'Total smoking ban in Sweden by 2025'

[The Straight Story]

'Total smoking ban in Sweden by 2025'

Sweden should follow New Zealand's example and phase out smoking completely by 2025, representatives from several lung cancer groups in Sweden have argued.
...

The authors cite New Zealand and Finland as role model countries where parliaments have decided to work toward a complete ban on smoking.

"We therefore urge the Riksdag to implement a decision that totally bans smoking from 2025 and works toward a gradual phase-out until then," write Ola Brodin of the Swedish Lung Cancer Study Group, Tommy Björk of the lung cancer patient advocacy group Stödet ('Support'), Gunnar Wagenius of the Swedish Cancer Society's (Cancerfonden) lung cancer planning group, and Roger Henriksson of the Swedish Association of Oncologists (Svensk onkologisk förening).

...

While the authors admit that such a ban amounts to an infringement on personal privacy, they argue a ban is justified considering "the enormous damage to society" caused by smoking and the fact that it is the "cause of a huge number of personal tragedies".

However, the authors stop short of advocating for a ban on all tobacco products, explaining that prohibiting smokeless tobacco such as Swedish snus would go too far.

"We're no friends of snus, but we don't want to infringe on people's privacy more than absolutely necessary," they write.

http://www.thelocal.se/46708/20130313/#.UUNqsTei2So

[Ter]

1. Can any state legally ban it here?

Or a federal ban?

[Nye Bevan]

2. I hate smoking. But prohibition does not work.

All this will do is to make gangsters get very rich.

[LeftinOH]

3. I hope it doesn't come to that in the US. A black-market

cigarette industry is not going to help anything.

[liberal_at_heart]

4. does that include cannabis?

I don't like tobacco cigarettes, but I don't think banning substances is the answer. Public education and outreach programs work best. Treat it as a public health issue, not a crime.

[onehandle]

5. Public smoking bans are inevitable, and will cut the number of smokers down considerably.

'Phasing it out' would be a tricky business.

If it's taxed even more heavily, and you can't do it outside or your home, it'll phase itself out.

[liberal_at_heart]

7. no it just means they will smoke in private just like cannabis smokers do.

Banning substances does not work.

[onehandle]

8. And I'm not suggesting that.

Ten years ago, you couldn't walk anywhere in NYC with out people smoking on you.

Now, almost nobody smokes on the sidewalk. It's not banned, it's restricted. And the restrictions have had the effect of cutting down smoking dramatically.

[hughee99]

6. I'm not sure how they could even go about banning ALL tobacco products (not just smoking) n/t

[Nuclear Unicorn]

9. Man, I wish organized crime families sold stock. n/t

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. the banks do...close enough?

[Politicalboi]

10. Funny how in some states

You can carry your gun into shopping malls, but you CAN'T smoke in that same building. LOL! I guess smoke is more dangerous than bullets. And because we all know bullets ONLY go after their intended targets.