• Guntrigger@feddit.ch
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    1 year ago

    Everyone here is arguing the benefits of prohibition. I’m just interested to know how much money Rishi (and/or his family members/friends/donors) have invested in vaping and nicotine alternatives.

    • Jojo@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      It always confuses me to learn that when people want to ban smoking it somehow means ban “cigarettes” and not “nicotine”

      • gmtom@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Because smoking is WILDLY more harmful than vaping.

        Yes vaping has SOME health risks, but it’s like saying drinking tea and drinking four loko are just as bad because they both have caffeine

              • PorkRollWobbly@lemmy.ml
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                1 year ago

                How much did big coffee pay you to make this comment? I bet that link installs covfefe!

              • MonkRome@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                I mean lets not pretend it’s risk free, it raises blood pressure, causes headaches, can trigger arrhythmia in those at risk, etc. As far as drugs go it is probably the least risky, but it’s not like it comes with zero health impacts.

                • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  I don’t think anything is risk-free, including the vital molecules that we need to live. But caffeine has way a longer and significant list of health benefits that offset the risks at even moderate doses. So much so that there’s enough evidence to encourage people to drink more as a prophylaxis. That list includes protection from gallstones, cancers, asthma, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular disease among other thing like a potential aide in weight loss and even a significant performance boost in sports. What’s more, there have been large cohort studies that have found a 3% decreased in risk of developing arrhythmia per daily cup even when controlling for genetics. So the risks shouldn’t be used to discourage or scare people away from a proven benefit when the therapeutic window includes up to 4 cups a day. Would I risk the occasional insomnia, headaches, and temporary increase in blood pressure for all the other positive effects given such a lenient margin? Absolutely.

                  So, really, the public perception that caffeine is somehow dangerous for being labeled a drug is on par with the belief that other substances are inherently dangerous. I think it spills over from the war on drugs, and the delusion of clean eating that often emerges from the dregs of misinformation on the internet and those who perpetuate those beliefs for monetary gain within the wellness communities, ironically enough.

                • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  but it being pushed as “healthy” is also a stretch

                  With so many health benefits and mild side effects, it’s hard to say that it’s unhealthy when it protects you from various serious conditions. It can most definitely be part of a healthy diet.

                  However, the amount regularly consumed by US adults on average is 135 mg or 1.5 cups, which is well below the maximum recommended dose of 400 mg or 4 cups of coffee per day, which is in itself a conservative estimate as with all official guidances. To put that into perspective, but by no means to compare it with long-term consumption, you’d need to drink about 10 g in 100 cups in one sitting to reach toxic levels.

                  Surprisingly enough, and just to entertain the idea, there are some instances of increasing returns from a higher caffeine intake. A modest calorie burn for weight loss from caffeine would require 6 cups on average, which–although a large amount and not generally recommended–is still clinically safe to consume. An increased intake is also associated with a lower risk of gallstones. Even the American College of Cardiology has published a note encouraging users to drink more than the average nationwide to reap the benefits. Other sources put that number at 3 cups daily. And although moderate drinkers of 3-5 cups per day show a 15% reduction of cardiovascular disease, heavy drinkers of 6 cups or more per day are neither associated with an increase nor decreased risk. I even remember reading at some point that heavier users become more resilient to caffeine’s cardiovascular effects than casual drinkers but my Google-fu was not strong enough to recover the source but I’ll edit if I stumble across it.

                  So there you have it. The window of what’s considered a low risk or healthy intake of caffeine is much wider than what’s generally expected. In fact, it can be used and it’s recommended as a prophylaxis for certain conditions without a significant tradeoff in healthy adults, and there’s plenty of evidence to support that.

                  And no, this wasn’t paid by big coffee, but if you know that they’re hiring, send them my info.

      • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Well what’s wrong with nicotine? In itself it’s not worse than booze. It’s all the other crap they add that makes it so terrible

        • JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          Hi from the depths of a nicotine addiction and struggling to quit. Its a worthless chemical that gets more expensive everyday and my brain SCREAMS at me for a fix if I try to go more than even a few hours. At least heroin gets you high.

          • HikingVet@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 year ago

            And even when you break free for the most part the chemical which is classified as a poison will make you crave it years later.

          • MisterFrog@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Stay strong on your recovery friend 💪

            Thank you for your comment, this is always my biggest beef with those defending nicotine (smoking/vaping).

            It’s like, WHAT DO YOU EVEN GAIN FROM IT?

            • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              WHAT DO YOU EVEN GAIN FROM IT

              Smokers/vapers report a balanced pick-me-up with reduced stress and a sense of calm. If you ignore the massive health hazard and addictiveness and just pay attention to the effects, it seems like the best possible non-intoxicant. There’s a reason why indigenous people used it regularly and it was almost immediately an export crop when discovered.

              Positive Effects

              Nicotine createsTrusted Source a temporary feeling of well-being and relaxation, and increases heart rate and the amount of oxygen the heart uses. As nicotine enters the body, it causes a surge of endorphins, which are chemicals that help to relieve stress and pain and improve mood… Nicotine may also temporarily improve concentration and memory

              Honestly, a wonder-drug. Minus the whole “highly addictive and smokers die a horrible and painful death” part.

              Honestly, if it weren’t addictive, I’d probably consider vaping. But I have enough addiction with caffeine in my life.

          • I Cast Fist@programming.dev
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            1 year ago

            I suspect your struggle comes mostly from the habits, rather than the chemicals involved? I’ve known a number of cigar addicts that managed to quit, they often said that the hardest part was avoiding it after an activity, like a cigar after a cup of coffe, a cigar after a meal, etc. Being allowed cigar breaks during work also encourages use, since it’s a “free pause”

            • JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca
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              1 year ago

              You don’t have any fucking idea what your talking about. I stopped smoking cigarettes 2 months ago and switched to tobacco free pouches. I have been tapering down from 6 mg to 4 to now 2. And here’s a good tip, especially when talking about addiction. You don’t get a say in anyone else’s experience amd diminishing another persons struggle makes you look like a real jackass, especially considering you have no experience of your own. I can tell because if you did you wouldn’t be spouting this bullshit

            • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              That’s really not the case. Nicotine is highly physically addictive. “Habits” are involved in the way the mind links itself to the addictive substances and the effect of consuming them. My wife quit smoking 15 years ago, and walking in the woods still gives her near-uncontrollable urges to light a cigarette. Because she and I camped a couple time the first year of our relationship and she smoked a cigarette on a hiking trail. That’s not habit-related. Having a cigarette was a more formative and powerful influencing memory to her than basically anything else in her life.

              Being allowed cigar breaks during work also encourages use, since it’s a “free pause”

              That’s just anti-smoker bullshit. Honestly, if you work at a job where you need to smoke to get a break, you should be finding another job anyway. Let’s just stick to hating the drug instead of the smokers.

        • Goblin_Mode@ttrpg.network
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          1 year ago

          I mean I’m no expert but I do have some knowledge on the subject.

          The difference is how you injest it. Our stomachs are much more resilient than our lungs. Your stomach is, for all intents and purposes, a sac of acid that dissolves mostly anything you put in it, your lungs on the other hand literally only do 1 thing all day and it’s breathe air. There are different qualities of air of course, and microparticles in it that could cause harm, but on the whole it’s more or less all the same.

