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In a sentence, the FDA is planning to put graphic pictures (pictures of corpses, rotted teeth, cancer patients etc) on cigarette packaging.
What do you say?
Graphic images have been on Canadian cigarette packs for many years. From what I have read these images have done nothing to decrease the numbers of smokers.
If the government wants to make cigarettes illegal – they should do so. (Although all that probably will do is make a huge black market…) By raising the taxes on cigarettes & putting graphic pictures on packs – what are really accomplishing?
If these graphic images (and higher prices) stop even ONE person from smoking, it is well worth it.
Rabbosai,
I stopped smoking about a year ago. Life is so geshmak now. I can actually do something for an hour straight now, without having to run out for a cigarrette.
(Please post if you agree, to encourage people to stop)
raising the taxes on cigarettes & putting graphic pictures on packs – what are really accomplishing? “
It is hitting the smoker in his wallet. If it hits hard enough, MAYBE he will reconsider smoking. If he gets nauseous everytime he looks at the pack of cigarettes with disgusting pictures, the negative association might make smoking repugnant to him.
To all the hard core smokers out there who get all upset with the anti-smokers…
ONE question for you…
Do you want your kids to smoke?
Yatzmich – congratulations on quitting smoking. I would dearly love to quit and somehow cannot. The best I have been able to do is to cut way down – from at least a pack a day (and in Canada a pack has 25 cigarettes) to a maximum of 10 – usually much less. I have tried the patch – no good. I also tried Chantix (called Champix in Canada) and it was working but the nausea and vomiting caused me to lose too much weight which I cannot afford to do as I only weigh 98 pounds on a heavy day. I have also tried acupuncture without success. Maybe one day I will be successful at quitting. Aside from the mess and the smell, it is a very expensive habit.
I think the best way to get rid of smoking is triple the price. Make it unaffordable. The next step is also crack down on the black market ways of getting cigarettes. All cigarettes from all states should be the same price. Cigarettes are killers. Forget the evntual sicknesses. Anyone who smokes knows how it kills your productivity, you always have to run out and get one. Smoking actually makes you a more nervous person. It adds to your anxiety and makes you an addict. Additionally, you become out of breath very quickly and your level of fitness goes way down. It wears down your immune system and it becomes easier for you to get colds and to develop a calcium deficiency. It makes your teeth brown, stains your fingers and makes you smell like a homeless bum.
If you currently smoke, you can quit. I quit after smoking a pack a day for 8 years. I have been happier,and much healthier since. I have more energy and I feel good. No more tingling or nervous cravings. No more dependencies on adestructive cancer stick. I can breath without feeling a tightness in my chest. I wake up feeling good in the morning….I quit cold turkey and that worked for me. Anyone can quit cold turkey. They just have to be motivated and determined enough to follow through on it.
Smoking is bad but noting the goverment will do will cause people to stop. Only YOU can decide you want to quit.
i am not a smoker however i am not so sure about that its like trying to stop any bad habit for some people. However for other they can stop by just stopping and i don’t think by hiking up the price is gonna make the smokers stop smoking bec. if that would b the case then people would have stopped smoking. we just have to give chizuk to those whom are really trying to stop smoking and just daven that everyone stays healthy.
I think the goverment should double or triple the price for first time smokers.
Minyan gal -go back on the chantix and take an anti-emetic.
Even if everyone would stop smoking today, there would still be enough lung cancers from smoking for many years to come. Smokers alone keep us medical people in business.
minyan gal…
For thousands of years our enemies have been murdering us.
Today is no different.
Our yishmaeli enemies do anything and everything they can to bomb, stone, shoot, and stab Jewish men, women and children.
This will sound like a very strange request from someone you do not even know, but…
I beg you – what an arab would like to do to you with a knife, pleeeeeeze don’t do to yourSELF with cigarettes. Am Yisrael needs you.
I am here
There’s a point where people just can’t afford it. If the price was $30 a pack almost everyone would quit.
The government isn’t interested in eliminating smoking. They only want a slight decrease to prove to the public that they are doing something about it. If they were interested in eliminating smoking they could make it illegal to add nicotine and only make nicotine available with a prescription.
Hashem’s Son
doubling or tripling prices for first time smokers,would not be a good idea as u and i and anyone else wouldn’t know who is smoking for the first time. anyways that wouldn’t work either bec smoking is an addiction that pple. wanna do even b-4 they get there hands on a cigar. also people would pay any price for smoking.
