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New Zealand scraps world-first smoking ‘generation ban’ to fund tax cuts (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 9 months ago by stopthatgirl7@kbin.social to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml

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Health experts say axing plan to block sales of tobacco products to next generation will cost thousands of lives

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[-] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 7 points 9 months ago

Awful reason, but fuck these laws. Declaring a person forever disqualified from what other people will still be allowed to do is obviously not the same thing as 'you must be 18.' It is infuriating how many people pretend there's no difference.

Ban smoking for everyone or don't ban smoking. Trying to be "clever" about equality under the law is just fresh discrimination.

You want money? Tax the companies, not the customers. Take as much as you like. The alternative is, they don't get to exist.

[-] Landsharkgun@midwest.social 24 points 9 months ago

It makes perfect sense. Cigarettes are cancer death machines in an addictive package. They should be banned. However, we've learned from hard experience that making addictive drugs harder to get just leads to addicts trying even harder to get them. So what's a practical solution? Grandfather in the current addicts and try like hell to keep everyone else away from it.

Equality doesn't come in to this. You do not, in fact, need to protect people's right to addictive cancer sticks.

[-] Frittiert@feddit.de -2 points 9 months ago

As a human being with my own rule over my own body I have the right to do with it as I please.

If I want to consume addictive cancer sticks until I die a slow, painful death, I have the natural freedom to do so, and laws, taxes or fines won't stop me until I'm really locked away.

So I support other peoples freedom to smoke. It is just inhaling smoke from burning plant matter, which may be an irrational choice, but is my choice.

[-] atan@lemmy.ml 11 points 9 months ago

Then grow your own. Your natural right of control over your own body doesn't extend to the markets and industry of the society you live in.

[-] TheMetaleek@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 months ago

If you do that, then you should also forfeit your right to use publicly funded hospitals that already struggle enough with people suffering of conditions they did not ask for voluntarily. Smoking is not just a cost for your body, but for society as a whole, hence the justification in a ban

[-] Frittiert@feddit.de 4 points 9 months ago

While I see your point, this could be extended to people doing dangerous sports for fun, eating unhealthy foods or engaging in any activity where one could get hurt.