Let's say there's a threat that kills five million people every year, tendency growing. The economic damage done is correspondingly mind-blowing. It's worse than the First World War in regard to human suffering.
Now do you suppose this would lead to drastic action?
After all, a couple thousand dead and few hundred billion bucks economic damage has pushed much of the West into a hysteria and multiple wars, right? Now how drastic would our response be to a 5 million dead per annum threat?
Total mobilisation, hunt all the assholes down till their evil organisations are wiped from history?
I tell you what we would do - no, what we DO. Almost nothing.
Something can be done about it, though.
And it ain't so hard at all.
S Ortmann
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Maybe it is due to them wanting to smoke, instead of them being forced to smoke. If they were forced to smoke it then you would likely get a huge uproar.
ReplyDeleteSmoking is bad and I do wish people would quit, but at least warning people more of the dangers is a start. Smoking impacts others in healthcare cost which may or may not be state run.
On a side note, does Germany have a good healthcare system?
Tim
The only complaints about the health care system are about some costs, a current organ transplantation scandal and occasional complaints about privileges for privately insured patients.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.oecd.org/germany/BriefingNoteGERMANY2012.pdf
Tobacco products are addictive and almost all smokers began to smoke before they were adults. That suffices to tear the 'voluntary' argument apart.
Thanks for the healthcare info.
ReplyDeleteI know people who smoke or use to. Most of them did start young, some stopped smoking for awhile (years even), but started back. I know it is addictive (watch someone who smokes go awhile without a smoke and see how they start to act). As long as people believe that smoking is mostly a choice they won't likely oppose it. If you can show how it affects non-smokers it would help (like healthcare cost). Love your neighbor as yourself, selling cigarettes never went over well with me.
Tim
I do smoke tobacco from time to time (every second year or so) and I'm not addicted. The problem with the addiction is psychological as well as physical. Smoking is one of the peer group entrance exams and stays a very important socialisation source throughout lifetime. If you want to fight smoking, invent something that can compete with an as simple opener as "Do you have fire?" and reciproce gift bonding as "Do you have a cigarette?", plus it must have all the rebellious spirit because it is a very bad habit in the eyes of every "sane" adult.
ReplyDelete