          Its like dumping garbage into a sink vs. a paper bag. The sink will get disgusting, and you may end up with a clogged drain, messed up pipes, or worse. But at the end of the day if you just clean the mess and don’t do it too often it will probably be fine. The paper bag on the other hand is gonna get Soggy, gross, and start falling apart in your hands. You can dry it out but it will never quite be the same…

          • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            There are different qualities of air of course, and microparticles in it that could cause harm, but on the whole it’s more or less all the same.

            Absolutely, and that’s the problem. The same argument you just posed could also be used against intentionally smelling flowers, or sticking your nose over a pot of boiling broth to smell that chicken deliciousness.

            We don’t know that vaped nicotine is more harmful than most things we breathe. In fact, I’d say there are non-drug things people do that we already know to be worse than vaping. Ever go camping? The smoke from that fire is worse than vaping, worse than almost any substance you might want to smoke.

            So the question is how bad vaping (the action, not the drug) is. Is it as bad as sniffing a rose, as bad as lighting a scented candle? As bad as incense? As bad as a campfire? If, as many suspect, it’s near the beginning of that scale, then the only critique we can rightly have is towards the substance vaped. If it’s near the end of the scale, we kinda need some research to support that claim.

            Its like dumping garbage into a sink vs. a paper bag

            As of yet, the medical and scientific community have not found solid evidence that it’s “like…garbage” at all if you don’t like it on fire.

            Which is where things get complicated. Because it MIGHT be terrible for you. Or it might not be bad at all.

      • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        In the US it’s the opposite, which is absolutely bizarro land. Want to ban vapes but not cigarettes.

          • Dudewitbow@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            If addiction is a problem, should the general use of caffine be banned then? Thats why its kinda odd to specifically ban nicotine.

            Choosing to ban specifically nicotine and not caffine is as silly as the idea that cigarettes should be legal but weed shouldnt.

            • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              Probably, yes. Even the age restrictions are kinda silly.

              I do think it’s ok to ban sale of “prepared smokables” like cigarettes. The harm level is known to be severe. But if someone wants to buy their own tobacco+papers and roll their own cigarettes, that’s on them.

              Of course, I don’t think it would be effective to ban cigarettes. Just ethically coherent.

          • Plopp@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            If it’s not too harmful - what’s the problem with being addicted? I’m addicted to coffee and drink at least two cups per day, as do most people around here.

            • Goo_bubbs@lemmings.world
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              1 year ago

              Nobody out there is just buying Nicotine gum for the flavor. The overwhelming majority are struggling with an addiction that may one day kill them.

              Also, as a former smoker of over 20 years as well as a current coffee addict, I can tell you from personal experience that there is no comparison between the two. Some substances are simply more addictive than others. Nicotine is one of the worst on the planet.

              • nxdefiant@startrek.website
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                1 year ago

                You say that, but even if there was a pill that instantly cured all addiction, I’d probably still crave coffee every day.

                • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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                  1 year ago

                  …because there isn’t a pill that instantly cures all addiction. Addiction is a complicated thing that combines a lot of factors between physical dependence, pleasure-seeking, memory formation, and a lot more.

              • gmtom@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Idk man, I vaped for years many times a day and was able to quit very easily, but sugar and caffeine I just can’t, they’re so much more addictive to me.

            • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              The problem with addiction is that it’s safe to say that NOTHING is good if used to excess.

              I used to be so hooked on caffeine I drank a 30-cup pot each day. It was giving me all kinds of issues, and I was only in my 20’s. I’m still addicted, but I’ve learned to moderate. It took me years. And my 4th latte of the day is telling me that I’m not exactly great at it.

              If I smoked/vaped Nicotine, I would have serious problems of taking too much all the time.

                • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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                  1 year ago

                  Not at all. I don’t suggest any bans. I said elsewhere I would not oppose pre-rolled cigarette bans because they are especially dangerous and would not reduce access to the product itself. But I also don’t suggest pre-rolled cigarette bans.

          • Nobsi@feddit.de
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            1 year ago

            The addicting part isnt the nicotine. Its everything atound it. The ritual, the friends the “doing something with your hands”.
            The psychological addiction is way stronger than the nicotine addiction that you can just overcome in 2 weeks.

        • Jojo@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          The full effects of vaping are not well understood, and while they’re almost certainly not as bad as cigarettes, they’re also almost certainly still bad for you, and they are indeed still addictive for the same reasons as cigarettes because they still use nicotine.

          Further, one main reason their risks remain as poorly understood as they do is that (again, because of the same active ingredient) people who vape often also use cigarettes. The two are closely linked, I don’t think my confusion should be so easily dismissed as that.

          • Chetzemoka@startrek.website
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            1 year ago

            Oh sorry, I was thinking nicotine supplements like gum and patches. In my mind, smoking and vaping are the same thing. “Don’t inhale particulate matter of any kind” is an excellent rule of thumb for all humans in all situations

            • Jojo@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              Exactly my point. It always throws me for a minute when I realize people are treating them so separately.

            • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              So you’re against smelling flowers, too? And scented candles?

              The problem is that we “inhale particulate matter” all the time. Every day of our lives.

              • Chetzemoka@startrek.website
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                Yes, and it kills people.

                https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8140409/#:~:text=The World Health Organization estimates,PM2.5)%20in%20polluted%20air.

                You’re not that stupid. You know the difference between inhaling concentrated particulates from a cigarette or vape and smelling a fucking flower. (Which, by the way, pollen grains are average 10-20 microns, not 2.5.)

                https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7937385/#:~:text=Many studies have reported that,2020%3B Schober et al.%2C

                • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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                  1 year ago

                  You’re not that stupid. You know the difference between inhaling concentrated particulates from a cigarette or vape and smelling a fucking flower

                  And you’re not that stupid. You know that fine particulate matter in the air every breath we take is different from someone vaping sometimes. There’s a reason your linked study doesn’t mention vaping AND why scientists are still saying the risks of vaping are unclear.

                  Your second study is more useful, but it really is not intellectually defensible to take it results as saying vaping is unhealthy. Instead, its results are saying that we need to keep regulations to control air quality with regards to vaping.

                  I’ll reiterate my original critique.

                  “Don’t inhale particulate matter of any kind” is an excellent rule of thumb for all humans in all situations

                  …is something I disagree with, like most extreme naive generalities.

          • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            The full effects of vaping are not well understood, and while they’re almost certainly not as bad as cigarettes, they’re also almost certainly still bad for you

            That used to say that about artificial sweeteners. The question shouldn’t be “is it bad for you” but “is it worse for you than 99 other things you do in a day”. And vaping nicotine is “almost certainly bad for you” because of the nicotine, and nicotine is a known quantity - we know how bad it is and isn’t. We don’t have evidence that the mechanism of vaping is bad for you, and there’s no “almost certainly” on that.

