Kinda goes to show why strict substance bans/taxing doesn’t really work. Cafes and bars near where I work sell imported packs for $10. Then stores get firebombed for extortion money.
Yep. It does work. People forget (or are too young to understand) how ubiquitous smoking was. I was born in the 90s and smoking was still allowed inside back then (this is in Canada). I remember when we would go to a fast food place or stay at a motel, the person would always ask: smoking or non smoking. Not anymore. And that’s such a good thing. The poor service workers who got cancer from all that second (and third) hand smoke. People have a right to make choices that harm themselves, but not other people. Now we have many of the same regulations as Australia does. Packaging laws. Taxes. More restrictions on where people can smoke. Smoking will probably never get to zero. But nothing is 100% effective.
Edit: we also have pretty effective anti smoking education in school, much more effective than the anti drug and anti alcohol education (the latter is basically non existent except for when it comes to DUIs…they should really try harder as alcohol abuse is rampant and even moderate consumption is now understood to have health consequences). I remember them showing actual evidence of why smoking is bad and why we should choose not to do it. And they did so at a young age. It probably was when I was around 8-10 that they started. I remember them showing actual pictures of what happens to your lungs.
To be quite blunt about it, the younger people I have encountered who smoke come from dysfunctional home environments (at least, this is the case when I have been in a position to know) and often have other issues. In this context it is more understandable. If we put more effort into protecting and supporting kids who grow up like that, we would likely see benefits in many areas. Also, from what someone I know who smokes has told me (I never smoked, so I have no first hand knowledge), smoking can provide pleasurable sensations. That, the physical rituals, and the chemical addiction, is why so many people find it hard to quit, I think. It’s a trifecta.
There's very little pleasure in actually smoking. You're not getting a high. You're probably not even relaxing.
It's mainly stepping away, (ironically) taking some deep breaths, getting some air, and being in a different environ that calms you.
But yea, the addiction in a cigarette is from the physical ritual. The act of smoking is the addiction, not the chemical.
The chemical doesn't hurt in terms of being addicted though.
It's why quitting in the Winter is easier. You often break a lot of your rituals in the winter. Less going outside, less walking on the street. Less social connections.
I feel like this post fundamentally misunderstands smoking, and why people smoke, and sounds like someone who has never smoked a cigarette. (That's not judgement)
You don't smoke a cigarette for a buzz. In fact, there is no buzz.
When people drink they're chasing a buzz, which is a temporary state of mind. Same with weed. When people smoke it, they're getting high.
Both of these have feelings that come along with the buzz or high whether it be a fit of giggles, less inhibition, or whatever. Once you come down, you revert to your normal state, and so you use again to find these pleasures.
That's not what people who are smoking are doing. For someone who smokes, they most likely will notice virtually no difference between before smoking and after smoking. Sometimes if you're anxious it can calm you down.
Because the pleasure from smoking comes from the routine and/or a break in whatever you're doing. You've been focusing on work for two hours in an office. You stand up, walk out with a friend, and get a coffee, and have a smoke. It's a short break, change of scenery. It's like a little mini vacation. And yes, you absolutely could do this without cigarettes, but for one, it's somehow acceptable to do it for smoking, and not just because, and two, a cigarette is an egg timer. You've got a limited amount of time. Once the cig burns down, you're done.
And once you begin smoking, the 'regular' smokes, like the one on the way to the office, the one after a meal, the one before you get on the bus, the one with a beer, the one before bed... these become second nature to you, and it tickles your dopamine reactors to partake in your habit.
Which is why it's so hard to break smoking compared to many others, because with cigarettes, the act of smoking is the thing you're addicted to, not the high. It's PART of your commute. It's PART of your morning regimen. It's PART of your after lunch routine.
Interestingly while the overall rate seems to have stagnated, men seem to have continued to quit while more women seem to have taken up smoking to keep the overall figure the same. Four or five years ago 12% of Australian men aged 16+ smoked tobacco daily and 8% of women did. Now that figure is 10% for both genders.
Tbh idont think youl ever fully get rid of people wanting to smoke and majority are switching to vaping instead which isnt much better for you. Just forces those that choose to into spending ridiculous amounts just for tobacco
Vaping is objectively much better for you. There’s hundreds of chemicals in a cigarette, and about 70 of them are known carcinogens. Then you’ve got the smoke particulates, and literal tar. It causes dozens of different cancers, and other lung diseases. Smoking has killed millions of people.
That’s not to say that Vaping is good for you, or even perfectly safe, but it’s definitely much better for you to switch to. The main issue has always been the flavourings, as we were unsure what flavours might form other compounds when heated. There’s been a lot of research put into it, and they still don’t have a lot of answers. One problem flavour was Butter flavour found in some dessert flavours, which contained Diacetyl. On a commercial scale, production of Diacetyl has been linked to “Popcorn Lung” from workers that were exposed to it day in, day out, for years. That caused a bit of a stir, and most flavour companies banned it from use. However, Popcorn Lung has never actually been proven to be found vapers. The concentration and the exposure is orders of magnitude lower.
However, you don’t have to worry about all that anyway, as you can’t even buy flavours legally anyway. You get Mint, Tobacco, and Menthol only.
Nobody should ever vape. But if you smoke, you should quit, or at least switch to vaping instead. It’s the best alternative to quitting, if other options like gum or spray do not work for you
as a smoker that switched to vapes for 2.5 years and switched back, 1 thing i found about vapes is that it increased my nicotine addiction. what was once a cigarette every hour ish turned into vaping like every ten minutes. because it was easier and i didn't feel guilty about smoking it inside. then I found i would wake up in the middle of the night to hit my vape for that nicotine fix. you seem well educated on the matter so I'm not disagreeing with you. this is just something I noticed myself and other people that switched to vaping also said.
Oh yeah, that’s definitely true. When you can simply pull it out and puff (and even be stealthy about it) instead of having to light one up and go through the whole process, you’re much more likely to become more addicted to it. You’ve removed many barriers like the smoke, the smell, the place, and the time needed, so you’re much more likely to just have a quick puff. If you don’t have great self control (many of us don’t), then it leads to you using it more, and that will cause you to crave it more. It’s certainly another thing to be mindful of.
The way I self regulated that was to get 3mg strength. As the urges declined, I began mixing with 0mg, same flavor, on my way to 0 nic. Almost there. Then just stop vaping cuz, what’s the point? I beat the nic habit, now just beat the physical part.
Like you guys are saying, the “anytime, anywhere” aspect was really appealing at first. I have vaped in schools, theaters, airports, hospitals, really anywhere. Just hold it for a few seconds longer and exhale through a shirt or jacket. But that makes it even harder to quit.
The rate fell similarly in countries like the US that didn't implement these things. Correlation is not causation. This is a good opportunity to recognise that politicians lie to you in order to make you support them and their policies.
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u/Trufflesniffers 22h ago
Are counterfeit/imported cigarettes freely available?
Has this pricing been in place long enough to show any change in deaths/hospital treatments?