I grew up in NZ. Started smoking back in the mid-'80s and was there from the beginning when the vile pictures started popping up on packs, sometime in the late '90s I think. I can't say that the pix and slogans ever did much to dissuade me from smoking, but I did resent the attempt at social engineering, which probably fuelled my inclination to smoke. The pictures did bother my mother, though, so she took to transferring her cigarettes into a rather chic '40s-style case.
Feds propose graphic cigarette warning labels
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Man. Ya know.... I wrote a couple of paragraphs of response to this in the "E-cig News" section, and then decided not to post it. I looked at the data and it seems it may actually deter some youths from smoking, and since I'm not smoking anymore, I let it go.
Now this post, and all the comments above about it not working. Sigh, can't resist I guess. IDK if its just me, or if others feel this way too. It strikes me that this level of SOCIAL ENGINEERING is just a little too Orwellian for me. I know it's good for society as a whole, that's why I canceled my 1st post. But .... it is just.... Yuck.... from the American political standpoint. I saw in that post that many other countries do this, thought maybe it would help. IDK. I did note (as I do now) the black "Death" cigs with the skull on them. Didn't work. They were popular. This kind of stuff can backfire.
Then there's the beleaguered smoker, already addicted, a social outcast, paying huge State taxes, some Federal taxes, ostracized, and penalized with high insurance rates, that started smoking in the 50's or 60's when it was "cool" and now...... has to stare at corpses. The only thing that makes this, even remotely, a good idea is that it MAY deter some from starting. A few.
I almost got ticked off and decided to move from being a centrist to being a Republican just to keep the Government out of this kind of excessive intervention. Then I noted that one of the main supporters of the bill was Sen. Mike Enzi (a Republican!) that (claims to) want smaller Government, but gets in the middle of this crap and actually causes more Government involvement.
Don't get me wrong. I love this country. But this kind of crap is not the way to go. E-cigs will help solve the problem. So will education. And positive messages about not smoking. Smoking rates continue to decline without these pics (at least I hope).
Then there's info like this:
So I'm torn. Maybe it will deter. But torturing current smokers is not the way to go either. Hell, we probably wouldn't let these images on TV, but would mandate that they be left lying around on cig packs.
And it's not only a Democratic Party issue, since the Republicans are at it too. I give up. What will be, will be.
Now this post, and all the comments above about it not working. Sigh, can't resist I guess. IDK if its just me, or if others feel this way too. It strikes me that this level of SOCIAL ENGINEERING is just a little too Orwellian for me. I know it's good for society as a whole, that's why I canceled my 1st post. But .... it is just.... Yuck.... from the American political standpoint. I saw in that post that many other countries do this, thought maybe it would help. IDK. I did note (as I do now) the black "Death" cigs with the skull on them. Didn't work. They were popular. This kind of stuff can backfire.
Then there's the beleaguered smoker, already addicted, a social outcast, paying huge State taxes, some Federal taxes, ostracized, and penalized with high insurance rates, that started smoking in the 50's or 60's when it was "cool" and now...... has to stare at corpses. The only thing that makes this, even remotely, a good idea is that it MAY deter some from starting. A few.
I almost got ticked off and decided to move from being a centrist to being a Republican just to keep the Government out of this kind of excessive intervention. Then I noted that one of the main supporters of the bill was Sen. Mike Enzi (a Republican!) that (claims to) want smaller Government, but gets in the middle of this crap and actually causes more Government involvement.
Don't get me wrong. I love this country. But this kind of crap is not the way to go. E-cigs will help solve the problem. So will education. And positive messages about not smoking. Smoking rates continue to decline without these pics (at least I hope).
Then there's info like this:
So I'm torn. Maybe it will deter. But torturing current smokers is not the way to go either. Hell, we probably wouldn't let these images on TV, but would mandate that they be left lying around on cig packs.
And it's not only a Democratic Party issue, since the Republicans are at it too. I give up. What will be, will be.
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