            And the truth is, I have problems with people who lean on “poorly understood” for vaping. Evidence shows vaping as a mechanism (for THC as it were) going back over 2000 years to ancient Egypt. Widespread use of hookahs started in the 19th century and has tons mechanically in common with modern vaporization. There are some differences, but short of a few badly-designed vapes that let air reach the lungs while superheated, it looks a lot like people are saying “not well understood” because they cannot seem to “understand” bad things and they don’t want to say good things. We have TONS of research precedent around room-temperature air with vaporized herbs in it.

            If I were going to imbibe nicotine (or CBD or THC for that matter), I would probably prefer to vape it. I think the stigma against vaping needs to step aside for the vaccine research considering using vapes as an alternative to needle injection.

            • Jojo@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              Hookah is pretty bad for you too, my friend. From Wikipedia, emphasis mine:

              The major health risks of smoking tobacco, cannabis, opium and other drugs through a hookah include exposure to toxic chemicals, carcinogens and heavy metals that are not filtered out by the water,[3][8][9][10][11] alongside those related to the transmission of infectious diseases and pathogenic bacteria when hookahs are shared.[3][9][12][13] Hookah and waterpipe use is a global public health concern, with high rates of use in the populations of the Middle East and North Africa as well as in young people in the United States, Europe, Central Asia, and South Asia.[3][8][9][10][11]

              If the best you can say is “it’s pretty much a mini hookah, don’t worry”, then I’m going back to the best you can say for it is that it’s poorly understood. Vaping doesn’t burn anything, unlike a hookah, but the vaporized oils still contain toxins and novel toxins not in the smoke from cigarettes or hookah. The health consequences of that are not well understood, but are probably not as bad as cigarette smoking. That’s the best we’ve got.

              • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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                1 year ago

                I didn’t say it wasn’t. I said we have a lot more context than people want to pretend about vaping in general.

                And I’m not trying to say “it’s a mini hookah”, nor am I trying to say you should vape.

                Vaping doesn’t burn anything, unlike a hookah, but the vaporized oils still contain toxins and novel toxins not in the smoke from cigarettes or hookah

                If they contain toxins, we probably know quite a bit about those toxins right now. But what about pure vaporized solids? In the CBD and Cannabis community, dry herb vaporizing is the hot new thing specifically because 99% of complaints about vaping being unhealthy are irrelevant. All they do is get the herbs hot without burning it, run it through cooling, and inhale it. I laugh, but I used to do that with lavender with an aromatic herb heating unit.

                The health consequences of that are not well understood, but are probably not as bad as cigarette smoking. That’s the best we’ve got.

                Despite your incredulity, you really haven’t shown that. The consequences are not perfectly understood, but we understand enough to start making educated opinions about vaping. Even your points about hookahs work towards that, with the worst cons being that you still get Carbon Monoxide and the intensity of Nicotine is high. The problem is that we don’t want to tell people that the educated opinion is “probably better for you than that glazed donut”

      • uis@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Because probably it was defined as burning, not usage of nicotine

        • Jojo@lemm.ee
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          But why? The full effects of vaping are not well understood, and while they’re almost certainly not as bad as cigarettes, they’re also almost certainly still bad for you, and they are indeed still addictive for the same reasons as cigarettes. Further, one main reason their risks remain as poorly understood as they do is that (again, because of the same active ingredient) people who vape often also use cigarettes. The two are closely linked, I don’t think my confusion should be so easily dismissed as that.

          • Plopp@lemmy.world
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            Banning nicotine would be going too far. Nicotine in and of itself isn’t that bad, it’s the delivery methods that can be problematic. In particular the ones where you inhale things into your lungs. But there are smokeless tobacco and there are types of tobacco smoking where you don’t inhale the smoke.

            • BluesF@feddit.uk
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              1 year ago

              Who would want other nicotine options without cigarettes or vaping? No one is starting out with nicorette.

              • V H@lemmy.stad.social
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                1 year ago

                I tried to start with both a patch and gums years ago because of the stimulant benefits and the decent risk profile of nicotine on its own. I’ve never smoked, never will. Didn’t stick - it was too hard to get used to. If I could get it as a flavourless pill, maybe.

              • Plopp@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Many people. There are many different tobacco products that either are smokeless or that you don’t inhale that are common in different areas, like dip, snus, snuff, cigars, pipes and what have you. In some regions those are what people start using nicotine with.

              • PainInTheAES@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Actually I started with nicorette because of nootropics blogs and nasal snuff. I’ve only ever smoked 1 cigarette although I did partake in some hookah.

              • Plopp@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Psychoactive poison. Great argument there. List the negative effects of nicotine itself that you think are so bad that they require a ban instead of the problematic delivery methods.

              • V H@lemmy.stad.social
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                It’s “psychoactive” in the same way that caffeine is. That is, it’s a stimulant. Using that term only serves the purpose of making it sound scarier. And it’s far less addictive on its own than when smoked. It’s not harmless, but it’s also nowhere near as big a problem in itself as specific product categories and delivery methods, and no worse than any number of other things we’re perfectly fine with people using.

      • V H@lemmy.stad.social
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        1 year ago

        Nicotine is one of the safest stimulants we know, up there with caffeine in terms of safety. There’s little meaningful reason to ban nicotine. You’re more likely to harm yourself with any number of other things we readily allow.

        The addiction potential of nicotine alone is also far lower than people assume, because smoking is highly addictive both due to the rituals and the other substances involved. I tried to get used to nicotine via patches years back to use as a safe stimulant, and not only did I not get addicted, I couldn’t get used to it (and I was not willing to get myself used to smoking, given the harm that involves). That’s not to say you can’t develop addictions to patches or vapes etc. too, but much more easily when it’s as a substitution for smoking than “from scratch”.

        Restrictions on delivery methods that are harmful or not well enough understood, and combining nicotine with other substances that make the addiction and harm potential greater, sure.

        • affiliate@lemmy.world
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          Nicotine is one of the safest stimulants we know, up there with caffeine in terms of safety. There’s little meaningful reason to ban nicotine.

          this is from a 2015 article i found on the NIH library:

          Nicotine poses several health hazards. There is an increased risk of cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal disorders. There is decreased immune response and it also poses ill impacts on the reproductive health. It affects the cell proliferation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, DNA mutation by various mechanisms which leads to cancer. It also affects the tumor proliferation and metastasis and causes resistance to chemo and radio therapeutic agents. The use of nicotine needs regulation. The sale of nicotine should be under supervision of trained medical personnel.

          source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/

          in case you think i might be cherry picking, here’s something from johns hopkins, and here’s a source from the cdc. here’s something recent from harvard for good measure.

          edit: i should be clear that the other sources don’t say exactly the same things as the NIH one, but they do talk about how nicotine itself is very addictive, and they talk about some of the harm it can cause

          • V H@lemmy.stad.social
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            The links from John Hopkins, the CDC and Harvard all focus on vaping, and so are irrelevant to the question of nicotine rather than the delivery methods.

            The first link has nothing wrong in it. It’s correct nicotine is toxic. So is caffeine - the LD50 of caffeine in humans is reasonably high, many grams. To the issue of ingestion, the issue is toxicity at doses people are likely to deal with.

