Spain adopted severe antismoking legislation in 2006. El Pais reports that since then, the proportion of smokers increased slightly. Next year the cigarette packets will carry horrible pictures of cancerous lungs and so. I dont think it will work.
In a country where 60% of the population smokes (like many European countries) you cannot tax excessively a vital necessity. Also, if you make it expensive, smuggling will become very profitable.
On the other hand, since smoking is so widespread, even taxing it moderately will bring in a lot of money.
The problem with these European countries, and the 'modern' Marxists which actually now also rule the USA, is that however much the state brings in, in revenue, the bureaucrats just see it as a signal to spend more; since this is what secures their jobs and what creates dependency of the public on them.
It cannot be solved by taxing more, unless you decapitate the monster at the centre.
Also, if you make it expensive, smuggling will become very profitable.
That is why I said within reason. I was specifically thinking of cigarette smuggling into Canada when I wrote that.
I didn't know that 60% of Europeans smoked, I thought it was lower than that. According to this about one-in-five Americans smoke, so I must have been engaging in a little projection.
Actually Anon, In China 70% of men smoke. Here is a nice quote:
In China, 70 percent (63 percent, 60 percent 57 percent, depending on the source) of men smoke while only 7 percent (or 3 percent depending on the source) of women smoke. The number of women and children who smoke is rising all the time. Smoking is becoming increasingly popular among young, urban women. An average man smokes 20 cigarettes a day.
Looking at the above quote Chinese men smoke as much as the average European. I don't think smoking and future time orientation are related in most countries. The article I cited on the US stated that around one-fifth of US Blacks smoked tobacco and Blacks are not a very future oriented group.
I think there is a difference in the rate of smoking between black men and black women, with the latter being relatively impervious to the habit.
The explanation why fewer black women smoke than white women may lie with the fact that black women do not feel the need to be skinny to be attractive; rates of anorexia, eg, are extremely low amongst black women. For a lot of white women, smoking is a means to stay thin since it is a well know appetite suppressant.
Anti-smoking legislation is fine within limits. Where I draw the line is the assumption of the pedestrian moralists, that smoking is a kind of evil that must hounded out from every corner. For such people it is a substitute religion. They suffer no angst about sleeping around or abortion. But smoking? The horrors.
The extent to which people can be made to respond in an inconsistent and irrational way is truly amazing, and the true explanation for the success of propagandists like Goebbels.
9 comments:
The most effective way to reduce smoking is to tax cigarettes, within reason of course.
In a country where 60% of the population smokes (like many European countries) you cannot tax excessively a vital necessity. Also, if you make it expensive, smuggling will become very profitable.
On the other hand, since smoking is so widespread, even taxing it moderately will bring in a lot of money.
The problem with these European countries, and the 'modern' Marxists which actually now also rule the USA, is that however much the state brings in, in revenue, the bureaucrats just see it as a signal to spend more; since this is what secures their jobs and what creates dependency of the public on them.
It cannot be solved by taxing more, unless you decapitate the monster at the centre.
Anon.
Also, if you make it expensive, smuggling will become very profitable.
That is why I said within reason. I was specifically thinking of cigarette smuggling into Canada when I wrote that.
I didn't know that 60% of Europeans smoked, I thought it was lower than that. According to this about one-in-five Americans smoke, so I must have been engaging in a little projection.
Smoking is much more common in Europe. They have a different attitude to life, which is more focused on the moment and less on the future.
Much can be inferred from this simple fact.
Anon.
Actually Anon, In China 70% of men smoke. Here is a nice quote:
In China, 70 percent (63 percent, 60 percent 57 percent, depending on the source) of men smoke while only 7 percent (or 3 percent depending on the source) of women smoke. The number of women and children who smoke is rising all the time. Smoking is becoming increasingly popular among young, urban women. An average man smokes 20 cigarettes a day.
Looking at the above quote Chinese men smoke as much as the average European. I don't think smoking and future time orientation are related in most countries. The article I cited on the US stated that around one-fifth of US Blacks smoked tobacco and Blacks are not a very future oriented group.
I think there is a difference in the rate of smoking between black men and black women, with the latter being relatively impervious to the habit.
The explanation why fewer black women smoke than white women may lie with the fact that black women do not feel the need to be skinny to be attractive; rates of anorexia, eg, are extremely low amongst black women. For a lot of white women, smoking is a means to stay thin since it is a well know appetite suppressant.
So it is complex.
Anon.
Anti-smoking legislation is fine within limits. Where I draw the line is the assumption of the pedestrian moralists, that smoking is a kind of evil that must hounded out from every corner. For such people it is a substitute religion. They suffer no angst about sleeping around or abortion. But smoking? The horrors.
The extent to which people can be made to respond in an inconsistent and irrational way is truly amazing, and the true explanation for the success of propagandists like Goebbels.
Anon.
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