Should cigarette smoking be banned?

One of the advantages of smoking as per http://www.livescience.com are – it lowers risk of knee replacement surgery

I then looked up http://www.livescience.com:
“Knee-replacement surgery was more common among joggers and the obese; smokers rarely jog, and they are less likely to be morbidly obese.”

ROFL =))

I’m sure it lowers risk of death in some niche areas, but overall it overwhelmingly shortens your lifespan.

It’s banned indoors in the UK and I must say it’s a very welcome change indeed.

Also, moved this discussion to Random – not CFA-related so doesn’t belong in General CFA 🙂

For example, I can’t run down the street with a Kalashnikov mowing down everyone in sight, saying ‘I should be free to do what I want’. Cause I’m causing harm to others.

Completely agree…should have included that people should be free to do things as long as they don’t cause harm to others.

It shouldn’t be banned on the basis that people should be free to do what they want to do, and the government doesn’t have the right to stop them.

That said, if people choose to smoke, and subsequently get ill as a direct result of smoking, then i don’t think they should be able to absorb significant amounts of NHS funding at the expense of those who don’t smoke. If the additional tax attributable to cigarrettes covers this then fair enough, but if not then the tax should be increased further to a point where it offsets the drain on NHS funding completely.

(i don’t smoke if you hadn’t guessed!)

@mattjuniper That depends on whether you accept the argument that ‘smoking does no harm to others’. For example, I can’t run down the street with a Kalashnikov mowing down everyone in sight, saying ‘I should be free to do what I want’. Cause I’m causing harm to others.

I do agree 100% with you on NHS though.

@imdnextbuffet yes in any public building you’re not allowed to smoke.

It’s true though that smoking reduces appetite. But weight loss should be = exercise more, and eat right, not eat less!

It shouldn’t be banned on the basis that people should be free to do what they want to do, and the government doesn’t have the right to stop them.

That said, if people choose to smoke, and subsequently get ill as a direct result of smoking, then i don’t think they should be able to absorb significant amounts of NHS funding at the expense of those who don’t smoke. If the additional tax attributable to cigarrettes covers this then fair enough, but if not then the tax should be increased further to a point where it offsets the drain on NHS funding completely.

(i don’t smoke if you hadn’t guessed!)