            To the cancer links, again without looking at delivery methods, this is meaningless. To let me quote one small part:

            Thus, the induced activation of nAChRs in lung and other tissues by nicotine can promote carcinogenesis by causing DNA mutations[26] Through its tumor promoter effects, it acts synergistically with other carcinogens from automobile exhausts or wood burning and potentially shorten the induction period of cancers[43] [Table 2].

            This makes sense. Don’t inhale lots of particulates combined with nicotine in other words. There are also many other parts of the article that are useful. E.g. it’s perfectly reasonable to accept that e.g. if you are on chemo you should stay off nicotine, and if you breastfeed you should stay off nicotine.

            What the article does not show is that nicotine, as opposed to delivery methods like inhalation, is much worse than other drugs we’re perfectly fine with.

            I’ll note that the article also includes things in its conclusion that it has categorically not cites studies in support of. E.g. it just assumes the addiction potential is proven (it is, but putting that in the conclusion of a paper without citing sources is really poor form, especially in a paper claiming to set out the issues with nicotine in isolation rather than smoking).

            It also tried to drive up the scare factor by pointing out its toxicity at doses irrelevant for human consumption (e.g. as an insecticide; if wildly irrelevant doses should be considered, then we could write the same paper about how apples should be banned because they contain cyanide).

            The “Materials and methods” section also goes on to say “Studies that evaluated tobacco use and smoking were excluded” but then goes on to make multiple arguments on the basis of harm caused by smoking (e.g. “Nicotine plays a role in the development of emphysema in smokers, by decreasing elastin in the lung parenchyma and increasing the alveolar volume”) and cites a paper focused on smoking, in direct contradiction of the claim they made (“Endoh K, Leung FW. Effects of smoking and nicotine on the gastric mucosa: A review of clinical and experimental evidence. Gastroenterology. 1994;107:864–78.”)

            So, yes, if you make claims about how you’re going to address nicotine rather than smoking, and then go on to address smoking and other means of inhalation intermingled with the rest, and if you leap to conclusions you’ve not cited works in support of, and if you throw out risks without linking them causally to nicotine, you can make nicotine look very bad.

            They also end with subjective statements they’ve not even attempted to support properly. E.g. they’ve gone from “here is why it’s dangerous” to “it should be restricted”, but if that was valid logic, we should restrict sales of apples too, most cleaning agents, all caffeinated products, housepaint, paint thinners, and a host of other things, it’s a specious argument and fitting that such a badly argued paper ends with it. That this passed peer review is an incredible indictment of the journal which published it.

            That doesn’t mean nicotine is risk-free, but compared to other things we’re happy to ingest, I stand by my statement. But don’t inhale it.

            • affiliate@lemmy.world
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              The links from John Hopkins, the CDC and Harvard all focus on vaping, and so are irrelevant to the question of nicotine rather than the delivery methods.

              they do focus on vaping, that does not mean they are irrelevant to the question of nicotine. from the cdc link:

              Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s.

              there are also sections of that page titled “Why Is Nicotine Unsafe for Kids, Teens, and Young Adults?” and “How Does Nicotine Addiction Affect Youth Mental Health?” that focus only on nicotine.

              from the harvard article:

              Nicotine is highly addictive and can affect the developing brain, potentially harming teens and young adults.

              from johns hopkins:

              Nicotine is the primary agent in regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes, and it is highly addictive. It causes you to crave a smoke and suffer withdrawal symptoms if you ignore the craving. Nicotine is a toxic substance. It raises your blood pressure and spikes your adrenaline, which increases your heart rate and the likelihood of having a heart attack.

              Both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes contain nicotine, which research suggests may be as addictive as heroin and cocaine.

              to your second point

              To the cancer links, again without looking at delivery methods, this is meaningless.

              i agree that it would be better to focus only on nicotine. i disagree that ignoring delivery methods is “meaningless”. form the johns hopkins article:

              And, getting hooked on nicotine often leads to using traditional tobacco products down the road.

              this is only to say that the cancer bit is not irrelevant.

              This makes sense. Don’t inhale lots of particulates combined with nicotine in other words.

              the part you quoted says that nicotine acts as an accelerator for the development of cancers from other sources, including things like car exhaust. these carcinogens are widespread in the modern world, so accelerating the development of cancer associated with them is a bad thing. eg, car exhaust fumes are everywhere.

              I’ll note that the article also includes things in its conclusion that it has categorically not cites studies in support of.

              i agree, this is bad. the problem you brought up with the “materials and methods” section is also bad. i’m not trying to defend the article holistically, i’m even particularly attached to that source (which is why i included a few different ones). the only reason i picked that article was that it explains some of the harmful effects of nicotine, and then backs them with citations. the article did this by reviewing “90 relevant articles” from PubMed and Medline, then discussing what those articles found - and these are the parts of the article i was interested in. i probably wouldn’t use this approach if i were writing an academic paper on the subject, but i think it’s fine for arguing on the internet that nicotine isn’t “one of the safest stimulants we know”. (i also included a few different sources to counteract the limitations of this approach.)

              That doesn’t mean nicotine is risk-free, but compared to other things we’re happy to ingest, I stand by my statement.

              your statements were

              Nicotine is one of the safest stimulants we know, up there with caffeine in terms of safety.

              and

              The addiction potential of nicotine alone is also far lower than people assume,

              i think the second statement was thoroughly debunked by the sources i’ve included: they all say nicotine is highly addictive, and one of them says it’s “as addictive as heroin and cocaine”. i think the sources i’ve shared also discredit the idea that nicotine is “up there with caffeine in terms of safety”. i’m not trying to say nicotine is extremely dangerous, but rather that its danger is underestimated.

              • V H@lemmy.stad.social
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                they do focus on vaping, that does not mean they are irrelevant to the question of nicotine. from the cdc link:

                To this and your subsequent points, these claims are not backed up by sources in the pages you linked to, and as we’ve seen from the other paper as well, there’s good reason to be cautious about assuming their claims are separating the effects of nicotine from the effects of the delivery method, especially given every single source actually cited by the CDC article is about smoking. Neither the Johns Hopkins or Harvard article cites any sources on nicotine alone that I can see.

                i disagree that ignoring delivery methods is “meaningless”. form the johns hopkins article:

                And, getting hooked on nicotine often leads to using traditional tobacco products down the road.

                A claim that is not backed by sources, and has divorced this from delivery method. E.g. how many people starts with gum or a patch and goes on to tobacco? I can certainly see there being some transfer from vaping to tobacco, but that is very different from the blanket claim and illustrates the problem with these sources that fail to disambiguate and extrapolates very wide claim from sources that looks at specific modes of use.

                the part you quoted says that nicotine acts as an accelerator for the development of cancers from other sources, including things like car exhaust. these carcinogens are widespread in the modern world, so accelerating the development of cancer associated with them is a bad thing. eg, car exhaust fumes are everywhere.

                Yes, inhaling nicotine is bad. That we can agree on, and the source supports the limited claim that if you get nicotine in a way that binds to cites in your lungs, that is bad. The sources do not provide evidence that this risk is present for other modes of use. Maybe it is, but they’ve not shown that.

                i agree, this is bad. the problem you brought up with the “materials and methods” section is also bad. i’m not trying to defend the article holistically, i’m even particularly attached to that source (which is why i included a few different ones).

