New labels ... they have managed to ruin the artwork for good

I am so upset I don't even know where to start ... I swing by the local tobacco shop this afternoon, to grab a few pipe cleaners, and who knows what else sticks on me. On my way there I was actually thinking about getting a new pipe blend as well, only to realize that there is hardly any pipe tobacco left at the shop. All tins, and most bags are gone. The lady over there told me that they had to send them all to HQ, in order to relabel them in accord to new governmental regulations. Now I don't know how the new tins will look like, but I would imagine that they won't be any more different than the new packs of cigarettes. My wife smokes cigarettes, and lately on her pack I noticed that you can barely distinguish the colors of the old pack, while the brand name "Davidoff" is written on a small window. The rest of the pack is covered in black and white, with your "smoke kills" type of warnings, and huge pictures both on front and back - such as dead people at the morgue, a husband and wife crying over their dead infant's coffin, rotting teeth, etc. I think this is crossing the line. I mean, yes lung cancer, circulatory diseases, and any other tobacco related health issues are a risk that smokers are willing to take - some more educated than others. I agree that the government should step in for the general good of the population, but there are limits. The lady pulled out a bag of Stanwell that came in this morning, and guess what? My intuition was right, it look exactly like the pack of cigarettes I was telling you about in the above. So not only that I didn't buy any pipe tobacco - as all the inventory was sent in for re fitting, but when they will finally send it back from HQ it will look like a tin full of nails. Dang it ... even tins of candy look better. I don't know about you guys, but I really liked the artwork on some of the tobacco tins ... they have managed to ruin the experience in so many ways ... truly disappointed. I don't know if this is a Romanian thing, or a European Union imposed set of rules ... I am speechless. I ended up buying a few cigars - thank God those didn't have any regulation related modifications. I wonder, will they put stickers of flask penises on cigars in order to highlight erectile dysfunction risks, as pictures of dead people won't fit !?

Myeah ... you guys are right. I need to calm down, and after all realize that what is inside is what matters, except that I couldn't even buy tobacco today due to this pullback-relabel thing. Any road ... a pity. First the tariffs on tobacco, then labels, than more tariffs to the point taxes are 80% out of the cost of a smoke pack, and then more labels with nicotine content and tar levels, followed by smoking in the bar/pub ban and now this ... At this pace, my dear friends, we shall become extinct ... in the not so far future children will learn about us in history books as the freaks that enjoyed smoking some terrifying plant.

It's obviously some sort of holy crusade against the tobacco industry ... so many other things kill, and don't have such warnings attached to the product. Again, I am not advocating that tobacco is harmless - but like ashdigger said, every grown adult has a right to decide. Take sodas for example - 54 gr of sugar for a 330 ml can. Eat 54gr of sugar with a spoon, instead of drinking it, and I guarantee it that you will puke. No comment ...