyways. The amount of advertising money tobacco companies spend is ludicrous, and all of their ads glamorize smoking so much that it puts cosmetics ads to shame. PSAs counteract the effects of such advertising, and inform those who are too clueless to know otherwise.


Being relatively totalitarian on this issue, I would say mandatory rehabilitation for all smokers and a complete ban on the sale of tobacco products. The production or import of such products being punishable with prison time. E-cigs included.

But that would never happen. Free rehabilitation available for smokers and a heavy tax on all tobacco products, alongside a ban on the advertising of tobacco products, e-cigs included, would probably be the most likely thing I could settle for that would be passed.

Just wanted to say, it is highly possible to smoke in moderation and avoid any serious health risk. The problem with cigarettes is that they are addictive, for people with enough self control to limit how often they smoke (social smoking is the sort of thing I am talking about) it is not nearly as dangerous as you might think.

However, as I said, cigarettes are highly addictive and therefore smoking is a serious public health issue. The adverts against smoking are aimed just as much, if not more, at people who are already addicted than to those who might otherwise have started smoking. The adverts I have seen tend to have a smoker as the protagonist rather than someone who is starting smoking and they tend to focus on trying to make people put the cigarette down or not pick another one up rather than on someone buying cigarettes. This is perhaps because the younger generations are already being discouraged from starting to smoke by schools and the images on the packets and do not need to be reminded because they are not as stupid as you might think. Shock value grotesque adverts about stopping smoking are necessary because, for addicts, the images on the cigarette packets lose their meaning with familiarity and become entirely unnoticed and because to fight the impulse to smoke they need another impulse against smoking. The reason grotesque and disturbing imagery is used in the anti-smoking adverts is because they cause a natural impulse of disgust which is exactly what is needed for an addicts brain. Simple reason and knowledge of the health risks are really not useful when trying to stop impulses because of they are from different parts of the brain, whereas disgust is primitive and instinctive.

I am sorry if I went on a tangent for a little too long, my point is that people don't have to be stupid to keep on smoking. To put it in context think about how many times people procrastinate or waste time instead of doing really important work despite the complete lack of logic such a decision displays, the problem is that it is hard to fight your brains programming to get distracted with reason or logic because the impulse is still there.

Does any of what I just wrote make sense?

The major problem with smoking is not smoking itself, but rather everything they put into cigarettes to make them addictive and harmful.
Breathing smoke isn't necessarily harmful, it is when that smoke is laced with dozens of chemicals and drugs to make it more addictive.

But the toxic substances along with nicotine is what makes the smoking something so relaxing and addictive. Ok smoking is (according to statistics) the leading cause of preventable death in the world. But while people feel the need to get rid of something that bothers them, escape, they'll look for ways to do this, and the cigarette is usually an option for many people. The same applies to the feel of satisfy a curiosity, know how it works, what effect cause or fit into a group, whatever.

Regarding the health problems caused by smoking, it's very variable, depending on the amount, frequency, body... I smoke since 2011 and so far my health is okay, do routine tests often and all is well.

The World Health Organization develops a program a few years ago, which aims to encourage and support policies and tobacco control activities in Latin America and nearby regions, public health systems can try everything, governments can act with increasing taxes on the product, increase the price of cigarettes at 4x, no matter! Those who smoke will continue consuming.

I believe the only way to end this problem is suddenly stop production, but the world is driven by money, so I believe it will not happen.

Smoking is a constitutional right, anyone should be able to smoke if they chose to do so. All these anti smoking commercials really tick me off, although there are a lot of health problems smoking can cause, it is a right that anyone should have, i dont understand why these anti smokers want make it illegal, if they dont like it they dont have to do it but why try to make it illegal? first of all, the government makes good money off the tobacco industry so it becoming illegal is highly unlikely. Second of all, if it cigarettes where to be made illegal a lot of people would not be happy and the gov would be making less money. Third of all, if they where illegal that would just lead to more people being jailed for illegal use of it, i mean look at weed for example its illegal and they're is still a lot of weed being grown, smoked, and distributed and many incarcerations for it filling up prisons of harmless potheads and leaving little room for the actual criminals. the same would happen to tobacco i dont support the anti smokers and they're cause it will not help anything, only piss off a bunch of smokers and give another reason for cops to take people to jail. people need to quit trying to pass these ridiculous laws, just because something is illegal it wont stop people from doing it.

-been smoking cigarettes and weed for 4 years

Your freedom of action point is valid, but you're overlooking that tobacco doesn't just cost the user, it costs society as well. It places a massive strain on govts. health systems.

I've heard this cost to society described as 'wallet rights'. You smoking and going to hospital takes money out of the wallets of other taxpayers. Everybody else is paying for your decision to smoke. That's why govts. are addressing this issue.

i have not been to the hospital recently and have never been for cigarettes. and I pay for MY OWN cigarettes so who's to say i cant smoke? but how exactly is it straining the health system and government? if anything they are both benefiting from it. i pay for my own cigarettes and it is very rare i go to the hospital but i dont have insurance so how would me going to the hospital and paying for my own medical bills take money from tax payers? if anything tax payers should be bitching about how many commercials the PSA spends their money on. Not to mention all the money tax payers lose to incarceration of a pothead with a minor possesion charge. but even if cigarettes do become illegal as i said before, it wont stop people from smoking. until someone is buying my cigarettes for me and paying my health bills no one can tell me i cannot smoke. The government is not my dad, what is next? sugar is illegal because it causes cavities? or caffeine becomes illegal because it makes people energetic? or how bout video games become illegal because some jackwad thinks they are bad about distracting people? how would that make you feel? in NY the mayor made it illegal to purchase large softdrinks some odd months ago, my point is how would you feel if the government starting stripping away your freedoms? not too pleased i would assume.