                But that article is the best of the sources you gave. The others cite nothing of relevance to the claim I made that I can see after going through their links.

                the article did this by reviewing “90 relevant articles” from PubMed and Medline, then discussing what those articles found

                But the problem is that not nearly all of those “90 relevant articles” are relevant to their claim, and so they start off by misrepresenting what they’re about to do. They then fail to quantify their claim in any way that supports their conclusion. They back up some specific claims without quantifying them (e.g. I can back up the claim that apples can be lethal, but you’d need vast quantities to get enough cyanide from an apple to harm you, so a claim they can be lethal in isolation is meaningless) or unpacking whether they are risks from nicotine in general, or nicotine via a specific delivery method. This is an ongoing problem with research on this subject.

                They have not provided an argument for how any of those “90 relevant articles” supports their conclusion.

                i think the second statement was thoroughly debunked by the sources i’ve included: they all say nicotine is highly addictive, and one of them says it’s “as addictive as heroin and cocaine”. i think the sources i’ve shared also discredit the idea that nicotine is “up there with caffeine in terms of safety”. i’m not trying to say nicotine is extremely dangerous, but rather that its danger is underestimated.

                The say that, but they don’t back it up. Ironically, pointing to heroin is interesting, because the addiction potential of heroin has also been subject to a lot of fearmongering and notoriously exaggerated, and we’ve known this for nearly half a century – a seminal study of addiction in Vietnam war vets found the vast majority of those with extensive heroin use in Vietnam just stopped cold turkey when they returned to the US and the vast majority didn’t relapse, the opposite of what the authors assumed going into the study. A study that was commissioned as part of Nixons then-newly started politically motivated and racist War of Drugs with the intent of providing evidence of how bad it was.

                (see https://www.mayooshin.com/heroin-vietnam-war-veterans-addiction which gives a reasonable account of Robins study, and gives full reference to the paper)

                That’s also not to say that heroin isn’t dangerous or seriously addictive because it is. Nobody should use heroin. But it’s also frequently used as a means of exaggerating by implication because peoples idea of the addiction potential of heroin is largely way out of whack with reality and heavily context-dependent. So when someone drags out a heroin comparison without heavy caveats, that’s reason to assume there is a good chance they’re full of bullshit.

                In other words: It’s perfectly possible that some ways of taking nicotine can be as addictive as heroin, but that doesn’t tell us what most people think it does. E.g. UK hospitals sometimes use heroin (as diamorphine; its generic name) for post-op pain management because it’s far better than many alternatives.

                The sources you’ve given do not present any support for claims that nicotine considered separate from delivery methods is particularly risky. They do provide support for claims it’s dangerous when smoked, and possibly dangerous when inhaled even via vaping, and the takeaway that you should generally avoid inhaling stuff other than clean air without good reason is good. The other claims about nicotine in general do not appear to be backed up at all.

                i’m not trying to say nicotine is extremely dangerous, but rather that its danger is underestimated.

                I find the notion that the danger is underestimated hilarious when one of the claims used a comparison with heroin to fearmonger.

                Your source, if anything, is evidence to me of the opposite.

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                “I haven’t read this, but let me misrepresent what the thing I didn’t read says”.

                I have not argued it isn’t unhealthy. I have argued it’s one of the safer stimulants we have, unless you ingest it in a way that is dangerous (e.g. inhalation). That does not mean it’s free of downsides, but neither are a whole lot of things we still decide it’s fine to use.

                Next time maybe try abstaining from replying to something you’ve not bothered to read.

                • SnowdenHeroOfOurTime@unilem.org
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                  You just confirmed what I said. “One of the safest”

                  And yeah you wrote way more shit than you should ever expect people to read. Maybe abstain from writing 10,000 words ever but especially if you’re wrong

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          I tried to get used to nicotine via patches years back to use as a safe stimulant, and not only did I not get addicted, I couldn’t get used to it

          Well of course not. You weren’t getting the dopamine rush of a large acute dose rushing from your lungs directly to your brain in a matter of seconds.

          What the heck kind of hot take is this?

          Regardless, the dangers – including ease of addiction – are well-known and are scientifically proven. Your anecdata of one does not change that.

          • V H@lemmy.stad.social
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            Well of course not. You weren’t getting the dopamine rush of a large acute dose rushing from your lungs directly to your brain in a matter of seconds.

            So in other words, you’re saying I didn’t pick the right delivery method to get me addicted. Which was my point.

            Regardless, the dangers – including ease of addiction – are well-known and are scientifically proven. Your anecdata of one does not change that.

            Missing the point: 1) a large part of the addiction for most people is down to delivery, not nicotine itself - something you yourself used as an argument against my anecdote above -, and most of the research focuses on that. 2) the remaining addiction potential of nicotine is real, and proven, but it’s also nothing particularly special compared to other things we’re fine with seeing the addiction to as ranging from a nuisance (e.g. caffeine) to a problem that doesn’t justify prohibition (any more), like alcohol.

            My point was not that it’s impossible to get addicted to nicotine, but that confusing nicotine vs. nicotine via a given delivery method is not helpful.

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        You can go EU-way and say that all vapes should be rechargable(in both meanings), repairable and intercompatible. Basically opposite of what Big Tabacco does.

        • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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          Disposable vapes should be banned.

          Though even the reusable ones generate a decent amount of waste between coil assemblies that get replaced and the plastic bottles the juice comes in. I mean, I hope we eventually get to managing waste at that level, though I’m not holding my breath since it would require huge changes to the way we handle food logistics, which eclipses vape juice waste by a lot per person.

          But the disposable ones are ridiculous.

          • Dontfearthereaper123@lemm.ee
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            You can build your own coils and mix your own liquid. Me and my mate both do it it’s far cheaper and better for the environment, not too hard either once uve learnt the basics of materials and ohms n all.

            • uis@lemmy.world
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              You can build your own coils

              But you cannot use them in disposable shit. Selling and producing disposable shit should be banned.

              Glycerin costs 2.5$ for 1 liter bottle. And food flavoring about 6-10$ for 0.1 liter bottle.

              • Dontfearthereaper123@lemm.ee
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                Disposables could have a use assuming they were more like pods but made from biodegradable materials that are sustainably sources I,e wood or something but that wouldnt solve the coke bottles everywhere and those r worse. The problem isn’t smoking or vaping and it never was the problem is companies knowing they could get away with not being ecologically responsible and by putting the blame on disposables bring used, all you do is help them shift the blame away.

                • uis@lemmy.world
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                  but made from biodegradable materials that are sustainably sources

                  Greenwashing.

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          Halp! I have no idea how to recharge my cigar! Beyond that, i really have no idea how Big Tobacco would comply with these regulations.

          • uis@lemmy.world
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            At all or while making insane profit and producing a lot of waste? At all simple: just look how vapes looked like before Big Tabacco came and enshittified them.

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      That isn’t always the case though. Just look at climate scientists.

      Some just want to ban smoking because they see how much damage it has done in their community.

      But I’d also like to know if there was any vested interests.

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        I’m not sure what this has to do with climate scientists. What am I supposed to be looking at?

