Given that the governemt could actually stop us doing anything they felt like stopping us doing, why do they cntinue to allow sale and consumption of a dangerous and addictive drug?

[Coldtits]

Is it because allowing smoking is cheaper than paying for pensions?

Well I keep meaning to try one of those companies that will post them to you from abroad. If the government made it harder then I would do that. I'm only put off because of the hassle of finding out which are genuine and which are a scam.

Petty crime to fund drug habits may not decrease, but gun crime, prostitution, people trafficing, all crimes that surround drug dealing would decrease. The taxes raised could be used to fund drug treatment, which is currently woefully underfunded which may eventually reduce petty crime too.

its a disgusting habit, and should be bloody banned.

Cote...re your earlier post on addictiveness of drugs vs. nicotine. Studies have shown that nicotine isn't very addictive at all. They can only make lab rats work for it if they put them through extreme stress first. Most addictive substances are sugar and cocaine.

And lots of people can have cigarettes every day and not be addictive. I smoked for 3 years and never once craved a cigarette. When I decided to stop, I stopped instantly , with no withdrawals. A lot of "addiction" is down to physiology and overall mental make-up of the individual.

Frankly, you've got to die of something - if you choose to pick a habit that will accelerate that and which isn't hurting anyone (and yes I know the arguments - smoking in front of vulnerable/influenceable children etc.) I guess that's your lookout. You have the choice of:

(1) Alcohol
(2) Tobacco

NB you may choose to combine the two habits.

Good for you - you are adding to the economic recovery.

It's kind of stupid to think that all these things can and should be controlled. Adults will always choose chemical mood adjusters because they are easier and more fun than everyday realities.

I don't drink or smoke. I'll probably get hit by a bus. Ce la vie!

Actually wmmc moderate drinkers live longer than ttotallers

Yeah but I'm feeling pessimistic tonight so I probably will get hit by the bus (in the country where buses don't run). Is there such a thing as a moderate drinker? I've never met one.

oh god lol pickin on the smokers yet again.

us smokers are much thinner than you lard arses non smokers

Yep, it's true Marla. Now, that is not to say that cigarettes are not addictive. Because the smoke combusted in a cigarette (i.e. what smokers consume) is not just nicotine, and scientists are still researching all the elements that make up the smoke. But nicotine itself is a minimally addictive.

SEA - you pickin' on the cake squad?

As a non-lard-arse, non drinking, non smoking dull person you smokers stink (well you do when you are smoking anyway!)

Another little known fact is that nicotine itself does not cause cancer/death (agin, the risks are caused through the combustion and smoke produced in cigarettes/pipes/cigars). That is why on the snus tins you get in Sweden the health warning is much milder than cigarette packets, something like "this product may be harmful to your health". So some governments are trying to promote this as a healthier way of getting a nicotine hit.

SEA - Speaking as a 'Lard Arsed Non Smoker@ I would just like to inform you the sad truth is that I have beautifully clear skin, I don't stink of fags and I'm a size 8! (ducks for cover although not sure the wheezing smoker could raise a fist in anger)

Tis alright Wonderstuff, just leg it, they can never catch you up what with the oxygen depletion and all!

Oh, and in answer to the OP, the reason tobacco is not banned is because of the excise revenue it generates. And you can blame King James I for that.

He said this about tobacco in 1604: "Smoking is a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless."

But rather than ban it, he just put a very high tax on it. And so began the state's reliance on income from smokers.....

I would be very much in favour of a complete ban on cigarettes and tobacoo. I would then be able to quit once and for all instead of stopping for ages and then stupidly starting again. If I couldn't buy them, I wouldn't be wandering around the streets looking for a dealer or whatever.

I think the warnings on the packets getting larger and more off-putting is a load of crap, as is banning it in public places and taking them off display in shops. Utterly pointless mixed messages.

i would like to ban all ex smokers, they protest too much

How is banning smoking in public places, taking them off display in shops and putting larger and more off-putting warnings on the packets sending out MIXED messages? LOL

Two words - tax revenue.

Because if the government really wanted to stop people smoking they would raise the price prohibitively in one go, instead of piecemeal as they do. If fags went up to £25 a pack at the next budget, almost all smokers would stop simply because they couldn't afford it. The government don't do this, because they know they'd be even further up shit creek if they did.

The government really can't raise the price to £25 a pack because this would lead to an increase in crime as people would then start smuggling them in from EU, government aren't sending out mixed messages but doing everything they can to prevent people smoking. Surely this is obvious??

SpaceTrain - Actually, studies have shown that nicotine is very addictive, causing physical changes in the brain and altering pleasure responses like opioids do.

A lot depends on the age you start smoking, apparently - start as a teenager and you are hooked much worse than if you start at the age of 28 (like myself). I could also go days without smoking, and finally quit cold turkey without much fuss.

My point re drugs was that most Class A drugs are not even physically addictive - LSD, and Ecstasy for example.

Cote - which studies are you referring to? My DH studies addictiveness of substances as his job, so is pretty up to date, and that is where I get my facts from.