Obama bans clove cigarettes and other types, nothing of value lost.

[Tristam]

Regardless of whether these types of cigarettes were intentionally targeted towards minors, there is a statistically significant age related gradient in the use of these cigarettes. The end result is that flavored cigarettes are in fact more attractive towards younger smokers. To say nothing of the fact that the different chemicals used in the production of these cigarettes are not as well studied as those in conventional cigarettes.

This is the gov't doing what it's supposed to do. Protect people who (through their own fault or otherwise) just don't know any better.

Use of flavored cigarettes among older adolescent ...[Nicotine Tob Res. 2008] - PubMed Result

Quantification of flavor-related compounds in the ...[J Agric Food Chem. 2006] - PubMed Result

[Olo401]

Ok so I don't know why people are flipping out that their blunt wraps and grape Phillies are gonna be banned. The rule applies only to cigarettes and components of cigarettes. Not cigars, cigar wraps or pipe tobacco. Hell they don't even apply the no-flavor shit to fuckin' chewing tobacco which is FAR more dangerous than cigs. In other words, this bill does next to nothing to address the issue of flavored tobacco products other than eliminate most foreign competition ESPECIALLY Djarum.

Side note - As far as I know, the ONLY US-made brand that has fruit or spice-flavored cigs that will be impacted by this is Camel (#9s & their turkish/arabic blends).

Also, I smoke cloves exclusively. I can't stand the taste of regular cigs and menthols are too buzzy. You don't usually find cloves at a gas station either - you have to go to a specialty store, package store or exclusive cigar/tobacco shop. They're already a couple bucks more per pack than other cigs because they're imported. And aside from the trendy younger crowd, the only people who smoke them are connossieurs who like the taste, foreigners or naturalized citizens (particulary from Asia or the Middle East), or those with such foreign heritage.


This is a gift to Big Tobacco, nothing less. They don't give a shit if they can't market light cigs or those nasty neon-pink Camels anymore - they'll have more people to smoke Marlboro Reds and Newports.

[Not Kuno]

You're going to get cancer and die because you stood near someone smoking a cigarette. And if it's not that, it'll definitely be one of the million other things that cause cancer that you're exposed to on a daily basis. Or you might even die in a nuclear holocaust.

Yes that's exactly why. Ok but really I just cant fucking stand the smell of it. Smelt it alot growing up and it just makes me want to puke. I don't want to have to breathe in your shit. Sorry but this is something I wont change my mind on, I don't have any respect for smokers/smokers "rights" or what have you. Ban all that shit.

[Qalbert]

I hate people who bitch incessantly about other people smoking in non designated areas.

Well you can suck a fat cock. Some people have legitimate fucking health issues, and smoke of any kind can cause their throat to close up.

[Day]

Remember folks....

[eunhye]

This is the gov't doing what it's supposed to do. Protect people who (through their own fault or otherwise) just don't know any better.

no no no no no no no..

so basically i love the taste of big macs. i run 5 miles a day to burn that big mac off. gonna ban big macs now because they can kill me in the long run?

[Gwynplaine]

I laughed that part of the law now is the warning label has to be even bigger now.
I hate smoking, but seriously, the warning label was never going to stop anyone from smoking.
why is smoking so aggressively attacked anyways? alcohol causes a lot more, and a lot worse problems, and theres not even a small warning label on that.

Because they think the population is too damned incompetent to judge how to live their own lives. Same as always. Somewhere Rob Reiner is grinning through a beard of crumbled hostess swiss cake rolls.

[Tristam]

no no no no no no no..

so basically i love the taste of big macs. i run 5 miles a day to burn that big mac off. gonna ban big macs now because they can kill me in the long run?

You can't run off lung cancer.

edit: and everyone here should see the difference between doing something, which at any level is bad for you (smoking), vs doing something which in moderation is good for you (eating).

[Cyn]

Well you can suck a fat cock. Some people have legitimate fucking health issues, and smoke of any kind can cause their throat to close up.

Every time I walk down the street smoking a cigarette I make sure to stop and laugh at the people collapsed and choking as they die in my wake.

[Absolutely Virtue]

Why do people qq about Obama signing this, as if he is the one who authored and voted on the bill instead of Congress? Oh, wait, because he's the socialist (read: black guy). My bad. Yeah, fuck him.

People want to ban smoking because it contributes nothing to society, and it costs a fortune to take care of all the sick smokers (and sick second-handers). Nobody is trying to take away your freedom. They're trying to stop you from hurting yourself, because you're too fucking stupid to figure out how to do it on your own.