        Rishi has a history of making legislation to benefit the companies run or owned by friends and family. I would be extremely surprised if this didn’t also have a similar angle.

        • ours@lemmy.film
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          Just some good old “whataboutism”. Maybe he sprinkles some climate-change denial into some prohibition discussion to distract us?

        • SCB@lemmy.world
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          Climate activists want to, among other things, pass extremely unpopular carbon taxes as they’re the most serious effort toward cutting fossil fuels usage

          Extremely unpopular ideas that inevitably favor certain products are not always moves to sell those products, is the point

          It’s pretty reasonable to assume no one outside the UK knows much about Sunak’s history with handouts to friends.

              • HikingVet@lemmy.sdf.org
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                People who don’t understand we need to break our addiction to petroleum based fuel. Also People who make money off of petroleum based products.

                • WhiteHawk@lemmy.world
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                  I think you overestimate the size of these two groups. The group of people who care more about their own financials is likely a lot larger.

              • Spzi@lemm.ee
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                That’s a matter of proper implementation. Tax & dividend! Distribute the tax revenue to the population per capita.

                That means:

                • If your emissions are average, you pay/earn net zero.
                • If you emit more than average, you pay. This will affect mostly rich people, since emissions strongly correlate with available money.
                • If you emit less than average, you net earn. This effectively rewards people with money gained for emissions prevented.

                Since money is distributed unequally in society, this means most people will have to pay less in such a system.

                The beautiful thing is, the financial incentive to emit less remains even for people who gain more than they pay. It’s also an incentive both for buyers and sellers, researchers and investors.

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        It’s Rishi Sunak. Of course he has a financial interest somewhere.

        It won’t work, though. Hell. He might be getting paid off by big Tabacco- make smoking edgy and rebellious again so more kids start up.

        It’s the kind of thing those ghouls would try.

      • Lazylazycat@lemmy.world
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        Rishi Sunak also just promised to ensure cars will be able to drive through heavily populated areas indefinitely and has pushed back plans to introduce electric-only cars. He absolutely does not care about peoples’ health.

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    to create ‘smoke-free’ generation

    Of course, not counting the smoke, ash, and other toxic oxidized chemicals that will be kicked up by gas and diesel vehicles with his scrapping the HS2 Manchester line. What a fucking idiot. “Oh no, we brexited ourselves so hard that we’re poor now and can’t afford to build infrastructure that would stand to enrich multiple cities for hundreds of years!”

    Such classic smooth brained thatcherite conservatives. It’s mind numbing that people keep voting for them.

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      Calling him smooth brained is looking past the fact that it’s just plain corruption. He has interests in the oil industry, and they are against public rail. Hold him to account for what he is, a criminal.

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      I mean, Sunak is a complete and utter bellend and cancelling half of HS2 is a ridiculous and nonsensical move.

      But I think that the good old idiom about broken clocks might just apply here. Smoking bans are a good thing.

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        Yep, arresting a 47yo for smoking will be very on point for a broken clock.

        Keep in mind, this will be policed only on poor ethnic minorities. Rich white guys in their private club s will still smoke with impunity.

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          Keep in mind, this will be policed only on poor ethnic minorities. Rich white guys in their private club s will still smoke with impunity.

          This is the real answer right here - this is just another poverty tax/punishment.

          I don’t smoke, never have, but I know why people smoke, and it’s now (that it’s no longer seen as “cool”) almost exclusively to try and relieve a tiny bit of the mountain of stress that existing in the world today (especially as part of a marginalised group) brings, and there are a million better ways to reduce the need to smoke, and improve the health outcomes of smokers (eventually, hopefully, to the point where they are able to reduce smoking or stop altogether).

          Sunak is looking for a quick “win” for headlines and distraction, not to actually help people live healthier better lives (E: just seen his transphobic comments, which only reinforce this point). Why target the source of the problem when you can slap a band aid on it and bask in your own glory for a couple of days before your next bit of corruption is exposed?

          • JimmyMcGill@lemmy.world
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            Counterpoint: A lot of people that smoke want to stop smoking. A lot of people would more easily stop smoking if it was banned or not so easily available.

            Also from the title of the article it seems that this would never apply to people that already smoke legally. The idea is that you set a minimum age and then you increase it every year. Meaning that in 100 years smoking is banned for everyone. But nobody was never banned from smoking when they were legal before. They were just never allowed to. So it prevents young people from picking up the habit.

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              So it prevents young people from picking up the habit.

              right, just like how it being illegal prevents young people from drinking and smoking weed… 🙄🙄🙄

              • JimmyMcGill@lemmy.world
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                Do you really disagree that it reduces the amount of young people consuming those substances?

                • NotSteve_@lemmy.ca
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                  Yes, For example, youth cannabis use halved in Canada after legalization. Also, when I was in HS, people were smoking even though it’s illegal under the age of 18. People would just buy cigarettes from reserves and sell them to each other. If made illegal, people will just find other means to get it.

                  Prohibition doesn’t work but better education does.

        • Jaarsh119@lemmy.world
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          The proposal is to raise the legal smoking age every year. Meaning each yearly increase, this hypothetical 47yo will also age a year and so will be able to smoke forever

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            Not if he wanted to pick up smoking one year before legal age. So he will be chasing that legal age forever and can’t smoke even if he’s 68

            • ////Edit: it seems like I need to give an example to explain this apparently very difficult problem: Person A is 17 , smoking is allowed from 18 Next year Person A is 18, he could under normal circumstances smoke with 18, but now smoking is legal with 19. Continue to age 68 but smoking is now allowed from 69. It’s even implied in the article
        • masterspace@lemmy.ca
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          He’s still an MP, so those in his riding would have voted for him, and the Tory party members voted for him, and the rest of the country voted for members of his party that include Lettuce Head and BoJo, so they did vote for a numbskull from his party to be in power.

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            The fact that I have no idea what her name is but still know exactly who you’re talking about when you say Lettuce Head is endlessly amusing to me.

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    Ah yes, because making drugs illegal has worked so well in the past.

    • Otter@lemmy.ca
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      Setting age limits on substance use is a little different from criminalizing possession/use. In the case of smoking, it has helped reduce rates. This is something backed by people working in public health, who also support decriminalization for possession and bringing in safe consumption sites. It’s all about finding the right approach for an issue.

      I’d rather focus on calling out the OTHER bad stuff his government is doing, instead of turning this one partisan based on which party introduced it

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        It’s not really an age limit when you’ll never reach it, it’s just gradual criminalization.

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          That’s not true. It’s a ban on the sale not possession or consumption. The end user is not being criminalized.

          Theoretically there’s nothing stopping from importation (barring implementation of another law).

      • betwixthewires@lemmy.basedcount.com
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        1 year ago

        But this isn’t am age limit, its using an age limit as a hack to basically grandfather in a smoking ban. It is about finding the right approach, and this ain’t it.

          • betwixthewires@lemmy.basedcount.com
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            For the same reason prohibition of alcohol didn’t work, for the same reason the drug war didn’t work, for the same reason prescription requirements for medically useful narcotics doesn’t work. It doesn’t matter what the law is, people will make their own choices, and if the things are available, legally or not, people that want to use them will use them.

