Does the tobacco bill go too far?

So...I've been reading up on the recent tobacco bill. Initially...I though "I don't use tobacco products, so I'm not ALL that interested"...but as I started reading further, I saw something that I thought was a little troubling. Now, it may not be a MAJOR issue...but it smells a little too nanny-ish.

It's the banning of flavoring in tobacco products. When I DID use tobacco products (at a legal age, mind you) I used to dip Cherry Skoal. How many adults, legally allowed to use tobacco products, smoke menthol cigarettes?

Under the guise of "The children"...they're seeking to slowly ban the use of tobacco outright.

I can see banning the use of cartoons in tobacco advertising...or anything that can remotely be seen as actively marketing tobacco to underage people. But honestly...I know several adults who chew flavored tobacco.

Why not also seek to ban wine coolers, Jack Daniels fruit punch, or any other candy-ass drink that adults enjoy that kids sneak?

I can see raising taxes on certain products, like tobacco, & alcohol, deemed to cause significant raises in healthcare cost. Then at least the government is saying "It's costing us a LOT...so if you want to use these substances...you can...it's just gonna cost ya'"

I do NOT agree with banning certain substances. It's NOT going to "fix" anything. It didn't work with Prohibition and it didn't work with the "War on Drugs". To paraphrase Chris Rock...."You cna take away every drug in the world...and there will still be someone in their basement with some rubber tubing, a beaker & some gasoline...trying to get high"

Without menthols I'll be even less tempted to start smoking again, but an outright ban is just dumb.

I agree completely.

If voters are worried about 'the children', as Cash said, then they need to spend more time with their kids and pay attention to what they're doing, instead of expecting society as a whole to monitor and restrict their behavior.

Yes...but that is not the purpose of government. Even though you agreed that an outright ban is dumb...you still have the belief that it is, to some extent, acceptable for someone else to control your urges.

They already started with Sparks and similar beverages. All in the name of protecting the children.

oh no! no more rose-flavored hookah-ing!!

i don't even smoke but that is upsetting. the idea that i can't mix some crazy flavors and make a milkshake for my lungs (if i wanted to) sucks.

Thanks for the civics lesson, but I don't have the belief that it is acceptable for someone else to control my urges at all.

Well, I don't know what your innermost thoughts are...but you started your reply with something that seemed to indicate that it wouldn't be something you'd be totally against.

That's why I changed it, because I realized it might cause a misunderstanding.

What exactly did you change?

Yes, it went too far. I knew many people who smoked in High School, and not a one of them starting smoking because they had flavored cigarettes. I know some clove-smokers who are pissed about this. This was a dumb move. I wish our politicians would have a little more respect for personal liberties.

I haven't read the bill, from what I've heard it doesn't seem like the flavorings thing is intended to ban things like cherry dip or menthol cigarettes. It's things like chocolate flavored cigarettes. I could be wrong, or intent or not the law could be used that way. The wording I keep hearing is "candy flavored cigarettes".

yeah....until some member of Congress finds a tin of Citrus Skoal in their 17 yo's sock drawer.

whatever, i am one of the few people i know who doesn't smoke flavored stuff, and this still makes me angry. i am going to buy a bunch of cartons this payday just in case any other ridiculous shit happens.
i wonder what the specifics of this will be though.

there is a big difference between marlboro lights, regulars, and marlboro milds. thats stupid.

Yeah, I don't doubt that even if the FDA doesn't use it's new power that way now, its only a matter of time before it does. I suppose it will be nice to know for sure that there aren't any random shitty additives in my cancer causing bad habit, but I suspect this will lead somewhere crappy, even if it takes a while.

As a cigar smoker I am worried where this will go. There are many flavored cigars out there and since flavored cigs are where kids start (as the government tells us) when the kids start smoking cigars with flavors (come on kids like flavor) are they going to add more tax to my cigars or start banning them?

They should Ban pre rolled cigs. if people had to roll their own they would be less likely to start smoking IMO.

On the subject of this bill, I agree with banning the use of phrases like "light" and "low tar", which I've been lead to believe are simply marketing terms designed to mislead smokers.

On that subject of banning flavored cigarettes, it does seem that they are fairly popular among youths (no national statistics, but google refers to a few smaller studies here and here) and are, on top of that, more harmful than regular cigarettes. Given that, I have to say I support the ban in so far as I support the government promoting the general health and wellbeing of our nation's youth, even if it comes at the expense of the pleasure of adults.

That said, I really don't care if an adult smokes himself or herself to death unless I personally know them and am slightly opposed to an outright ban on smoking as a result.

People actually buy those flavored cigars for the tobacco? I thought they were just for rolling blunts.

In terms of taste, and how harsh they feel on your throat, yeah there's a noticeable difference (which, as a former smoker, I can attest to).

If I'm not mistaken, however, I think the purpose of the section of that law is that lawmakers claim the labels such as 'low tar', 'light', and 'ultra-light' are misleading as to the carcinogenic effects of cigarettes. In that case, they are correct, there is no great difference in cancer rates for people who smoke lights or ultra-lights as opposed to people who smoke regulars or even unfiltered cigarettes.

HAHAHAHA!


but yeah. the government shouldn't control that shit.

Do not spam the boards.

"Light" is not simply a marketing term. Have you ever smoked? There is a HUGE difference in taste between a "regular" and a "light" cigarette.

Or they'd just realize how cool pipes are.