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Where the prohibition movement failed to stop alcohol consumption the anti cigarette movement has succeeded.
It has been a social norm for quite some time not to see people smoking cigarettes in public as a whole.
Excluding other forms of tobacco usage cigarettes are now viewed as a habit for the poor and uneducated.
As another poster on this thread has mentioned, hospitals along with many other health related industries are outright denying employment to smokers and banning employees from smoking.
You are also seeing this hiring practice implemented across the board concerning all industries and professions that still offer health insurance to their employee base.
Employees that smoke on average have more health related issues related to such thus causing the companies rates to inch higher and higher due to what is considered undue claim inflation based on a preventable lifestyle habit.
Alcohol prohibition was never " normalized " into society thus the movement failing.
I see alcohol usage continuing unabated as well as the national legalization of marijuana usage within the realm of medical need within the next twenty years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank_Carbonni
People have tried banning tobacco and alcohol for centuries and it has always failed in the long run.
I think that the anti-smoking movement will eventually implode. Not for a long time, but eventually. I also think that we are going to see another attempt at Prohibition as well. Seeing as how many of the anti-smoking activists are also anti-alcohol and the fact that you are starting to see more politicians and activists attacking alcohol advertising and drinking in general. For the children of course.
My theory is that either the anti-smoking movement will get more aggressive and quickly lose all pretense that it is about health and make it obvious to everyone besides many smokers and sympathetic non-smokers that they are moralists just like the majority of "anti-X". The other way is that advancements in medicine and genetic engineering will either make cancer much more treatable and/or will allow the development in a tobacco with far fewer carcinogens which will make the health risks regarding smoking mostly irrelevant.
I have never understood why people bragged about getting drunk. I mean, kids in high school bragged about going to parties and getting drunk. But people in their 30s, 40s, 50s still do it. I don't have a problem with people having a few drinks, but a lot of people seem to just live to get drunk. Seems immature to me, but whatever.
It's a common trait amongst people from Anglo-Saxon societies. Cultural attitudes about alcohol and what it is for vary drastically across cultures. I think that the reason binge drinking is so common amongst English speakers is that it's been so heavily controlled and has been looked on primarily as a thing to get drunk on. You don't drink often, but when you do you get super drunk because that's what it's for. In French speaking cultures, it's usually regarded as a social lubricant and something you have with meals. Alcohol is consumed regularly, but people get blitzed much less often. I don't see these patterns of consumption changing any time soon, they're deeply rooted in the culture and alcohol is useful as a rite of passage and as a way of cementing relationships through a common experience. People need it for that reason, so it won't go away.
Big pharma is already in there with quit smoking aids...such as treating nicotine addiction with nicotine. As long as human beings seek instant pleasure there will be substances...but of course big pharma will corner the illegal drug market with their legal and prescribed drugs..The drug culture will be much more intense than now- and the non-compliant may be forced to take "medicine"
Smoking rates in the US have been stuck at about 20% so I'm not sure if they'll ever go down much more. Perhaps if marijuana is legalized, tobacco could lose some market share. Then again, if you are pessimistic about the future like me, people will have less, care less and need more coping mechanisms, so cigarette use could increase.
Ah alcohol, our most common escape into euphoria. Can't argue with the negatives, there would be so much less domestic abuse without drunk parents. I'd even argue that regular wine with dinner seems to deplete drinkers of brain cells long term. But...
Alcohol is THE social lubricant. I mean, how many of you out there might not exist without it? How many happy couples out there utilized several key drinking nights together to fall in love? And how many unintended pregnancies occurred after sloppy buzzed hookups?
One could say booze is what makes the world go round.
As each year passes the public health campaigns get greater against smoking, taxes go up all the time, you might have to pay more health insurance if you smoke.
More anti smoking propaganda on the TV, makes the younger generation less likely to smoke, and more restrictions on Advertising.
Plus as our society becomes ever more competitive, hard working, health oriented and trying to live longer - people change their behaviour in order to get ahead.
