Quote:
Originally Posted by skip spence
I think political decisions like this one is best understood in term of economics, .
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That equation doesn't work for me, as smoking is very heavily taxed. Given that most smokers don't die until they are past 70 - if you smoked a pack a day for 50 years then the govt would have picked up at least 50,000 pounds in tax. Not all smokers actually die of smoking related diseases anyway.
Driving can be bad for you too ... lots of people die on the roads every year - and children aren't allowed to drive anyway, so clearly (using the same logic) all movies showing people driving should be banned to stop children from being influenced to drive.
The fact that one standard is applied to the depiction of smoking ... and a different standard applied to the depiction of other harmful activities. This just shows that this is a "moral" issue as far as the do-gooders are considered. They clearly think that smoking is not only potentially life-shortening but that it is an "evil" that should be stamped out.
However, a double standard applies. Smoking will never be banned as long as the government can reap enormous taxes from the sale of tobacco. Yes, the same government that tells us how perfectly dreadful smoking is.
If it's really that bad (and I'm not saying that it isn't) - then just ban it. All of the moral handwringing about a legal activity is just .... repellent. Screwtape would be proud.