• lazynooblet@lazysoci.al
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    17 hours ago

    I expect actually it will have a profound effect on the number of people smoking. I remember when they banned smoking in public places, smoking declined rapidly since then.

    Kids have been bypassing restrictions and purchasing cigarettes for years but the general decline is still happening.

    • Crankley@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      I always attributed it to general education being the real mover. I think as the public became more educated we looked for solutions to help curb use and the decline was the leveling out once people were able to make a more informed decision.

      Some folks will always choose to smoke knowing what it is and I think we have just moved closer to that number. Certainly advertising and exposure have a large role to play as well, I just feel as though it’s a whole host of elements that have changed the usage rates.

      I feel as though banning something makes certain demographics less likely to take it up but I feel like the measures we had in place already target that crowd. I think we are very close to the market cap on people we can sell abstinence to.

      Just my thinking on it, the numbers might bare out different results. I just personally think illegality is not the major barrier to uptake that folks think it is. I would point to coke usage and how ubiquitous it is with young adults in the UK right now.

      In the end I think making something illegal that is already on the decline is a misstep, let it fade out on its own rather than call attention to it. People get up in arms about change, a great way to make something popular is to tell folks they can’t have it.