Jump to full article: Gold Coast Bulletin (au), 2009-10-22
Intro: A REPORT that puts the social cost of cigarette smoking to Australia at $31 billion has prompted health groups to say it is a mandate to raise the already hefty taxes on cigarettes even further.
They are wrong, in fact it is a mandate to ban cigarettes altogether. . . .
Evidence on the negative impact of smoking on smokers health -- and of passive smoking on innocent bystanders -- is already so well documented as to be incontrovertible.
Another argument against banning cigarettes is that die-hard smokers would merely conspire to drive tobacco underground, in much the same way that the use of banned drugs has been driven underground.
This argument also fails.
The fact is that if cigarettes were banned the vast majority of people now using them would be forced to stop, saving countless lives. As for those who continued to seek out this dangerous drug, unfortunately there is no way to help those who will not be helped.
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