Posted by dorayme on 11/16/33 11:29

> From: "Alan J. Flavell" <flavell@physics.gla.ac.uk>

>> - With the extra tax money from the sale of drugs, the
>> government could put more money into drug rehabilitation
>> programmes.
>
> And how much money from the existing taxes on tobacco and alcohol
> are the present guvmint putting into effective rehabilitation schemes
> for people who misuse those particular substances, riddle me that?
>
> Nice idea as a theory, but doesn't seem to be working out. You'd
> think that at least people who were intelligent and educated enough to
> get into university would know better, but (outside of the buildings -
> where smoking is, thank goodness, banned) the number of young students
> who can be seen (and smelled) smoking around here ("here" being
> Glasgow Univ, for those who can't read headers) is not exactly
> impressive, quite apart from the quantity of smokers' droppings which
> are always to be seen in the streets and parks.
>
> I'm not sure that I want to see similar results with numerous other
> substances.
>

An absence of prohibition does not mean "numerous other
substances" will be all over your campus like butts and smells.
There can be good and effective local controls. There can be
bans on the public use of some of these things etc. They are
banning smoking fags on some Sydney beaches now to control the
butt problem. But awful to think of the consequences of
banning smoking completely.

Anyway, you have it out of context a bit I am afraid. The rehab
may well be helping a great many people indeed. It is just that
there are not many other things in place to attack the harmful
practices. Like not only a ban on some advertising but a legal
insistence on very "plain generic" packaging, and
many other things short of making it impossibly hard for those
that really want to.

It is a rarer sight now to see people smoking. There are few
private homes I know where it is welcomed or appreciated. Why?
Because the truth about it has sunk in at long last in various
parts of the world, and individuals have taken action
voluntarily in their own lives. It is due to the "open"
information, the govt and lobby group pressure and advertising,
the prosecution of the legal tobacco businesses for dishonesty,
the terrible toll on families etc. Prohibition is not for
societies benefit long term, it protects a few of us from ugly
sights short term. Like a bandage on festering boils...

> What's this got to do with HTML?

Nothing and it is naughty... but do we really have to go a
thousand different ngs on a thousand different subjects when
there is, like a little miracle on earth, a perfectly congenial
enough set of people right here... :)

dorayme

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