When satire becomes real life

[baalzy]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ME2Bb3L8LN8/RqmXkqmWlJI/AAAAAAAAAjY/WPQ98UuUkUE/s200/desktop_3_standard.jpg

http://health.newsvine.com/_news/2011/06/21/6907906-would-a-graphic-image-on-cigarette-packs-get-you-to-quit-smoking


Hurray for nanny states that don't think people can think for themselves.

I'm not a smoker and I still think this is retarded.

[Ihealyou]

Hurray for addictive products which don't allow people to think for themselves.

The pictures are dumb though, plus they don't even work.

[Galanteer]

funny movie though, loved the merchants of death debate about whose product killed the most......

[Doors]

These people need to fuck off. If people want to smoke let them. I don't see pictures on beer bottles where drunk drivers splattered a fucking kid all over the pavement.

[BelenosThePagan]

I'm a non-smoker now (of cigarettes anyway) but I think most cigarette users are aware of the risks already so whats the point of the pictures? You can't shock someone out a physical addiction with a picture.

This is a reason to consider quitting imo

http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m565/BelenosThePagan/sintax1.jpg

Why pay the tobacco corps and the government to kill you?

[Goofier]

Why pay the tobacco corps and the government to kill you?

Because if they're not, then you'd be killing yourself, and that's apparently badderer.

[BelenosThePagan]

Because if they're not, then you'd be killing yourself, and that's apparently badderer.

what?

[Unfun]

Hurray for addictive products which don't allow people to think for themselves.

The pictures are dumb though, plus they don't even work.


The pictures have shown to increase awareness about the health effects of smoking and influence people to smoke less. See:

http://www.tobaccolabels.ca/healt/canada~5

Page 35 or so gets into the effectiveness of these images in Canada (they've been doing this since 2001). The numbers aren't astounding but I think they are significant.

These people need to fuck off. If people want to smoke let them. I don't see pictures on beer bottles where drunk drivers splattered a fucking kid all over the pavement.

This is a great notion of freedom of choice (which I agree with) but only works in a world where people's actions only affects themselves. It neglects the dire problems of second hand smoke (specifically with kids and fetus), millions of dollars of medical care for preventable conditions (higher insurance premiums, unpaid bills going to collections), and the people who want to quit smoking but can't due to addiction.

I am a supporter of personal freedoms but this is one where the majority of users can't moderate themselves. Just like fast food and obesity, its starting to become a societal issue, not just a personal choice.

[Japan]

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v358/49/94/1074780041/n1074780041_30168037_5219.jpg

should be on all fried chicken containers

[Shaun421]

I have nothing against Tralina, but that was flippin hilarious.

Keep on it, Japan.

[Taryth]

Does it really matter? If you don't care about the pictures, then keep smoking and nothing has really changed. If the picture(s) move you to quite smoking . . .good, you've quit smoking, and you're probably happy about the pictures.

Not that I agree with the pictures . . .but seriously, why the fuck does it matter? It's not like bicycle safety laws that require you to do something that should be optional but does provide some benefit (helmet, for example.) I doubt the shit long-term smokers hack up each morning makes them feel good about smoking, either.

[baalzy]

What's stupid is the fact that it required government resources to come up with this law.

[Shaun421]

What's stupid is the fact that it required government resources to come up with this law.

That is what bothers me as well. Yeah, the pictures are likely not going to have any impact on an individual's decision to smoke/not smoke, so it's easy to say "who cares". What's troubling is that tax payer dollars are being used on a likely ineffective program.

I am in no way claiming to know where and how the budget is allocated, but I can't imagine that the entire cost of this proposal was captured via the "sin tax" on tobacco products. There were probably legislators investing 100s of man hours into this decision on the public dime. Money that didn't need to be spent, and will likely have little to no benefit.

It also sets a precident for more campaigns like this. Bicycles can be dangerous, should there be a picture of a kid with his head cracked open on every bike? Or how about cars, do we need pictures of bodies sticking through windshields to inform the public of things that could happen? Pictures of 500lb people on the front of a happy meal?

Sure, cigarettes contain addictive substances and affect the body in different ways than a car or cheeseburger, but they all have the potential to cause harm. I do not believe that the government should be spending money on campaigns of this nature. I am all for information for the sake of public safety, but showing extreme examples to make a case is an unnecessary waste of funds.

[Excision Rottun]

I will never eat another Double Down, thanks Japan.

[Slathar]

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v358/49/94/1074780041/n1074780041_30168037_5219.jpg

should be on all fried chicken containers

thats scary

[fullylaced]

i think health is a foreign subject to most average people. just because i use keywords like organs or something that sounds familiar to someone it does not mean they really know what i am talking about.

the pictures may not work for the ignorant which may be the majority of the smokers but if a kid finds a pack laying around and is honestly unsure about what they are evaluating and see the picture it may help them. which is what i think the intended effect is. majority of adults are going to kill themselves with bad choices one way or another but its the youth who have the most to gain or lose.

[meaghancabe7]

really good article... Thanks

[deathgirl]

It's law in australia to have an graphic image of one of the many effects of smoking to take up half the box. there are also ads where people go to a store or vending machine asking for gangrene etc.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Lmmqz_54F_o/SF7ij2eiq6I/AAAAAAAAAKg/M-ioCX62LaQ/s400/679px-Cigarettes_health_warning_australia.jpg


BUT SMOKING IS STILL COOL KIDS!

[Kassel]

same law has been in Canada for years, new law says that stores can no longer display cigs in the open, iirc England will follow this in the near year.

IMO this makes sense in a country like Canada as smoking costs taxpayers billions in healthcare $$. You still have the freedom to smoke if you want but the gov is creating disincentives to try and limit costs paid by taxpayers. With Obamacare i would imagine you will see this in the USA soon.

[Seaweedpimp]

It's law in australia to have an graphic image of one of the many effects of smoking to take up half the box. there are also ads where people go to a store or vending machine asking for gangrene etc.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Lmmqz_54F_o/SF7ij2eiq6I/AAAAAAAAAKg/M-ioCX62LaQ/s400/679px-Cigarettes_health_warning_australia.jpg


BUT SMOKING IS STILL COOL KIDS!



Youre fucking mouth will never look like that if you smoke a pack a day and brush your teeth.

[Dairy]

We have images like that on packs here in Canada and I smoked for 4 years, I recently quit and I can tell you it wasn't because of an image on my pack. Even if you care about the pictures on your pack you can always just ask for a different image haha.

[sadada1234]

Thanks a lot...