This is a Bit Extreme.

[Lumbridge]

As a recovering alcoholic who has destroyed their life several times with alcohol, it's really amazing how alcohol avoids all the negative attention! It's got to be one of the worst drugs with very little real benefit. I was thinking about this when the govt. said they'll review marijuana's Schedule I classification, including if it has any medical uses. How is alcohol not on the schedule??

Same. I had been drinking so heavily for so long that I had forgotten what it was like to not feel like total shit all the time. It's social acceptability - alcohol has been a part of Western cultures (and many others) for thousands of years. The negative effects are constantly downplayed or ignored, and alcohol consumption is not only encouraged, but even expected in some social situations. We think of it as "safe" because its use is common in our daily lives - and sure, a drink or two every now and then isn't really harmful - but we all know what excessive use can lead to. I don't think smoking tobacco (or herb, for that matter) ever lead to someone beating their kids.

 

[bent1]

Too bad they didn’t issue warnings from the risk of wild fires from not allowing controlled burns in the recent past.

 

[Mortamyhr]

hah, no this was the one I was specifically looking for. Loved the top hat:

View attachment 225945

I smoked these in high school I may have been misinformed, but I think this was Slash’s brand. They were discontinued in the US because of some sort of “additive.” I had an empty pack for a while after they were no longer available. Wish I could find it but it’s long gone now

 

[Zamora]

As a recovering alcoholic who has destroyed their life several times with alcohol, it's really amazing how alcohol avoids all the negative attention! It's got to be one of the worst drugs with very little real benefit. I was thinking about this when the govt. said they'll review marijuana's Schedule I classification, including if it has any medical uses. How is alcohol not on the schedule??

And now a lot of research has concluded that the risk is pretty much the same with smoking: no safe amount and even moderate amounts can cause cancer and other diseases. Will we start seeing plain packaging of alcohol or even graphic warning labels in our lifetimes? I doubt it, there simply isn't the same stigma and alcohol is an important export for many countries. Ireland has some of the most extreme anti smoking laws with plain packaging applying to cigars and pipe tobacco (unlike the UK which has them exempted), but I don't think Guinness or the whiskey industry would let their government pass any sort of regulations intended to put a damper on sales. Plus with alcohol the general public understands the rich cultural and artistic elements of it, something most people are blissfully ignorant of with pipes and cigars.

 

[David D. Davidson]

And now a lot of research has concluded that the risk is pretty much the same with smoking: no safe amount and even moderate amounts can cause cancer and other diseases. Will we start seeing plain packaging of alcohol or even graphic warning labels in our lifetimes? I doubt it, there simply isn't the same stigma and alcohol is an important export for many countries. Ireland has some of the most extreme anti smoking laws with plain packaging applying to cigars and pipe tobacco (unlike the UK which has them exempted), but I don't think Guinness or the whiskey industry would let their government pass any sort of regulations intended to put a damper on sales. Plus with alcohol the general public understands the rich cultural and artistic elements of it, something most people are blissfully ignorant of with pipes and cigars.

What I find interesting is that even in the most staunchly overprotective countries, there's never a push for plain-packaging alcohol the way there is with tobacco.

In Ontario, Canada, we have all our liquor sold by the LCBO - Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which has a total monopoly and pulls in an incredible amount of revenue on top of the taxes already associated with liquor. They've done the same with marijuana now with OCS - Ontario Cannabis Stores, again pulling in incredible revenue on top of the taxes collected. I'm always surprised that they don't do the same with tobacco. With the incredible taxes associated with it, I'm not sure why the government is so eager to eliminate tobacco consumption completely over the coming years and decades.

I would be curious to see the healthcare cost : government revenue ratio of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana separately, to see where the real economic burden lay relative to the government money it pulls in. And this ignores the associated costs of alcohol consumption with regards to non healthcare based costs, such as increased policing budgets from alcohol related crime, etc.

 

[AJL67]

As of 2020 about 22.3% of the world population smokes tobacco
The latest i could find for alcohol consumption was quite a few years ago but it was over 35% and by the graphs constantly trending upward.

People don't complain about the smell of alcohol wafting over to them, It doesn't as they claim cause "second hand cancer" or other second hand health risks. There are more people that bitch about tobacco than alcohol.

If you were a politician forcing your "health policies" on the masses would you target the more popular item that less people complain about or would you go after the nasty stinky dangerous tobacco?

It's pretty simple.

 

[FLDRD]

As of 2020 about 22.3% of the world population smokes tobacco
The latest i could find for alcohol consumption was quite a few years ago but it was over 35% and by the graphs constantly trending upward.

People don't complain about the smell of alcohol wafting over to them, It doesn't as they claim cause "second hand cancer" or other second hand health risks. There are more people that bitch about tobacco than alcohol.

If you were a politician forcing your "health policies" on the masses would you target the more popular item that less people complain about or would you go after the nasty stinky dangerous tobacco?

It's pretty simple.

Thing is, we're not supposed to have "politicians", we're supposed to have "representatives"...

 

[AJL67]

Thing is, we're not supposed to have "politicians", we're supposed to have "representatives"...

