If only governments could take a lesson from the Prohibition era...

[Rossum]

There haven't been any detrimental effects from banning asbestos.

You mean other than the World Trade Center buildings collapsing much sooner than they would have, if the steel had been insulated with asbestos rather than the politically correct stuff that ended up being used on the higher floors?
Asbestos Could Have Saved WTC Lives | Fox News

 

[stevegmu]

You mean other than the World Trade Center buildings collapsing much sooner than they would have, if the steel had been insulated with asbestos rather than the politically correct stuff that ended up being used on the higher floors?
Asbestos Could Have Saved WTC Lives | Fox News

Oh, ok then. Start a campaign to bring back asbestos...

 

[stevegmu]

Well, let's just say you have a lot more faith in "civilized" government then I do. You're telling me the same people who send their young citizens into wars on faulty pretenses are above banning a product on a whim, maybe with the right sized contribution from the right lobbying group?

Democrats? They are against wars- even for self defense...

 

[Silent Knight]

Can you name a widely used product that has been allowed, restricted, then banned, within the past 50 years, in a civilized country?

DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) - used primarily as an insecticide.

 

[Rossum]

DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) - used primarily as an insecticide.

Yep, and millions have suffered from malaria as a result. Was it the right thing to ban it anyway? Hard to say. The point is, there are always unintended consequences to every "ban".

 

[stevegmu]

None of these examples in any way relates to e-nic. Cigarettes would be the closest example and they have only been restricted, not banned. If they can't be banned, no way e-nic will ever be.

 

[stevegmu]

Yep, and millions have suffered from malaria as a result. Was it the right thing to ban it anyway? Hard to say. The point is, there are always unintended consequences to every "ban".

Oddly enough, it was also Democrats who were behind the DDT ban...

 

[Silent Knight]

Yep, and millions have suffered from malaria as a result. Was it the right thing to ban it anyway? Hard to say. The point is, there are always unintended consequences to every "ban".

DDT has been demonstrated to be genotoxic in humans causing potential cellular mutation, direct or indirect effects on the dna...that can also lead to cancer.

 

[frank.gotch]

None of these examples in any way relates to e-nic. Cigarettes would be the closest example and they have only been restricted, not banned. If they can't be banned, no way e-nic will ever be.

Oxycontin now must be manufactured in a way that makes it more difficult for people who want to abuse it. It must be made in a way that crushing it up and snorting it/injecting it will not give the desired effect. It must be taken orally to be effective, with a slow release. E-nic could be banned the same way. No one is talking about banning nicotine, just the delivery system.

 

[Silent Knight]

Can you name a widely used product that has been allowed, restricted, then banned, within the past 50 years, in a civilized country?

Although it's a little beyond the 50 year timeframe - ....... was a widely used product that was allowed, then made illegal in 1914 and strictly restricted to medical use only. It's not urban legend that ....... (active coca leaf extract) was an ingredient in Coca-Cola from approx. 1886 to 1903.

But this is way beyond the comparative scope in relation to vaping.

My point being - never underestimate the stupidity of gov't decisions.

edit - (forum rules prohib the mention of the drug above)

 

[BillyWJ]

...and realize that the more they try and ban things (like vaping) - the bigger the underground movement inevitably becomes.

I smoked cigs for 35 years - the last 10 years of which I bought illegal, tax-free 'native' cigarettes from a local Native reserve. Almost everyone I know buys their cigs from Native reserves (or from friends who mule for them). Why? As everyone knows - because the gov't taxation on non-Native cigarette brands is incredibly astronomical to afford.

i.e. - a large pack of DuMaurier king size in a convenience store is over $10 - compared to $1.75 for a pack of Native rollies. I'd buy a carton of Native smokes for $14 - compared to about $80 for name brand in the local variety store.

The result - a huge underground movement of people illegally buying the Native smokes. The savings were worth the risk of getting caught.

I read somewhere not long ago that in Chicago during the Prohibition era (1920-1933) - the number of illegal back-alley bars and speakeasys increased ten-fold. Alcohol consumption in major cities actually increased. Organized crime flourished with alcohol production, distribution and smuggling.

Today - ask anyone who lives in a border town in Canada where they commonly buy their alcohol. A large percentage will tell you they go across the border into the U.S. to pay a fraction of the price. My wife and routinely cross over to Buffalo, NY to buy beer ($26 for 24 Corona - compared to $46 here in Canada).

Simple economics.

Is this the road the government wants to take with vaping, too? Can they be that damned stupid?

What of the old adage - those who don't take a lesson from history are doomed to repeat it.

I don't see a national ban on Nicotine. It's a State's rights issue now, and should stay there. The Fed, if they want to ban nicotine and ecigs, are going to have to make a convincing argument to ban ecigs and not real cigarettes, pipes, cigars, snuff, and the gums and patches by Bit Pharma - the science doesn't support it, and the public won't. Big tobacco will NOT let their products be banned. Big Pharma does not want their products banned. Those two forces I believe will keep nicotine legal.

Now, it may be regulated. It may be taxed. This country loves sin taxes, and politicians love them even more, even though they hit lower income workers harder with cigarettes and alcohol. We'll see - but I don't see a national Prohibition on nicotine happening, and I don't want to scare people by entertaining the idea, like it's inevitable.

 

[stevegmu]

Oxycontin now must be manufactured in a way that makes it more difficult for people who want to abuse it. It must be made in a way that crushing it up and snorting it/injecting it will not give the desired effect. It must be taken orally to be effective, with a slow release. E-nic could be banned the same way. No one is talking about banning nicotine, just the delivery system.

Last I checked, that has always been a controlled substance. In the US, e-nic has been found not to be a medical device.

 

[BillyWJ]

Oxycontin now must be manufactured in a way that makes it more difficult for people who want to abuse it. It must be made in a way that crushing it up and snorting it/injecting it will not give the desired effect. It must be taken orally to be effective, with a slow release. E-nic could be banned the same way. No one is talking about banning nicotine, just the delivery system.

Nobody to my knowledge in the US is talking about banning the delivery system or the nicotine itself, just where you can use them.

 

[shazyzen]

I totally agree with you re: the prohibition era & astronomical gov't tax on analogues. I just wanted to add: In Australia (even though I realize everything is relative to different countries, e.g: wages here are higher than a some other countries; but the cost of housing is the highest) a pack of analogue cigarettes is about $ 25. And a pouch of Tobacco is $45 (Going up $50 dollars soon I beleive). Its crazy. Every six months the federal government puts up the taxation on cigarettes by a few dollars.

It's ludicrous & so unfair for lower socio-economic groups. And the gov't continue to justify the ever increasing tax costs on ciggies by saying they want people to quit so they can stop suffering the ill health effects of smoking. They're hypocrites. They want the tax; otherwise they should just ban cigarette's outright. But I guess if they banned them- then people would go underground like you mentioned Silent Knight. Underground cigs are called "chop- chop" here & are usually obtained under the counter from Asian grocery stores. They taste horrible- I tried one drag once & nearly threw up.

I just Googled the percentage of tax on analogues here in Australia compared to other countries. Here it's about 64%. In several Countries in Europe- like Germany & Denmark its about 73%. In the U.S.A- it's about 42%.

I just pray & hope they won't ban these wonderful Vaper products...? I must do more research on this here on ECF. BTW, it seems you can't buy nicotine e-liquids here in Australia (yet there are some PV- with no nic distributors). I may be wrong here, but I could seem to find a PV (with nic) Aussie on-line vendor anywhere. So THANK YOU America... Love You Guys! I could never have quit smoking with my new PV products.

I'm ( days smoke free now- YEAH!