As the effects of tobacco use in North America are leading to a slow but steady decline in their use, the opposite is true throughout the rest of the world. The big tobacco companies really don’t care too much about all the lawsuits etc in a shrinking market, they are already well ahead of the game in places like China and India - although the profits are not as high, having a strangle hold over more then half of the worlds population without having to worry about regulations more then offsets this.
Prohibition doesn’t work
Prohibition leads to increased value of banned products so here are some of my ideas that I think would play a significant role in reducing tobacco (and their related products) by being used globally.
1) the United Nations should enforce a global policy outlining the fact that tobacco smoke and their related products are known carcinogens and ban their use in public areas such as offices, recreational areas and government institutions. The United States and a few other countries, mostly due to unfounded economic concerns, oppose this. I guess sick people are more profitable then healthy ones?
2) There should be a global price for cigarettes, meaning a pack of cigarettes in china costs the same amount as one bought in Arizona, this would be based off the cost of living. Each pack should have the country of origin right in the front so imported product would be easily confiscated.
3) Any advertising, branding or color schemes used by tobacco companies to promote their products should be allowed but ONLY to advertising the BAD effects of tobacco use, and they can only choose ads from that are produced by anti-smoking associations (the toughest one). In addition, a % of every sale would go towards an advertising pool for additional anti-tobacco campaigns.
4) Any tobacco product should be sold in a simple black and grey box, no color, no logo, the same goes with their contents, a black cigarette with no logo or color. There would be no way of knowing what type of cigarette you are buying, hence brand loyalty would cease to exist.
5) It should be forewarned to people that if they choose to smoke that they will be at the bottom of the list for any organ transplants or health services. If you decide to pay to make yourself sick, then you should pay to get yourself better, without any public subsidization.
6) Farmers should be given a specific timeline to phase out tobacco production and move to alternative crops, say over 10 years their crop yields must go down 10% per year. At the same time, the cost of cigarettes would go up 50% per year.
7) Institute exponential penalties for trafficking tobacco products to minors. What this would essentially mean is that infractions by companies or individuals found selling tobacco related products to minors would have their fines doubled each time. This would quickly lead to bad companies becoming insolvent and people seeking bankruptcy but like taxes, they follow you even if you go under.
Let us begin with tobacco
I also believe the above should also be adopted for beverages that contain over 30% alcohol to start as they also provide no benefit to society. If you govern a population where a moderate percentage needs to get drunk to get through another week - there is something wrong.
I would then follow up with the exact same policy outlined above but adapted for junk food, essentially food that provides no nutritional value should have no role in our society. If your kid is hungry, give an apple, not a bag of deep fried potatoes or artificially sugar spiked processed snacks which only lead to obesity, diabetes and many other health problems later in life.
Long term effects of a healthy population
Study have outlined how a healthy people becomes less of a burden on health care, are more productive and generally see things in a brighter light. Getting rid of products that are counter to improving health should be strictly regulated. I doubt very much this will happen in my lifetime, there is simply too much pressure to keep things at their current status quo - but I can share my dream of a healthier society.
The Bottom Line
I think if the above was implemented and enforced, the leading causes of preventable death in this world today could be stamped out in a generation.
In my family, it used to be a tradition that when a boy would turn 16, he was considered a man. So, on my 16th birthday, I received a pack of cigarettes and a lighter: I was a man now and I was allowed to smoke. My parents were proud of me (maybe for having survived all the hardships that had already presented to me) and they were proving it the best way they knew. One more thing: from now on my opinions were to be valued!
Knowing what I know now, I would say that my parents, without knowing it, were not really helping my cause for a bright future (at least healthwise). Do I blame them for such a gift (or for potentially exposing me to cancer)? Not at all because 40 years ago no one knew that cigarette smoke was unhealthy, even dangerous. Tobacco companies were flourishing and the governments were encouraging them as best as they could because they were creating a lot of jobs and opening lucrative markets.
Today, everyone knows about the dangerous direct and side effects of cigarette smoke, including second hand smoke. However, I am still surprised that the governements, bragging that they are there to protect us at all costs, do not take a stronger stand against smokers. Only raising taxes and advertizing the dangers of cigarette smoke through the media is not enough: I call it passive protection or involvement. If the governments were really serious about it, they would ban cigarettes completely from the market. Cigarettes would not be sold anywhere and could not be found anywhere! Governments would then take all the money that is spent in advertizing (and more) to monitor very closely any provision coming from the black market and punish severely those selling them or buying them.
I strongly agree with the seven points mentionned in this issue of the week and I would add one more (since cigarettes are still on the market):
Since the dangers of cigarette smoke are proven deadly beyond any reasonable doubts by all governments and research agencies, inside smoking should be totally illegal (private home, private vehicle, etc), specially those places where non smokers are living or breathing. This would mostly apply to children living with smoker(s) and who do not have a say in their stupid parents or older siblings bad habits. These children should be protected under governements’ acts. In my opinion, it is child abuse in its purest form and it should be dealt with at the same level as physical and mental abuses!
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