My god the next thing you'll say is we are not a democracy we are a republic of states! Heathen!!!

It's amazing how far we've come from the federal government's original purpose which was a basic set of rights and freedoms and to protect our country. Not interfering with people's lives, telling them what they can and can't do (the individual state's job and if you didn't like how one state was run you voted or you moved to a different state or territory), not to be in every single aspect of our lives and telling us what to think. I guess it's "progress" to some... sorry rant cut short ... lol

Fun fact federal wage taxes were suppose to end before 1913 but magically there was an amendment (the 16) to make them permanent in that year. So we broke off from England over religious freedom and taxes, among other things obviously, but then amend one of our most important documents to include taxes and taxes that are most def not represented in the best interest of a majority of the people .. sorry ranting again .. LOL

 

[FLDRD]

My god the next thing you'll say is we are not a democracy we are a republic of states! Heathen!!!

It's amazing how far we've come from the federal government's original purpose which was a basic set of rights and freedoms and to protect our country. Not interfering with people's lives, telling them what they can and can't do (the individual state's job and if you didn't like how one state was run you voted or you moved to a different state or territory), not to be in every single aspect of our lives and telling us what to think. I guess it's "progress" to some... sorry rant cut short ... lol

Fun fact federal wage taxes were suppose to end before 1913 but magically there was an amendment (the 16) to make them permanent in that year. So we broke off from England over religious freedom and taxes, among other things obviously, but then amend one of our most important documents to include taxes and taxes that are most def not represented in the best interest of a majority of the people .. sorry ranting again .. LOL

I'm part of the "choir", so to speak...

 

[FLDRD]

internet issues, this was a repeat and I can't figure out how to delete instead of "edit"

 

[mso489]

Maybe in addition to health warnings, they could do like the makers of church fans, the old fashioned hand operated fans, and have advertising for funeral directors on the tip of each cigarette. The headline could be, "Plan Ahead."

 

[AJL67]

Maybe in addition to health warnings, they could do like the makers of church fans, the old fashioned hand operated fans, and have advertising for funeral directors on the tip of each cigarette. The headline could be, "Plan Ahead."

If they could figure out how to replaces the taxes with other taxes they would be just as happy to dip them in cyanide, well the poor people's tobacco the elite things would go on as always. lol

 

[sardonicus87]

This thread reminds me of this (relevant bit is the first 1:15 seconds):

 

[Call Me Late]

Meh, cigarette companies killed tobacco for the rest of us. If anything it just reminds me how much I dislike them already.

 

[captainsousie]

They could at least have put some flair into the presentation.

Right?! Terrible font there.

 

[SmokerLawyer]

"It is part of an effort to reduce tobacco use in Canada to less than 5% by 2035."

Well governments had similar goals in Europe. Now tobacco usage has decreased, all the kids are smoking IQOS / vaping instead. I tasted IQOS products a few times, it' just unbearably hot and acidic for me. It really feels like I was inhaling the worst chemicals mixed with crappy aromatics. So I just can't believe that it's less harmful than classic tobacco.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

What I find interesting is that even in the most staunchly overprotective countries, there's never a push for plain-packaging alcohol the way there is with tobacco.

In Ontario, Canada, we have all our liquor sold by the LCBO - Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which has a total monopoly and pulls in an incredible amount of revenue on top of the taxes already associated with liquor. They've done the same with marijuana now with OCS - Ontario Cannabis Stores, again pulling in incredible revenue on top of the taxes collected. I'm always surprised that they don't do the same with tobacco. With the incredible taxes associated with it, I'm not sure why the government is so eager to eliminate tobacco consumption completely over the coming years and decades.

I would be curious to see the healthcare cost : government revenue ratio of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana separately, to see where the real economic burden lay relative to the government money it pulls in. And this ignores the associated costs of alcohol consumption with regards to non healthcare based costs, such as increased policing budgets from alcohol related crime, etc.

Funny thing, the Alberta distribution system sells high quality Scotch cheaper than any store in California.
Taxes suck because there is no such thing as a $20 Burbon, but most bottles above $50 are priced competitively with the international market.

 

[woodsroad]

Right?! Terrible font there.

Those tightly spaced sans serif fonts are damn near impossible to read. Is that incompetence or intentional?

 

[Frog Snacks]

"It is part of an effort to reduce tobacco use in Canada to less than 5% by 2035."

Well governments had similar goals in Europe. Now tobacco usage has decreased, all the kids are smoking IQOS / vaping instead. I tasted IQOS products a few times, it' just unbearably hot and acidic for me. It really feels like I was inhaling the worst chemicals mixed with crappy aromatics. So I just can't believe that it's less harmful than classic tobacco.

I've vaped before and I treat a vape like a pipe, I don't inhale just puff on it and keep the vape in my mouth, maybe retrohale at the most. I don't need flavoured lube in my lungs

 

[Brendan]

Those tightly spaced sans serif fonts are damn near impossible to read. Is that incompetence or intentional?

Both! That way they justify their jobs by 'updating the design' next year..