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Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed (www.bbc.com)
submitted 6 months ago by to c/world
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[–] 8 points 6 months ago (4 children)

I think it's better to significantly increase taxation on these things. Tax it at 1 pound per cigarette/gram/ml. Continuously increase the tax until the only way to get it is from someone who grows some in their garden.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Taxes tend to only stop new smokers, not current ones. This kinda skips the middleman.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    People born after 07 are not yet 21. This bill is explicitly aiming at new smokers.

    Increasing the tax will force people away from nicotine products. Making it illegal to purchase just creates a black market. It makes more sense to me to crush the market itself. People will smoke, but keeping smoke free zones and making it difficult to distribute tobacco products will reduce it significantly.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (1 child)

    black market

    Taxation also causes this.

    Most studies found that raising cigarette prices through increased taxes is a highly effective measure for reducing smoking among youth, young adults, and persons of low socioeconomic status. However, there is a striking lack of evidence about the impact of increasing cigarette prices on smoking behavior in heavy/long-term smokers...

    https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/8/11/4118

    Ideally multiple methods would be used together, but claiming taxing it more is the only good solution is a stance that lacks nuance.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago

    It's not that you don't have a point. Any approach blindly will miss nuance. I had to reread the article to make sure I had not missed a conversation about existing smokers. I'm not sure where the policy addresses existing smokers. The article expressed hope that the government will provide cessation support, but not much else.

    Not exactly worded as such, but my comment is saying that raising taxes will affect both new and existing users.

    I think my biggest concern with making it illegal is brought on by the USA prohibition era. Taxing it into the ground without providing a direction for people to go will most likely do the same.

    Maybe a more clear path would have been to both restrict access AND increase taxes. I have seen some places increase the smoking age further. Maybe increase the age every other year. Leave synthetic items alone for now, pushing people to zyn, vape, gum, mints and patches. Later, increase on items that are now for cessation.

    The reason I bring up the taxation is because it can go directly to public health funding.

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