Just ban all tobacco products for three months..

[cherish44]

Sure you're going to have to deal with a lot of bitchy withdrawling lunatics for awhile but at the end of three months the vast majority will be over it. I'll bet the number of people who go back to smoking after three months would be less than 5%. (My problem with quitting smoking is that cigs are just too damn available...TAKE THEM AWAYYYYY!!)

[MineralMan]

1. Uff Da! (n/t)

[eddieb2]

2. Why

Do you care if people want to smoke?

[JVS]

3. And give up all that tax revenue? Yeah right

[Toucano]

4. Worked out well with alcohol.

Works with heroin, cocaine, and pot, too!

[MADem]

5. And watch the economy take a MASSIVE hit, schools lose tons of funding, and people

lose jobs left and right.

And then, you'd have people growing the shit in their basements and selling it on the black market....

[jmowreader]

6. At the end of three months the vast majority will be over their driving habits, too

I think you'll find it easier to find a convenience store that doesn't sell gasoline than one that doesn't sell cigarettes. The profit margin on gasoline is less than a nickel per gallon--they almost sell it as a loss leader to get people to come in and buy cigarettes. In fact, I don't think a convenience store could survive without cigarette sales.

I know there's a contingent on DU that wants the horse and buggy days to come back; this would go a long way toward making it happen.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

7. Wonderful idea, NOT! Do you really want to live in a Nanny State?

[shadowknows69]

9. I want to live in a country that doesn't legalize poisons.

[Speck Tater]

13. There are those who, like you, don't want to live in a country that legalizes poisonous behaviors

like abortion, and gay marriage.

So you would join with them in imposing YOUR standards on everyone else?

I'd rather live in a free country where people can decide for themselves, and are willing to keep their noses out of everyone else's bedrooms and women's clinics and smoking lounges.

(Disclaimer: Ex-smoker now 105 days smoke free. By my own choice.)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

15. Oh please........

[MineralMan]

18. Goodness! Really!

Lots of poisons are very, very useful. Gasoline, for example. It's not only poisonous, but very flammable. Chemotherapy drugs are also poisons, but have some uses. Alcohol is poisonous, too, but a glass of wine won't kill you.

Here's my suggestion for you: Don't use tobacco. That's not hard, and it won't cost you a penny. How's that sound to you. In exchange, I promise not to ban things you use that I don't use.

For pete's sake. Try not telling people what they may or may not do. It will liberalize your thinking.

[shadowknows69]

25. Well, they've killed me so maybe I'm a little sensitive about it

[notesdev]

8. I fully support that

Sincerely,

the Mafia

[Yupster]

10. I don't know if it's a good idea to have a president

who's a bitchy withdrawel lunatic.

Or maybe he'd get a special dispensation.

[safeinOhio]

11. I use medical tobacco products, only my

doctor won't give me a letter.

[Speck Tater]

12. People would get cigs from Canada, Mexico, or mailed to them by friends in UK or

other countries.

When the ban was finally lifted, 99% would go right back to smoking.

It would be an utter fiasco that would benefit nobody and result is enormous tax revenue loss and who know what other unforeseen social costs.

Also, for what it's worth, heart attack rates are higher during the first couple of weeks after quitting smoking. Beyond that, they decrease as the stress of quitting fades, but think of how many possible excess stress-induced heart attacks might happen if people are forced to quit against their will.

The whole idea of forcing people to behave in accordance with your own moral standards is irresponsible. It sounds like something a Republican would do if they decided to add smoking to their list of "abominations" like gay marriage and abortion. Don't we already have enough of one group forcing their ideas upon another?

(Disclaimer: Ex-smoker now 105 days smoke free)

[shadowknows69]

26. I call bullshit on that theory

I've had to deal with the "black market" for a habit or two but I can definitely say cigarettes aren't something I'm going to go looking to my local tobacco pusher for. FOr one thing they'd most likely be more expensive than they are now. Taxes or no.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. Cities and States could not afford the tax hit

They are the biggest nicotine addicts.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

16. And did you know that the new S-Chip bill signed into law uses tobacco taxes to fund it. Without

it, lots of children won't get free medical care.

[Retired AF Dem]

17. Smoke don't smoke

in the end we are all dead anyway. Why cant assholes figure this out?

[johnnie]

19. People like to tell other people how to live their lives

Nonsmokers don't like it when other people want to do what they like to do.

[Retired AF Dem]

21. Yep

I'm a nonsmoker and I dont care. I have my own reasons for not somking but 100 years from now I will be just as dead as they are.

[rustydog]

20. Our workplace will provide gum and or patch for quitters gratis

I wish I worked here when I quit smoking 19 years ago.

[TahitiNut]

22. Yeah. Another 'liberal' idea. Yup. Real 'progressive.'

The utter hypocrisy of extolling 'liberalism' and then promulgating such utter autocratic heavy-handedness is nauseating.
:puke:

[tammywammy]

23. I smoke to help the children n/t

[SOS]

24. Black market dreams...

Imagine the profits of bringing them in from Canada and Mexico!
The next Al Capone can't wait for this idea to take off.

[Baikonour]

27. So if you smoke, you're a bitchy lunatic?

:shrug:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

28. I know some bitchy lunatics who smoke, but I have never drawn the connection you did