Cigarettes are the polar opposite of other pollutants, such as cars. Nearly everyone (whackjob conservatives aside) can agree that cars are bad for us. But they also drive to work, to school, and to the hospital to visit our relatives dying of lung cancer. So there is a trade off, and it can be a tough one. Let's look at cigarettes:

Pros-

1) You look pretty awesome when you smoke
2) You line the pockets of tobacco companies
3) You line the pockets of health insurance companies and other sickness profiteers

Cons

1) Everything else

Wow, that was a tough decision. If only the rest of public policymaking was so easy, we'd live in a goddamn utopia.

[eunhye]

You can't run off lung cancer.

edit: and everyone here should see the difference between doing something, which at any level is bad for you (smoking), vs doing something which in moderation is good for you (eating).

if you wanna kill yourself faster, it's actually more favorable for society as a whole.

here's something i'd like to see added

If you smoke, drink, have a BMI of 30%(obese), sorry no healthcare for you.

[Day]

Nobody is trying to take away your freedom. They're trying to stop you from hurting yourself, because you're too fucking stupid to figure out how to do it on your own.

I agree with everything you said but this. Cigarette addiction is no fucking joke man, it's not as easy as just saying "Oh this is bad for me I'll stop". I'm a heavy smoker, and wish they were banned if that says anything, but I'd be careful how you generalize all smokers like that.

[Tristam]

Every time I walk down the street smoking a cigarette I make sure to stop and laugh at the people collapsed and choking as they die in my wake.

You can laugh about it all you want, but smoking bans in bars and restaurants are actually saving lives. The risk of heart attack and lung disease is 30% greater in workers who are exposed to second hand smoke during their work hours vs. the general public.

[Cyn]

You can't run off lung cancer.

edit: and everyone here should see the difference between doing something, which at any level is bad for you (smoking), vs doing something which in moderation is good for you (eating).

I don't think big macs are good for you even in moderation, sorry. And to some people living a life of morbid obesity is a much scarier thought than dying of lung cancer.

Not that I'm arguing that big macs should be banned or anything. But saying cigarettes should be banned because you don't like the smell of it is pretty stupid. I don't like the smell of diesel fuel, should trucks be banned? Should restaurants that serve food that i think smells bad not be allowed to cook that food anymore? I mean come on.. garbage stinks, maybe people should be required to keep it in their houses until the collection service comes instead of making other people smell it. Farting in public should be a felony too for that matter.

[Tristam]

I do agree that making poor health choices should increase your burden to yourself as far as health care, but I can't totally agree with the alcohol, there does appear to be some good evidence that suggests the U-shaped curve wrt mortality vs. drinking is real. So drinking in moderation is probably good for you, but the jury is still out. (but only if you're older I think)

[Cyn]

You can laugh about it all you want, but smoking bans in bars and restaurants are actually saving lives. The risk of heart attack and lung disease is 30% greater in workers who are exposed to second hand smoke during their work hours vs. the general public.

There are bars where I live that chose to ban smoking. That's something I can live with, if the owner chooses to not allow smoking inside his establishment that's perfectly fine. The nonsmoker bartenders can go work there.

But why can't a bunch of people who enjoy smoking cigarettes get together in some dive somewhere to smoke in peace?

To put it bluntly: pretty much every place indoors that you're ever actually required to be at any point in your life has been smoke free for years. Don't expect a ton of sympathy from smokers.

[Absolutely Virtue]

I agree with everything you said but this. Cigarette addiction is no fucking joke man, it's not as easy as just saying "Oh this is bad for me I'll stop". I'm a heavy smoker, and wish they were banned if that says anything, but I'd be careful how you generalize all smokers like that.

I agree with you, and I used to smoke too. I started when I was probably 16, and didn't quit for good until I was probably 30. Ironically, that was 4 years AFTER I got an unrelated cancer.

Point is, tons of people quit every day. It's hard, sure. But most things in life that are worth it are difficult.

I started smoking because the cool kids were doing it. I knew it was bad for me, but I did it anyway. I thought I looked awesome, but in retrospect, I was an idiot.

[Day]

I can agree there, just saying it's not lack of intelligence that keeps people smoking, it may however explain why people start. =)

[Dimmauk]

I smoked for 15 years, and only quit, because the smell on my clothes was making my wife sick when she was pregnant. It was very difficult to quit, and I still crave it. That was 3 years ago. My dad has Emphysema from smoking menthol cigarettes, my Step father has to carry around an air tank cause he smoked 3 packs of Winstons for 30 years, and I still smoked. Now, I'm glad I quit, and I wish more people would quit too.

[Day]

How did you quit? Cold turkey, patch, pill?

@Dimm & AV