Bezalel
Good point. The govt is full of lies and distortion the problem is we the sheeple put up with it!
@i am here said it exactly people will pay any price for smoking. Also shocking graphics won’t stop the Oral Addiction. I think we need more Smoking Cessation Programs to help people to stop Smoking. Chewing on Licorice Root, or making a tea from the Root may be a healthy substitute for the Oral Addiction. More successful Legal Suits against the Big Tobacco Companies may help. Eating more raw Celery, Carrot and other foods to help rid the body of the toxic affect from Smoking is a crucial thing that is needed to help the Smoker regain his health back. Getting the Breath of Life Back,so the Smoker will once again be able to smell the Roses in their Garden. Saying Tehilim may also be the right refuah.
google EFT and smoking and finaly quit!!
This is a reply to several posters. Firstly, if the price of tobacco were to triple or quadruple or if it were made illegal, the crime rate would skyrocket. You just have to look at the history of the US during prohibition to see that bad habits cannot be legislated out of existance. For the person who says that anyone can quit “cold turkey” – this is absolutely not true. Some people are successful but most are not and for some this can even be dangerous. It depends on the length of time that you have smoked and the amount that you spoke. When I took Chantix I did take it with an anti-emetic and I still wasn’t able to tolerate it. I did have great hopes for the product. I thank you all for the concern about my health – it concerns me greatly as well. I have even phoned the provincial government health plan to ask why there is inpatient treatment available for alcohol and drug treatment but not for smoking cessation. The answer of course – money. I can only hope that one day, with Hashem’s help, that I will be successful at quitting. It is indeed, an extremely bad habit.
Why should smokine be legal and Marijuana illegal? Either legalize both smoking and Marijuana, or make both illegal.
I think these photos are a waste of time and space- every smoker is fully aware that he’s killing himself and they are dangerous- you gotta think of either a substitute or practically make it harder to purchase…
Won’t matter one wit. No one who smokes thinks its not a health hazard. They just don’t care.
I agree w Betzalel. The Government doesnt want to eliminate smoking they just want to manage the “problem”. Its Capitalism at its finest.
WIY
If you triple the price it wouldnt make a difference to those who are truly addicted. Yes, you would get a couple thousand people to stop (ok, maybe thats a victory) but you wouldnt eliminate smoking altogether. An addict is an addict.
Firstly, as a smoker, ex-smoker and smoker again (a few times), don’t assume that most level headed people who are smokers aren’t aware of the dangers of smoking and don’t want to stop. I’d love to meet the idiot that came up with this horrible pastime to begin with. However what I don’t get is why it seems to be everyone’s mission (mostly never-smokers) to raise prices, put pictures on packs and who knows what else. True, banning smoking in indoor public places was a necessity as it could be dangerous to others. Other than that, it’s my choice to be stupid. Don’t punish us smokers for falling into the trap. Can we start campaigning in public places to put ads for soap/deoderant/showers for those that smell bad who aren’t smokers? Can we start hiking up the prices on all junk food and putting pictures of obese people and clogged arteties on the packages or in front of all the “healthy” fast food stores? ie. kosher delight, schnitzi’s, schwarma places etc. How would you all feel if the govt. would start forcing the stores to charge $20 for a burger and $10 for fries. We’d all eat healthier wouldn’t we. My point? i appreciate my loved ones or even strangers for that matter, telling me “you should quit”, but this is getting out of hand.
Minyan gal – When you say you took it with an antiemetic, did you try all of them? There are many anti-emetics, some are stronger than others. Which one did you take? Also, did you try Zyban together with nicotine replacement? Even if you tried them separately, there probably is a synergistic effect if taken together.
I have an idea -maybe the gov. should put pictures that are ossur to look at on the box and then the yeshivos would finally asser smoking and throw out all smokers who won’t quit!
Health
BRILLIANT. Now that you mention it I’m surprised there’s no pictures of gorgeous women on the boxes. They put those pictures almost everywhere else…
Sacrilege
At $30 a box in all states many people would quit, and most importantly, young people wouldn’t start because they can’t afford it. To tell you the truth, what hurts me the most is to see young Jewish boys smoking. Young teenagers. There’s way too much smoking going on in our yeshivos. At $30 a pack, there’s no Bachur that will be able to afford it and no parent who would give their kid enough money that would support such a habit. So even if not all Bachurim would quit, at least it would drastically cut down on how much they smoke which is also a good thing.
