A little sympathy BUT get on with it (Smoking Addiction in general)

Member Name: upton66

Product:	Smoking Addiction in general
Date:	14/06/01 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's real for some, Help available, You can beat it

Disadvantages: Anti Social, It'll kill you, Drain on NHS

I believe it is now appreciated that many adult smokers are genuine nicotine addicts caused, arguably, by the irresponsibility of the tobacco manufacturers over the years and that us non-smokers should start to be more sympathetic.

So to gain our sympathy I suggest the following:

Can we now classify nicotine as a controlled drug and help these smokers in the same way as drug addicts and offer them every assistance to kick the habit - to be financed incidentally by windfall taxes on the tobacco manufacturers, not the tax payer.

All advertising to be banned and smoking in public places to be banned. Nicotine addicts to register themselves with their GP's and have their habit controlled with compulsory kick-the-habit schemes and nicotine substitutes to be available from pharmacists on prescription, special free prescriptions again financed by the windfall taxes.

For the thoughtless minority of individuals who will be offended by their loss of civil liberties tax on cigarettes to be raised sky high, eg £10 per packet for the sole benefit of the NHS. That will ease out the REAL addicts from the plain selfish indulgents.

Smokers should receive no sympathy from us for smoking in public places endangering the health of others, being one of the prime sources of littering and fires due to careless disposal. Smoking should also be deterred in homes with children, ideally these abused children should be removed from such homes. Though there would be as much hope of enforcing this as there is of enforcing the ban on smacking children.

Unless they are a registered nicotine addict they should pay for all their medical treatment under the NHS. How dare asthmatics, those with heart and respiratory problems continue to smoke whilst receiving and awaiting medical care.

As stated I CAN now accept that many adult smokers are addicts, but they should take their habit on board, seek help and beat it. Then they might get
a little sympathy for the majority of non-smokers.

I just CANNOT accept the irresponsibility of young new smokers, or of their parents, oh yes there is peer pressure, but there is also stupidity. Let your children talk to their smoking and non-smoking elders, visit a local old folks home, visit the medical ward at your local hospital, see some sufferers, show them pictures of dissected lungs, read about it. Get the schools and youth groups, to run anti-smoking talk-about sessions, just see for themselves how folk are suffering some ghastly diseases and smoking related problems. Shock them. Demonstrate to them how much money is going up in smoke.

Having watched a relative suffer years of emphysema; it is distressing, debilitating, Can't breathe, can only take a couple of steps before wheezing, back on the inhalers, eventually on continual oxygen. Assistance required with all your daily functions, loss of dignity. Someone with a strong heart and a loving family who probably had at least another ten years to live died too early.

Oh yes, smokers say, THEY are financing the health services and more than anyone deserve free treatment. Just think of all the time and beds that would be freed up if you took out all the patients with their self-inflicted heart and respiratory problems. Apparently the body can do a remarkable repair job if the smokers stop before too much damage is done. So within a few years there could be a dramatic change in the pattern of ailments in the population and demands on the health service. The Government has got to balance out the potential loss of revenue through reduced cigarette consumption against the potential rewards of change in demands on the health service. At least have the will to impose a draconian tax on cigarettes now.

The tobacco companies deserve no sympathy; they have had forty years to diversify into legitimate businesses. They most certainly have no right to turn to the third world for
their new customers. Whilst it is probably damaging to inhale ANY smoke into your lungs, the manufacturers should be forbidden from introducing addictive and carcinogenic substances into their products. They are drug peddlers.

The Americans have proved they can do a great job of spraying weedkiller on poppy plantations and wiping out the livelihood of the farmers. I am sure they could make short work of wiping out the tobacco plantations.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

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