Smoking is not good for your health, but we as Americans are free to make that choice for ourselves. I think that’s the definition of unconstitutional. Banning something like that is only going to make it more widespread and sketchy. Look at the war on drugs and what it’s done, but sure it’ll work this time.
The cost of cigs is also artificially inflated in many places. I’m glad to see less of the younger crowd smoking, that’s a good thing. But doing it in these ways just feels plain un-American.
We let an awful lot of things that are bad for us slide, because the effects aren’t as visible.
I don’t think “unconstitutional” is the word you want here. There’s endless things you are not free to purchase or choose for yourself.
“Unconstitutional” == I don’t like it
Literally as deep as most people’s understanding goes.
Not going to argue about whether or not it’s constitutional (because I don’t know), but I just wanted to point out that this case is slightly more complicated than just “you’re not allowed to purchase”. It’s “you’re not allowed to purchase… BUT other people are”. Which means it’s potentially a question of discrimination, which is maybe not as cut-and-dry as a “normal” law banning a substance across the board.
That’s what I mean. As someone else pointed out, all it does is make it inconvenient, and it opens up a black market. People are gonna do what they want. Either this means they’ll just drive to another city/county/state, or someone is going to acquire them in bulk and sell them on black alleys.
In my mind, a more effective approach is to regulate where someone can smoke. There are a number of CA cities where it’s effectively illegal to smoke a cigarette within city limits (aside from private property), which drives smokers into little nooks and crannies. Ultimately most people want it out of sight and out of mind, and to not walk into a cloud of it on a sidewalk or have their children seeing/smelling it, which is 100% reasonable. But telling someone they’re not allowed to buy it is going to incentivize some to seek it out more.
This does seem super anti democratic. Banning things for only people of a specific group made up of people who were born into it is pretty gross no matter what it is. If it’s worth banning then it should be banned for everyone. Or no one.
Effectively banning something for a group of people who had no choice about being in that group. If you can’t ban something for yourself then it shouldn’t be banned for others.
All I’m reading is the government isn’t banning the sale is a market that has already been exploited.
This is like Texas when they had dry counties. This didn’t stop people from drinking they just drove futher to buy it. This law is dumb they are now going lose tax dollars to the next towm over.
How do you stop a Mormon from drinking your alcohol?
Invite 2.
I don’t really know Mormons but for some reason I remember that joke.
I heard it a bit different: What’s the difference between Jews and Mormons? Jews don’t recognize Jesus as the messiah and Mormons don’t recognize each other in the liquor store. (I think it works with baptists too)
Alcohol has an age requirement that stays where it is, if you’re 20, you can buy it in a year. This would be if you’re 23 right now, the age requirement is 24. Next year, you’ll be 24 and the requirement is 25. In 50 years, you’ll be 74 and the requirement is 75, until eventually no one alive is old enough to smoke.
Sad.
Let people put in their bodies what they want.
Really telling how hypocritical most people are. They only support legalizing the drugs they use, and are completely cool with vilifying those who use different drugs.
Let people put in their bodies what they want.
In countries where we all bear and share the cost of healthcare, this is a different issue. Please don’t say you’re such a big fan of self-harm.
Please for the love of God watch this before commenting some dumb shit about “it’s my right to expose everyone around me to airborne toxic materials!”
yeah, being exposed to cigarette smoke is not ideal.
my issue with this law is that it feels immensely inconsistent: cars, and guns kill a huge amount of people per year. likely more than cigarettes, but i can’t verify that rn. why not put some effort into those problems?
Because then concern trolls like you will sealion about why we aren’t doing anything about cigarettes instead?
Ever think that those two things kill so much more because anti-smoke laws have been working?
As the other user pointed out, cigarettes kill far more Americans than cars or guns. I’m with you on the gun thing. But the car safety stats are always increasing because we do in fact put a huge amount of effort into them - from seat belt laws to firewalls to airbags to automatic braking… there’s too many to name. Now there’s the recent move of making them bigger, harder to stop, and with reduced visibility, so we might see those gains flatten out in the next half decade or so.
We’re also going to start to see a decline in cigarette related deaths as fewer and fewer are smoking them these days. There’s an intersection of public health messaging, government policies on age of access, taxes, and other efforts that are really starting to pay off. I think the e-cigarettes are also helping, but that’s a whole discussion of its own.
So cigarette related deaths are still pretty high, but it will start to fall off. I can’t remember the exact prediction but let’s just call it falling by half in the next decade. Cigarettes are deadly, but they take a long time to kill.
Smokers born in the 40s and 50s are the ones dying from things like cancer and heart disease today, and the replacement rate (new smokers versus loss from people quitting or dying) isn’t working in tobacco’s favor.
Cigarettes are responsible for about 480,000 deaths per year. Guns related deaths make up just over 48,000. And about 42,000 for vehicle related deaths.
Honestly, I’m quite surprised, I would’ve guessed that you were correct.
Edit: there is a huge difference though. Most cigarette smokers are self inflicted. As far as second hand smoke, if you can prove damages as a result of it I’m fairly certain you could sue. Enough of that would discourage people from smoking around others without consent. And smoking around your children should be child endangerment.
The things that should be legislated are it’s effects on others, but you should be able to whatever you want to yourself.
Good.