            Look at the US. For all it’s faults, it has handled smoking very very well. The younger generation basically doesn’t smoke cigarettes. They’re not banned from it for life, they just were informed about it and so they find it disgusting and don’t really do it. You can’t even really get a date anymore with someone if you smoke cigarettes and you’re under like 40.

              • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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                https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28850065/

                ASH surveys showed a rise in the prevalence of ever use of e-cigarettes from 7% (2016) to 11% (2017) but prevalence of regular use did not change remaining at 1%. In summary, surveys across the UK show a consistent pattern: most e-cigarette experimentation does not turn into regular use, and levels of regular use in young people who have never smoked remain very low.

                Except it doesn’t. Vapes are super easy for kids to get, yet somehow they don’t stick with it.

            • Risk@feddit.uk
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              Whilst I agree with you in that I don’t think this is an optimal approach, at the same time I’m curious as to whether this would create a significant black market for cigarettes.

              Anybody already addicted will continue to have access. Anyone not addicted has to overcome the barrier of acquiring it illicitly, which works in tandem with education about the harm it does.

              Considering how bulky cigarettes are compared to most other drugs, I wonder whether most dealers would carry around loads of cigarettes - particularly if they’d be at risk of being prosecuted for having them (which I don’t think is the case here, though).

              However, it would probably increase the rate at which weed is cut with tobacco as it increases the addictiveness and ensures customer dependency for the dealers.

      • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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        Raising age limits on smoking has not reduced rates, making tobacco use taboo in society and knowing how dangerous it is for you has. In the US like 9% use any form of tobacco (which it’s more likely around 7% or less because they include people who have smoked in their lives and quit as well). At this point no one is really smoking… going after tobacco still is just stupid.

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      Read the article for fucks sake.

      They’re not making the drug illegal, just cigarettes. People who want nicotine still have other options.

      It’s like how no one goes out of their way to make/sell pure ethanol, because you can still buy beer or vodka.

      • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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        That’s still prohibition… it’s flat out dumb. A kid isn’t smoking a $10 cigar…

  • gencha@lemm.ee
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    Smoking is redundant today. Kids are getting enough cancer from the environment already.

    • smellythief@lemmy.world
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      It’s not redundant. Harms compound. It’s not like people max out their carcinogenic index or something. 🙄

      • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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        That law is an excellent example of knowledge vs wisdom. Knowledge is knowing that some substances may be carcinogenic. Wisdom is knowing that the dosage of a carcinogen is so low it hardly poses any risk.

        To be fair though that’s hard to put on a warning label and harder to explain.

        • bobman@unilem.org
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          It’s not a fact though, but I’m glad we can both agree it wasn’t funny or clever.

          Just hyperbole.

        • bobman@unilem.org
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          Lol, why do you people always get upset when someone says something isn’t funny?

          • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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            It was just a rude and aggressive thing to say intended to make someone feel bad about IMO a valid (or at worst innocuous) comment.

            • bobman@unilem.org
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              Not really. It’s to show them the reality that some people think what they said wasn’t funny.

              You seem to think that it’s only acceptable to say a joke is funny, but not that it isn’t.

  • DigitalFrank@lemmy.world
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    So we would eliminate smoking the same way we eliminated drug use…by making it illegal.

    /S if necessary

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    Smoking’s already dramatically fallen out of popularity with younger people, being replaced by vaping. So I don’t think it really matters what they do at this point - smoking’s a dinosaur waiting to die.

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    From someone who has smoked and quit, I was really blind sided by how addictive nicotine was. People talk about adults and what they put in there body but nicotine really is a different monster

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    Or do it like Germany: make vaping extremely expensive so people go back to smoking. Stupid.

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    One problem: most smokers start as teens, all while it’s forbidden to sell kids the cancer sticks.

    Addition: I would punish the selling of tobbaco products to kids even more, including the ability of suing the adults for damages in the future (If it won’t cause a cobra problem later on), and also give the ability to non-smoking workers to sue their employers if they give smokers more breaks.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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      My 13-year-old daughter already has friends who vape. That’s how insidious it is and how deeply embedded in the public consciousness nicotine-based products are.

      • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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        Most kids aren’t vaping anything with nicotine in it. Most are vaping 0mg juices and trying to look cool blowing clouds. Nicotine isn’t a super addictive chemical, it’s about as addictive as caffeine. Smoking cigarettes and vaping are habit forming, it’s why almost all smoking cessation forms fail multiple times for people.

          • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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            https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100713144920.htm

            https://www.rsph.org.uk/about-us/news/nicotine--no-more-harmful-to-health-than-caffeine-.html

            Nicotine is not incredibly addictive, the habit of smoking is. It’s why NRT have basically a 95% failure rate.

            Habits forming actions like biting your nails, are also incredibly hard to stop and their is no underlying drug there.

            The who nicotine is bad for you and causes cancer is also bullshit. The bad science that was used against smoking and still used today was done for the public good. It’s why a lot of studies are starting to come out that, nicotine isn’t what’s the issue…the inhalation of smoke and the habit of doing so are.

            • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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              Sorry but no. habits generally take weeks to months to form. that smoking becomes habitual certainly makes quitting harder. there is no doubt there. but, if smoking was far less addictive, it would be far less likely to ever develop as a habit. Remember, that nicotine from smoking (or vaping) starts affecting your brain essentially instantly, creating a dopamine hit, as well as the other affects. it is that which makes nicotine addictive. not some random associated habits that developed over weeks or months.

              Also your sources aren’t very good. In the first, there’s no direct link to the studies in question, but based entirely on what was said int he article… I’m doubting very much they took into consideration the use of alternatives by flight attendants- patches and gums are extremely common among FA’s that smoke; specifically to manage the cravings while they’re forbidden from smoking. And from what I can tell with a quick search (I’m far from authoritative here,) snuff has been used as an alternative to smoking on shabbat… from pretty much the first time it was brought to Europe, so I would have to assume patches are also a viable method of controlling cravings there as well.

              In any case, nobody really says that nicotine causes cancer. At least, no one even remotely honest.

              tobacco use causes cancer. As RSPH notes:

              Nicotine is harmful in cigarettes largely because it is combined with other damaging chemicals such as tar and arsenic,

              however it goes on to be wrong about one thing:

              Electronic cigarettes and Nicotine Replacement Therapy (gum, lozenges, and patches) contain nicotine but don’t contain the harmful substances found in cigarettes.

              vapes frequently contain toxic chemicals. many are frequently contaminants from extraction; some are added as flavoring or turn into toxic chemicals because of being vaporized, which changes chemical structures. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

              Nobody really knows for sure what the long term impacts of vaping is- even if the vape juice is just water; we don’t really know if it’s safe or not. One thing people do know is that Nicotine is addictive, and that you keep saying it’s ‘not that bad’ makes me think maybe you’re trying to justify something. I don’t care if you smoke or vape. nobody here does. But I do care that you’re spreading misinformation about things.

              Talk to any one whose tried quitting both caffeine and nicotine. there’s really no comparison between the two; and saying there’s not is patent bullshit.

