Sunday 30 November 2014

A Reality Check From America

If you were to ever be unlucky enough to spend time in a room with a tobacco controller, it wouldn't take them more than five minutes to proudly claim that declines in smoking prevalence are solely due to their dictatorial restrictions, regulations and bans.

So what happened in America?
Fewer Americans are smoking, with the smoking rate at its lowest point in 50 years, federal health experts reported Wednesday. 
Just under 18 percent of Americans are smokers, down from 21 percent in 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. 
"That is the lowest prevalence of adult smoking since the CDC's Nation Health Interview Survey began keeping such records in 1965," CDC said in a statement
Now, our own Office of National Statistics released their latest report on "smoking habits in Great Britain" just this week - which handily exposed a few tobacco control industry lies - and our rate is celebrated as being ... err ... 19%.

Tobacco advertising is still permitted in magazines in the US; their courts rejected graphic warnings; tobacco duty is lower than here; they haven't even considered plain packaging and they steadfastly refuse to ratify the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

They also don't have a nationwide smoking ban and {gasp}you can smoke inside with a beer in many places throughout the country. Yes, even in authoritarian hell-holes such as New York.

Yet they're still out-performing the UK and are not that far behind countries with an even poorer record of respecting the choices of their citizens.

It would appear on this evidence that prosperity and education drive reductions in smoking prevalence - all tobacco control does is fill its pockets with huge amounts of taxpayer cash, donated by stupid politicians, and dream up ridiculous campaigns to make sure they continue receiving it.


9 comments:

Tom Gleeson said...

Well as tobacco control 'science' is entirely based on correlation being causation then it all makes sense in their bubble. Do something and rate drop, must be the something, do nothing, rates drop, must be their light touch approach.

JLTrader said...

I agree they don't have graphic warnings on packs and perhaps they still have tobacco ads in magazines, but you can't dismiss their tobacco control. Just because they didn't sign the WHO convention doesn't mean they're not active. They compensate with their fare share of lunacies, like parks and beaches bans. Don't forget that the US started the government approved smoking pseudoscience ball rolling with the SG report in 1964. 18% or 19% is within margin of error expected for these kinds of statistics I suppose.

Dick_Puddlecote said...

Oh I'm not denying they have a tobacco control industry just like everywhere else. It's just that in the US they aren't operating the government as a glove puppet like here. It seems fairly simple for most US smokers to go through life without tobacco control unduly affecting them.


Yet still they are quitting, and US results are more effective.

V Hale said...

It seems to be very dependent on where you live, there.

jude said...

Seems parts of Canada are now going to ban vaping in public places, and I have no doubt my own country will follow, (the pollies here don't seem to be able to have an original thought or stance based on any sort of actual evidence).


I guess we will see vapers become the new pariahs, and yet more people in our society will be ostracised and isolated. Then again, it means that those like me, ex smoker, now vaper, will form our own communities, where we can get together in our own homes, (for now anyway), and enjoy our little pleasures, away from the stench of puritan flatulence that now invades so many once enjoyable activities and venues.

J Johnson said...

Jude you should search the various blogs at the right for the term smokey drinkies. I think you'll find that society has been ostracising members at an alarming rate for quite a long time.

Jack Listerio said...

Unfortunately CDC LIES all the time when it comes to smoking in any form especially the rates..........

Antipholus Papps said...

I'm hoping that there will be some lawsuits here. Ontario has not, for example, banned flavoured Nicorette products, which is blatant market protection and racketeeting on behalf of Pfizer!

Dick_Puddlecote said...

That's what it's all been about for at least a decade now.