With more people living longer - the rates of Cancer, heart disease etc -and the costs - our goverments and employers will pressure people not to smoke and drink more and more.
Even Alcohol, more news stories about Alcohol being one of the primary causes of cancer, when before it was smoking. Eventually it will go the way of smoking.
The health dangers - just not being worth a small buzz from a cigarette, or getting drunk. Therefore we will design drugs which mimic there effects with much less dangers, such as the electronic cigarette.
Will people look back - in 50 years time at now with people in bars drinking and smoking as quite odd and old fashioned - will it only be todays generation who are keeping it going.
and the younger ones will look at it as habits of the old people.
I think in 50 years virtually no one will smoke or drink - they habits of the 19th century - not something which is going to fit in the future.
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Controlling the behavior of the population is a long term goal of tyrants. These tyrants will pick one thing that they want to change and work toward getting that behavior regulated.They will use the excuse that the behavior costs society as a whole. It is best to start with a behavior will not affect the majority of citizens. Mandatory motorcycle helmet laws was one of the first laws passed forcing people to comply. This was a huge success! Gun control laws were put in place in many states. Prohibition of Alcohol was tried but was a dismal failure so instead of making Alcohol illegal they just TAX the hell out of it. Cigarettes have been taxed instead of banned. Next will be attempts to regulate what you eat (Bloomberg as an example). These people are very patient. They nibble away at your rights a little bit at a time and put their agenda in place. They may actually have "good intentions". We all know what the Road To Hell is paved with don't we?
The whole anti tobacco & alcohol campaigns are nothing more than manufactured 'crisis" to distract and manage the population so as to keep them afraid , turn one on the the other with propaganda, and to give the illusion of caring of big gov't so the "slippery slope" can become a legal guideline for attacking other civil liberties of personal choice. First tobacco then obesity, then soda pop etc. until we all "do as we are told".
at the end of the day tobacco profits will split with big pharma and alcohol will continue on
That’s the thing there not going to ban alcohol or tobacco it’s just slowly the percentage of smokers and drinkers will get lower every year through health campaigns until it becomes only a small minority of people do, Alcohol might only be consumed rarely, and then that’s when it might be banned - there is nothing wrong with that because maybe it would be better if no one drank alcohol or smoked.
But it does show how people choices can be controlled by advertising etc.
That’s the thing there not going to ban alcohol or tobacco it’s just slowly the percentage of smokers and drinkers will get lower every year through health campaigns until it becomes only a small minority of people do, Alcohol might only be consumed rarely, and then that’s when it might be banned - there is nothing wrong with that because maybe it would be better if no one drank alcohol or smoked.
But it does show how people choices can be controlled by advertising etc.
I deal with tobacco reps in my job, I know for a fact the big tobacco companies are doing better than ever right now. If so many people are not smoking these days, it seems like the tobacco companies would be just hanging on by a thread.
Smoking has high correlation with socioeconomic class. If you’re working class, the odds are much higher that you will smoke. The odds are high that you will have a shorter lifespan. You won’t collect all that Social Security. Or Medicare. Or need subsidized elderly housing. You’ll be less of a burden to society. Puff away. It keeps my taxes lower.
Alcoholism and drugs also shorten your lifespan. Most die early and die poor. Same thing.
People have tried banning tobacco and alcohol for centuries and it has always failed in the long run.
Smoking cigarettes has only been widespread for just over 100 years, among men. Less than that for women. I think pipe smoking is much older. Clay pipes are commonly found in ancient archaeological sites.
But, all of you people's comments reflect only Western society.
Smoking is actually increasing very greatly in many Asian countries and Africa. If you are an American taxpayer, guess what, you are helping promote smoking in Asia by your contributions to USDA's tobacco marketing program. The World Health Organization (U.N.) estimates t hat by 2030, smoking-related illness will become the single greatest cause of death, world-wide.
http://www.youtube.com has video's of very small children chain-smoking in Indonesia. It will break your heart.
Last edited by slowlane3; 04-10-2018 at 08:07 AM..
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