I am a non smoker myself and have been all my life. As I have seen friends and co-worker smoke in the past, I did often talk to them about their motivations behind smoking and why they wouldn't stop smoking. It was something I have found interesting, since I don't see any benefits in smoking myself, but I wanted to understand why these people would make the choices they do. The answers I have gotten range from "I plan to quit in x days, weeks, months", to "I just enjoy it too much" and "don't care about possible health effects".
Certain points Pierre Lemieux was talking about, I can absolutely agree with:
(1) "...[f]urther reductions in smoking in countries where the health consequences of smoking is widespread will be more difficult" (Prabhat Jha and Frank Chaloupka, Ed., Tobacco Control in Developing Countries, Oxford University Press, 2000)."
(2) "One reason why government intervention against smoking becomes less effective is that smokers who were the most easily persuaded have already quit. The remaining ones are those who value smoking more, and therefore require higher disincentive before they quit..."
I do think, smokers that do get scared about pictures on the cigarette boxes and do realize what they do to their bodies by continuing smoking, have quit already and don't even need to see these pictures anymore. It was a good campaign when it was initially started, but I think it has worn off by now. Also, since most smokers don't have a surgeon or nurse profession, I don't think they even know how a non-smoker lung looks like. So why should a smoker lung picture be intimidating? I certainly haven't seen my lung from the inside yet...
(3) "Too much information may also kill information. As advice, warnings, and threats from authority become more numerous and visible, they tend to be discounted or ignored."
I do remember reading on a cigarette box lately, that smoking kills the equivalent of a small town in Canada every year. While I am sure this is true, probably a series of towns get killed in traffic accidents. Yet we still all drive to work. Someone may suggest most people die in a bed - so should we avoid going to bed? Point 3 goes kind of hand in hand with points 1 and 2. I think the smokers that start reading this information and get scared because of them - they already quit smoking.
(4) "A push towards mild forms of prohibition should not be discounted. Indeed, smoking is prohibited in more and more so-called "public places" – which are generally pieces of private property open to customers."
This is the first point where I disagree with the text. I have elected not to smoke and I think, who ever wants to smoke has to make sure he or she does not affect any non-smoker in any way. There should be designated areas for smokers (and there more often than not are these days), but the non-smokers should not have to "move" or "watch out" for smokers. Also kids should be protected from smokers and be able to go wherever they want without having to be secondary smokers.
I do think that more and more people start to take on a healthier lifestyle. This will most likely cause governments tax income to diminish. Initially this is what governments wanted, to get smoking rates down and possibly save money in health care costs. However, I do think that the extra tax income is missed also, and governments will want to make up for at least a portion of the lost revenue. Increasing the taxes on cigarettes to have the remaining smokers make up for the lost ones will not be a favourable solution in the long-term, as I could see some initial price elasticity by smokers, but eventually some won't be able to afford it anymore.
Two things could happen at that point:
1) More smokers quit and the tax revenue drops even further
2) More cigarettes get smuggled and sold illegally
When I have talked to smokers in the past, some of them were actually realizing the amount of money they light up over the course of a year. One particular person that I have known for years is saving every cent possible for retirement and investments. He still smokes away more than $3,000 a year... He knows it could be a great investment providing him with a nice retirement in 20-30 years down the road, or pay for an amazing vacation - every year. Still, he does enjoy smoking too much to quit.
I do not think that pictures and warnings on the cigarette boxes still help anyone. Smokers ignore them, tobacco companies know about the price elasticity and attitudes of their remaining customers, and the remaining smokers just don't care (anymore).
No comments:
Post a Comment