#24

Prohibition of anything has never worked ever

#25

of course it wouldn’t ever eradicate smoking completely, but does it really result in fewer smokers than other measures? I’ve no idea but find that hard to believe.

#26

i think you’ll find marckee has been extremely careful not to actually say that japes

#27

Not sure you’re THAT qualified to comment if you only smoked for 11 days tbh tbf…

#28

You only smoked for 11 days? That’s not so bad.

1 Like
#29

I too am keen to pretend you have only smoked for 11 days

2 Likes
#30

Le Tournoi was only 11 days long? Sounds about right actually

1 Like
#31

Quite

#32

I agree with the general arguments about the futility of prohibition and all that. But - do you think your average smoker could really be arsed with buying black market cigarettes? As @Yesiamaduck points out upthread, smoking lacks the buzz (and to a lesser extent) that other drugs have. I reckon that 90% of smokers would just think “fuck it” and not bother. Or get into vaping.

#33

It’s on odd one. Don’t think banning it is the answer, but at the same time the effects it has on personal health and country wide healthcare makes it pretty terrible for all involved. Yes people will still find a way to smoke and get around the rules, but if it further reduces the amount of people smoking then wouldn’t that be a positive? Issue being the police time dedicated to dealing with cigarette crime, but then again you can say we already have that problem with illegal drugs anyway.

Not sure I like the idea on principle but then again, are there things we just shouldn’t be trusted with? Like the right to drink and drive? Or own semi-automatic guns? It’s hard to make an analogy because smoking is quite unique, but if some people can’t be trusted and we have to account for them, then maybe as a society we have to accept these limitations. That level of control doesn’t sit right with me though which is maybe a larger problem with society, that we don’t know how much state intervention we want.

#34

Also not sure how well this will work in Russia, where they have black market everything.

#35

Counterfeit and contraband cigarettes already account for 16% of all consumption in the UK:

That doesn’t include the legal duty-free allowances or people legally bringing in cigarettes from the continent and then re-selling them.

#36

Hmm, yeah. I’d presume that (if this was repeated in the UK) the legal duty-free allowances would be cut to zero though. I’m just not sure whether the average person who goes to their local newsagents for cigarettes would bother with the hassle of buying black market cigs.

@_Em - yes, I guess it’s a different economy there.

#37

A lot of the counterfeit stuff is sold through newsagents already.

#38

I would though, and so would plenty of other people, and then we’d get to sell them in pubs. Wahey.

#39

fake newsagents

#40

They could sell printouts of those fake news sites

#41

Oh yeah, plenty of people would. But people who already buy drugs probably aren’t going to be too bothered about buying illegal cigarettes.

Meh, who knows.

#42

:sweat_smile:
I can see it now, £1 for a single cigarette off some man you’ve never met.

#43

I can’t imagine Nigel from IT being arsed with that. But what do I know about Nigel from IT :smiley: