First, my last blog post was #600. Huh.
Number 601 stems from a convo that Anna-Lisa and I had tonight.
Smoking is selfish. Unless you smoke in complete isolation and take sonic showers to remove all of the chemicals from around you, it is simply selfish. The idea that it's your right to spread toxic chemicals that cause cancer, etc. diseases, into the air that other people breathe is nuts. Oh, and selfish.
So When I'm Master of the World, my 4th Edict will be this:
- Outlaw cigarette and chew ads completely, 100%. No more ads in magazines, newspapers, billboards or at/on stores.
- Make it illegal to sell any clothing, etc. item, that has the company logo on it, except maybe the packs themselves.
- Make the tax on a pack/carton of cigarettes or chew 99%. Half of the tax money will go to cancer research. Thirty percent will go to programs that help people quit smoking.
- Any store that sells cigarettes or chew to under-21s is immediately fine $10,000 and their license for selling cigarettes and chew gets revoked for at least a year.
- If a cigarette company switches production from tobacco, plows under the tobacco crop and plants vegetables or fruits or the like, they'll get a nice tax deduction for at least six years.
I think this is a good plan. They're not completely outlawed, you can still buy them and stuff, but we'll get rid of the coolness level and will make them prohibitively expensive while creating funds for important health needs.
5 comments:
A Chili's in Utah got busted selling alcohol to a minor while we were living in Provo (and Josh was working at the Orem Chili's). It was a pretty big deal. They got fined a ton and lost their liquor license. I see no reason why something similar couldn't work with tobacco products. The server himself even got fined, which was enough to scare the servers across the state into carding everyone.
You should link to your other edicts. That way when people vote for you, they'll have easy accessibility to find out the kind of world you'll create. ;)
You are not concerned that taxes that high will simply lead to a thriving black market and associated organized crime problems?
Kim, I hadn't heard about that. Good, I say. When I was 15 I did cigarette stings in north utah county and in wasatch. A lot didn't sell to me and asked for my ID, but a few did.
MO, you're right. I'll fix my post in a while.
Jessica, this post was a serious concern layered with arbitrary and tongue-in-cheek numbers. So, no, I'm not really concerned about either of those problems.
I do, however, support a ban on all cigarette ads in magazines and newspapers. I also think that a ban or restriction on merchandising is something to look at. I have a friend at the CDC that told me that the number one way to stop kids from taking that first smoke is to make it uncool.
YES! It's SELFISH! When I was taking my birthing/childcare classes before Bean arrived, the nurse suggested we not ever let smokers hold our babies, even if they hadn't smoked recently, because the chemicals and the smell could cause respiratory problems. Nasty.
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