WIY
At $50-60 a gram for cocaine, price really isnt the issue for an addict. They beg, cheat, steal if need be in order to get their next fix. (I realize a hard drugs are more severe than nicotine)
I dont think any parent is giving their teenage son money for cigarettes. Most likely they pool their cash a split a pack. I highly doubt a teenage kid has a pack-a-day habit.
Sacrilege
I was a smoker. I quit after 8 years. Its an addiction but not in the same league as hard drugs. There are plenty of yeshiva guys which quit for shidduchim which just proves that its not such a hard addiction to break, I have a whole bunch of friends who quit. However people who smoked for 15-20 or more years obviously have a much more ingrained addiction. Or to be precise, its not just the addiction that needs to be broken its a bad habit, habits are hard to break (nail biting…)
Yes maybe young teens aren’t all doing a pack a day but even half a pack at $30 a pack is $15. They won’t be able to afford that either. Or even a 1/3 of a pack, $10 a day, that’s $60 a week. They won’t be able to afford that either.
(Obviously parents don’t give money and say here’s $40 for cigarettes, here’s $30 for snacks…I meant in general kids say oh I need $50 a week and parents give it without a cheshbon, if the kid says all of a sudden I need $100 a week the parent will say no way!)
Did anyone spot the letter in this week’s Hamodia about teens selling black market cigarettes? Seems this is a huge business, and costs a fraction of the store level retail price. It also explains how some bucherim can pay for their habits.
I just hope the ATF doesn’t want a piece of the action.
BPT
Thse same “bachurim” 15-20 years down the line will be making newspaper headlines about fraud. It starts at this age.
WIY
“Its an addiction but not in the same league as hard drugs”
I believe I mentioned that….
“To tell you the truth, what hurts me the most is to see young Jewish boys smoking. Young teenagers. There’s way too much smoking going on in our yeshivos.”
Does it hurt you based on your experience or because you feel that now that you stopped you have the right to judge?
If you stopped 8 years ago and you are in your low-md 20’s higher mathematics should put you at around 26. If you were 18, you were ::probably:: still in Yeshiva. So why are these boys different than you?
Let them smoke, let them wake up and realize they are idiots, and let them stop. Smoking isnt one of those issues where you can punish someone until they stop. They need to come to the realization on their own.
Sacrilege
It hurts me because I went through it and as much as I enjoyed smoking, it robbed me of many things and took a toll on my health. It effects most people who smoke.
Ill give you some examples.
1. You become unproductive because you always run out for a smoke
2. You feel like a nervous wreck
3. You become very selfish not realizing how non smokers can’t stand the smell and smoke next to and some times in a dira where the non smokers are really annoyed because they hate the smell…
4. All your stuff stinks
5. Your self control and self esteem go down
………….
Baruch Hashem I got out of it, that doesn’t mean I should be happy or not care that someone is hurting themselves because “maybe” they will get out of it. If you care it hurts.
WIY, you said ” Its an addiction but not in the same league as hard drugs”.
You have no idea about the science of addiction. Nicotine addiction is exactly the same as addiction to cocaine or alcohol. The brain’s receptors attach to the nicotine. The only reason that nicotine addiction is not categorized like drug addiction is because tobacco products are still legal and relatively affordable. You only smoked for 8 years – success at quitting is increased when you smoked for a relatively short period of time. Before you start spouting facts, you should make sure that they are factual. What you have posted about nicotine addiction is untrue.
Health: I completely forgot about the Zyban/patch combo. I tried that as well. As for the anti-emetics. I only tried one kind – dimenhydrinate which is known as Gravol in Canada. I am very sensitive to this category of drug and Gravol is about all that I can tolerate. Over the years, I have been on almost every anti-emetic on the market because of other health problems and medications that I have been on. There was a point in time – about 20 years ago, that I required about 10 Gravol daily. Needless to say I had great difficulty staying awake.
What surprises me is that any young person today would even begin smoking. They are taught from a very young age about the dangers of smoking. When I began smoking fifty years ago, almost everyone did it including the doctors. Nobody knew that it was dangerous. I recall that when I was pregnant my doctor told me that it was wonderful that I smoked because I would have an smaller baby and therefore an easier delivery. Can you imagine that advice being given today?
minyan gal
“You have no idea about the science of addiction.”