        • 𝔹𝕚𝕫𝕫𝕝𝕖@midwest.social
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          I just quit vaping like a week or two ago and it was fucking miserable for a week straight. Caffeine isn’t nearly as bad when I’ve quit that, but nicotine withdrawals are fucking horrible and they feel like they last forever.

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            I quit caffeine and it took me 2 weeks of shakes and fevers to get over it. The withdrawals were horrible. I smoke cigars and pipe tobacco regularly and quit every winter with no issues.

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              That sounds like some D.A.R.E. bullshit. If that’s the case then I’d be perfectly fine trying heroin once because I won’t get addicted to it. I’ve tried nicotine a few times, now, and I have less than zero interest in trying it again. You can make your point without being hyperbolic

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                You probably wouldn’t get addicted to heroin on the first try… Have you never taken opiate painkillers? Were you immediately addicted after your first dose? Sounds like DARE failed you as well.

                • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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                  You do not get the same high with nicotine as you do with heroin. It’s a bullshit lie told to kids to keep them from smoking. So many of you seem to have swallowed this crap hook line and sinker.

            • angrystego@lemmy.world
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              The review study I linked says vaping doesn’t have higher success rate when it comes to stopping.

            • Risk@feddit.uk
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              links single paper supporting point amongst the hundreds that refute it

              paper is written by a guy on the payroll of a tobacco company

              Lmfao.

          • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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            Yes the same FDA who pushes for NRT…the same NRT that have people failing to quit…and committing suicide while on them…also no where in your link does it show what mg kids are vaping.

            https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28850065/

            ASH surveys showed a rise in the prevalence of ever use of e-cigarettes from 7% (2016) to 11% (2017) but prevalence of regular use did not change remaining at 1%. In summary, surveys across the UK show a consistent pattern: most e-cigarette experimentation does not turn into regular use, and levels of regular use in young people who have never smoked remain very low.

            1% is what your looking at for kids that get addicted to vaping…

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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          What evidence do you have that this is not detrimental to their health and development? Because as far as I know, no major studies have been done.

        • Lazylazycat@lemmy.world
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          That isn’t true, Elf bars and Lost Marys are so easy for kids to get hold of and it is 100% what they’re using.

          • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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            https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28850065/

            ASH surveys showed a rise in the prevalence of ever use of e-cigarettes from 7% (2016) to 11% (2017) but prevalence of regular use did not change remaining at 1%. In summary, surveys across the UK show a consistent pattern: most e-cigarette experimentation does not turn into regular use, and levels of regular use in young people who have never smoked remain very low.

            • Lazylazycat@lemmy.world
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              That data is 6 years out of date and times have massively changed. Seriously, just go walk down the street after the kids have finished school for the day and your eyes will be opened.

              This report is from 2 years ago so still out of date, but you can see the change that happened just in the 4 years between this and the one you linked:

              https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vaping-in-england-evidence-update-february-2021/vaping-in-england-2021-evidence-update-summary

              Under half (43.0%) of 11 to 18 year olds who were current and former vapers reported always using vaping products that contained nicotine – 17.3% reported always using nicotine-free products. Three out of five (61.3%) 16 to 19 year olds who had vaped in the past 30 days used nicotine in their current product – 17.3% said their product did not contain nicotine.

              Over half (58.2%) of 16 to 19 year olds who had vaped in the past 30 days did not feel addicted to vaping but 38.5% said they felt a little or very addicted.

              Just under a fifth (18.4%) of current vapers aged 11 to 18 reported experiencing urges to vape almost all the time or all the time.

              More 11 to 18 year olds who had tried vaping said they had:…

              tried a vaping product and never tried smoking (28.9%)

        • uis@lemmy.world
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          Thanks, troll, for mixing valid points with blatant bullshit.

          Also caffeine is neurotoxin.

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      Yeah, but then ultimately it becomes illegal for everyone to own them. Meaning shops cant sell them.

      • Risk@feddit.uk
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        Yeah, honestly I think it would make more sense to increase the age at which it’s legal to sell to 25 (under the justification that supposedly that’s when your brain has finished developing), and then allow it from there on to prevent it becoming a way to support illegal activity.

    • Atomic@sh.itjust.works
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      And where does teens get the idea to smoke from? Is it from grandpa that coughs louder than a jet engine? Or is it the older cooler teens who got the idea from older teens, who got the…

      You get the point.

      I smoked as a teen because some of my friends did, they smoked because some of their friends did. And you don’t have to look very far to find the 18-20 year olds who provided them.

      Luckily, I never smoked much and mostly kept it to social smoking which made it very easy for me to quit once I grew up and developed some brain-cells that enjoyed co-operating with eachother.

    • jonne@infosec.pub
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      I think New Zealand implemented a similar measure some years back, it should probably be good to see how well it works there. Hopefully this doesn’t create a black market for tobacco.

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        Yes we did. Have not heard anything about it since… so it’s probably working as intended.

        We’re currently freaking out about vape shops springing up every ten feet.

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          My first cig was illegally imported and sold by a dealer involved with gangs. All its done is make people get tobacco from their dealer rather than the guy outside the shop.

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      Yeah but the 18 year old buys for the 15 year old-- brothers, sisters, upperclassmen, etc.

      The more that gap becomes larger, the less likely they have social interaction and access. How many 40 year olds buy for 15 year olds today? In 20 something years, 40 year olds will be the youngest purchasers.

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    He should also star making crimes illegal so that they can live in a society without crime /s.

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    Finally something sensible from this guy. Last week it was all big auto lobby nonsense.

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    I feel we’ve done a good enough job at making smoking undesirable, effectively banning it is excessive. It would be better to focus on doing what was done to cigarettes to vapes. Kids arent smoking nearly as much but theyre vaping like mad. I see kids as young as 13-14 doing it. Vapes are allowed to look appealing, combine that with their nice smell and flavour, ofc young people are going to gravitate toward them instead.

    Make it so vape packaging is bland and has similar warnings as cigarretes, and actually teach kids about addiction instead of just a hard “dont touch these”. Everyone with a braincell knows that if you ban something from young people, theyre gonna do it more

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      the problem is there’s actually zero evidence vapes alone (without nicotine etc) do any harm. The vapes which the industry is moving towards is just largely the same as steamed and cooling water vapour. It’s totally harmless.

      • Sharp312@lemmy.one
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        Sadly though, vaping is associated almost entirely with nicotine. I know plenty who vape, but no one who vapes 0% juice. I havent personally done much research about them but inhaling any fumes is a net negative. Although vapes are far less harmful tham cigarettes, nicotine addiction is still there, and these kids are getting it. Im one of the few of my generation that used vapes for their original purpose, quitting smoking and they work great, but its depressing af seeing kids caning vapes just knowing its already an addiction for them

        • Alto@kbin.social
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          There’s zero evidence! (just ignore the mounds of evidence saying that it’s still fucking awful for you)

      • gmtom@lemmy.world
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        I mean I very recently got diagnosed with polycythaemia that was caused by excessive vaping. Which has seen marked improvement since I stopped.

        The problem is its still too new to do long term (10+ year) studies on vaping and health institutions still don’t collect data on vape usage.

  • Grant_M@lemmy.ca
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    But what will boebert do while jerking off dudes at movie theaters?