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submitted 1 year ago by zephyreks@lemmy.ml to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml
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[-] _number8_@lemmy.world 102 points 1 year ago

aside from the issue of 'prohibition still doesn't work', i don't think giving kids or "underage" adults criminal charges for cigarettes is making anything better for anyone

[-] BolexForSoup@kbin.social 81 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Smoking age is specifically the ability to purchase. There are no criminal/civil charges for underage smoking. The crimes are specifically 1) selling to minors 2) buying for minors.

TL;DR: No one goes/will go to jail for underage smoking. They won’t even get in trouble for buying. The onus is on the vendor OR the legal purchaser who handed them off.

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[-] WheelcharArtist@lemmy.world 55 points 1 year ago

how to create a blackmarket with health issues

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[-] who8mydamnoreos@lemmy.world 34 points 1 year ago

Sunak should start publicly smoking all the time, then it will be the lamest thing and teen smoking will crater.

[-] purahna@lemmygrad.ml 34 points 1 year ago

This is an amazing, for the sole reason that everyone who is 17 and change now will turn 18, be able to smoke, the law will bump to 19, they won't be allowed to smoke any more, but then they'll turn 19 and they'll be able to smoke again until the law raises to 20...

[-] em2@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 year ago

I believe they passed a similar law like this in New Zealand. You could be 50 and still too young to smoke lol.

Smokefree action plan: Cigarette sales to be banned for younger generations

[-] jasondj@ttrpg.network 13 points 1 year ago

Why adjust the law annually? Why not just write it as “no person born after Jan 1, 2005”?

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[-] Phen@lemmy.eco.br 28 points 1 year ago

No no no, minimum age should increase by 360 days every year, that way people can still have hope that some day they'll be able to smoke. Staying true to how capitalism works.

[-] Fiivemacs@lemmy.ca 28 points 1 year ago

....how do 14 year olds get smokes now?

Making it illegal to buy at certain ages has never worked...banning them outright also won't work. You cannot stop people from doing things, no matter how many words you put on paper.

Has the war on drugs not been a thought to these people? It is useless and does nothing.

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[-] quicken@aussie.zone 25 points 1 year ago

New Zealand has done this

[-] pisstoria@hexbear.net 25 points 1 year ago

lame. create a legal path to execute the tobacco company execs instead.

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[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago

Man the fuck up and outlaw it for everyone instead of this sneaky prohibition that only affect people that can't vote yet. It's such a cowardly, disingenuous way of doing it.

[-] BestBouclettes@jlai.lu 33 points 1 year ago

Prohibition never works, the best bet is to keep it legal and make it as inconvenient as possible like: raising taxes on tobacco, make it illegal to smoke outside of dedicated zones (Quebec has done it I believe), fine people who litter their cigarette butts (hard to implement but, it might deter a large majority from doing it), keep helping smokers to quit and keep raising awareness for younger people.

[-] nathris@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 year ago

This is the way. There are so few places to smoke in BC that I pretty much only ever see people doing it 5 metres from a bus stop.

They are so expensive that the few people that still do it smoke maybe a pack a week.

We even banned the sale of no-nic vape juice because they were becoming a gateway to nicotine addiction for teenagers.

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[-] ForgotAboutDre@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

This method stops current smokers from being criminalised.

If you ban it like prohibition, you will instantaneously create a black market. Continually increasing the age you can buy cigarettes is easier. Everyone that this effects will not have the option to legally create a cigarette habit/addiction.

A straight up outlawing would have the maximum effect. But it would be costly to enforce, whilst increasing overall criminal activity.

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[-] orcrist@lemm.ee 22 points 1 year ago

If this is the only effort, it's weak. Better to also (or instead) tax each box by another 20 pounds. Kids don't have that money. They'll find other things to do.

[-] Tankiedesantski@hexbear.net 19 points 1 year ago

Taxation is a tool but it also creates inequality where rich people are able to smoke and poor people can't. That situation risks making tobacco a signifier of wealth - an aspirational good like an expensive handbag.

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[-] Karius@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 year ago

It's already prohibitively taxed to be around £12-15 for a 20 pack. There are 4 corner stores within a 5 minute walk of my house that do them under the counter for a fiver, and you can bet they don't care about IDs either

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[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I much prefer to see kids vaping.

It's much harder to be intimidated by a gang of 10 youths in balaclavas when they smell like a pack of Fruit Salads.

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[-] Icaria@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago

NZ already did this and it is the most cowardly way to avoid political blowback.

There's plenty of other options for minimising smoking. A more altruistic way is by lifting people out of poverty and tackling social disintegration, since smokers are overwhelmingly poor and disaffected.

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[-] yogthos@lemmy.ml 20 points 1 year ago

As UK economy continues to crumble, Rishi is focusing on the real issues.

[-] Scubus@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 year ago

Cool, when does the minimum age for joining the military start to raise by one year every year?

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[-] sunbeam60@lemmy.one 14 points 1 year ago

“We operate a Check-74 policy. If you are lucky enough to look younger than 70, we will ask for ID when buying cigarettes”

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[-] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 year ago
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[-] Omega_Haxors@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Back in my day we used to smoke up hill both ways in the rain and snow.

[-] Fishroot@hexbear.net 11 points 1 year ago

Raising legal age

not be able to buy cigarettes

French people in shamble

[-] Mr_nutter_butter@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

So he's nicking what newzeland did ok cool something that he's not going to profit from for a change atleast

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this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2023
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