Thanks….Listen I know a little bit about it and you obviously didnt get what I was saying. Many pathways and chemicals in the brain that are affected by nicotine addiction are affected in similar ways by other addictive drugs.
However I think the crucial difference is how much of a “hit” or high you get out of a cigarette versus cocaine or some other drug. I dont know the exact match up, but a cigarette is probably a small fraction of the pleasure of a cocaine hit. Which is why for drugs one needs intense rehab and for smoking “most” people can quit cold turkey.
Im sorry if you are having a problem quitting, but Im sure if it meant enough to you, you would quit, like oif your Dr. told you if you dont quit today you will die tomorrow 100% you would see how easy it would be for you to quit cold turkey!
minyan
I’m sorry I have to go with WIY on this one (as much as it pains me 😛 )
All addictions are NOT created equal. There are vast differences between alcohol, amphetamine, dopamine, cocaine and tobacco addictions.
Just compare the side effects of cocaine and tobacco and you’ll see they arent even on the same playing field. For starters, one of the side effects of cocaine is addiction! You cant be a “casual junkie” yet, you CAN be a “casual smoker” without an addiction.
minyan gal -I’ll give you list of drugs to try if you haven’t already. Dronabinol -also good for appetite stimulation (active ingredient same as marijuana). Reglan. Compazine. Promazine. Phenergan. Tigan. Zofran. Kytril. Most of these are newer drugs and are from different classes. These are brand names; you probably have different brand names in Canada. I’m sure there are some you haven’t tried.
Sacrilege
“I’m sorry I have to go with WIY on this one (as much as it pains me 😛 )”
It should probably bother me that you agree with me, maybe Im wrong… :-p
if cigarets would be sold for such a high price i think i might just go into the business and sell it. its a great money making business:)
an addiction is an addiction however when someone reallllly wants to stop they will they can get some professional help and also can join a non smoker ananomise group to help them
I don’t smoke and never smoked. However, I believe that taxes etc. is not the solution. It is just more bureaucracy and government in people’s lives. Mature people should be able to choose on their own what’s wrong and what is right. We can try to persuade them to do what is best but not force them. More taxes would create a bigger black market and smokers won’t stop. It is an addiction, period. The government can use methods such as graphic images and rehabilitation centers to rid them from their addiction voluntarily. I believe that graphical warnings would stop some people from smoking excessively as it reminds them every time of the danger. Reb Elya Desler ZT”L has a great explanation about the mind of a smoker when he takes a cigarette; it is basically that he forgets the danger at the time of the urge.
Mr. Hirsch -There is another aspect that you aren’t taking into account that didn’t apply during the prohibition years. Medicine is getting more technologically advanced day by day. These smokers are becoming a financial burden on society as we can prolong a lot of their lives. They are now producing a protocol to detect lung cancer at an early stage. (90% of lung CA is due to smoking.) They want to make this widespread on smokers and former smokers. It will become to smokers as mammography is to women. We definitely should help people live longer, even if the cause of their illness is their own vices. But, why should the rest of us pay for this? Hence, the gov. wants to keep raising taxes on cigarettes. Let them at least pay partly for their future medical care! Most experts say we can’t afford to pay for medical care right now, let alone in the future. We are busting at the seams. Probably in the not so distant future we will be rationing health care, not what most Americans want. This is what occurs in western society, in all these socialist countries, right now!
WIY
“It should probably bother me that you agree with me, maybe Im wrong… “
…Or maybe for the first time in your life you are right on something 😀
No need to thank me, think of it as a community service.
Sacrilege
Are you having an identity crisis and confusing yourself with me? 😉
“Reb Elya Desler ZT”L has a great explanation about the mind of a smoker when he takes a cigarette; it is basically that he forgets the danger at the time of the urge. “
And I think that I have to agree with the Reb on this one. Wiser words have rarely been spoken.
WIY
“Are you having an identity crisis and confusing yourself with me?”
Oh heck no! 😛
Kapusta
That’s a case of someone who was diagnosed and will die whether they quit or not. Such a person has no motivation to quit. However if someone is not sick yet and if they quit now they will be fine, then anyone who has a life outside of their cigarettes would instantly quit.
Sacrilege
Lol. Good because it would be kind of weird switching places 😉
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