Eighty national public health groups, including the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Preventative Medicine, placed a full-page ad in Sunday’s edition of the Washington Post in support of a federal ban on menthol in cigarettes and all flavored cigars.
“The answer is clear,” the full-page ad says. “Saving lives starts by ending the sale of menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars.
“Smoking kills nearly half a million people in the United States each year, and these addictive, deadly products are a big part of the problem. The FDA and White House have our full support to release lifesaving rules prohibiting menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars.”
When are we going to start banning flavored alcohol like White Claw and Mike’s while we’re at it
There ain’t to laws when you cracking claws.
You do have a point but the danger is far higher on the tabaco side. Priorities and such, we won’t see anything like that for quite some time.
I have maybe a cigar a month. Sometimes, a nice dipped cigar is enjoyable. It’d be a shame to just outright ban them.
Welcome to the ‘all drugs are bad unless I do them’ mentality.
Yeah, it’s unfortunate. I understand it. The flavours do make smoking more enticing to young people, who might not limit themselves to one cigar a month like you do. But it does suck to ban something outright just because some people will misuse it. Mind you, nicotine is addictive, which is a pretty critical facet to this (though I don’t think anyone starts smoking without knowing this risk).
I dislike smoking in general and do want things that are good for society as a whole. But the logic of banning stuff like this seems similar to, say, banning fast food because some people will overeat (or more extreme, having calorie rationing so that people can’t overeat on any kind of food). It’s admittedly always a balancing act for how much danger is acceptable before we just ban it for everyone. Some bans using this logic are very reasonable, some aren’t, and many are extremely debatable.
I think I currently prefer the sin tax approach, especially since that best accomodates occasional usage. A hefty tax makes the dangerous thing less accessible to impressionable young people and helps pay for the social cost (though IIRC, smokers actually cost society less because they die younger, reducing the many medical costs of old age). Price influences people’s choices, too. If healthy food is cheaper than unhealthy food, that encourages buying healthy stuff. But even sin taxes are imperfect, especially in a vacuum. They can make the cost of living higher for a vulnerable population. They need to be planned carefully.
This is hypocrisy. Let people smoke whatever they want. We’re not living in the fifties, everybody and their mother knows nicotine kills.
What they don’t get is that not everybody has a wonderful life and wants to live forever.
There are bans in place for kids, and adults should have the right to decide what they want. Ban flavoured alcohol too then.
Ironically nicotine doesn’t kill, bud. Smoking does. I get what you mean but there’s no downside to nicotine other than addiction strictly speaking
Sure I’m fine with both bans, alcohol not only kills yourself but many others too. The only reason it’s not illegal is because it’s ingrained in society.
The only reason it’s not illegal is because it’s ingrained in society.
What about the history we learned from when it was illegal?
You… did learn from history, right?
Could you clarify your point? You think flavored cigarettes are just as ingrained as alcohol?
I’m saying we already banned alcohol and it didn’t work out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States
Ah that’s all, thought you were going deeper.
People who think smokers smoke for the flavor are not in touch with reality. This will do nothing for public health.
I think it will. It will drive menthols underground and they’ll become more dangerous just like alcohol during Prohibition.
You can just buy menthol infusers online. This law will do nothing
Some start for the flavour which is the issue
Like every time this comes up, this is straight up racism.
If they actually cared about protecting children, they’d put quality control restrictions on the fluids used in vape pens to prevent popcorn lung and the like BECAUSE KIDS DON’T REALLY SMOKE CIGARETTES ANYMORE.
You know who disproportionately smokes menthols and flavored cigarellos?
Black people.
If they actually had something against smoking, they’d ban ALL CIGARETTES.
If they were actually trying to protect kids, they’d go after what kids are using.
They’re going after the smoke of choice for large portions of the black community.
What does that tell you?
If we don’t stand with smokers and stop the American Heart Association now, then by the time it comes to force us to eat right and exercise, it’ll be too late.
Have you run a marathon this week? No? Your medical insurance rates are 2x until you resolve this problem.
Sigh. The only good drugs are the ones I take.
Let’s stop policing what people put in their bodies, eh?
You can’t legislate morality, this isn’t going to make people smoke less it will make people grumpy while smoking
Or you know, we could just regulate and test what goes into these products rather than create another black market for ones that will only inevitably be produced with even less quality overseas and imported
What the fuck?
Alcohol causes more problems in society than tobacco.
This is true
I don’t smoke but isn’t flavored vape essentially the same and that is legal?
Lots of places are banning those too.
Which is really stupid, because they’re also banning the zero-nicotine ones that aren’t harmful and aren’t addictive (though may be habit-forming in the same way as snacking or drinking any beverage). Also they’re useful to people trying to quit smoking because even the ones with nicotine are far less harmful than smoking.
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It’s like people in this thread don’t realize how massively addictive nicotine is? I see addicts all the time try to excuse their addictions with every excuse in the book. I was addicted once. It took every part of my soul to quit that shit. nicotine is a mistake many make and don’t come back from and pretend it their choice shit should be band. Just due to it’s addictive nature. Banned for the same reason lotterys are generat only owned by the state. Shits is a a great investment. People will kill themselves or others to give you money
I think people know it’s addictive and generally bad, they just also know that prohibition usually doesn’t work.
It’s like people in this thread don’t realize how massively addictive caffeine is? I see addicts all the time try to excuse their addictions with every excuse in the book. I was addicted once. It took every part of my soul to quit that shit. caffeine is a mistake many make and don’t come back from and pretend it their choice shit should be band. Just did to it’s addictive nature. Banned for the same reason lotterys are generat only owned by the state. Shits is a a great investment. People will kill themselves or others to give you money
(edit /s proud nicotine addict here)
Caffine is not nearly as addictive as nicotine. And to conflate the too is a fat ass lie. I’ve quit both caffeine was three days of headaches at most. Quiting nicotine was my skin crawling and wanting to yank out my teeth for months. It’s been more then two years and I still crave it. They are not the same you are exactly the type of nicotine addict I talk about. They are absolutely not the same
