The nanny-state moves into its self-parody phase. Behold these (very real, I’m afraid) “larger and more noticeable textual warning statements and color graphic images depicting the negative health consequences” of smoking, now being proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services:
The message here is clear: 1) Your government believes that you are an idiot and a child. 2) Your government knows what is best for you. 3) Defy your government at your own (mortal) peril.
More on how you can’t be trusted to make your own decisions here.
I’ve been an on-and-off smoker since college, but recently quit cold turkey and haven’t had a drag in a month. Now I’m thinking about starting up again.
can we put a similar cover sheet on all spending and budget bills?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Warning: Government deficits can cause economic instability and unemployment." With pictures of bread lines, the dust bowl, 9/11, etc. The image doesn't have to be relevant, obviously.
I'm with you, Foster. Except "off and on" meaning I've got a box of nat shermans (I love their tag: "smoke less, smoke better!") in the end table for those bi-monthly random urges. I loved the comment from a friend when I expressed a similar sentiment: "YOU are against sin-taxes?" The bold "you" meaning the stereotypical, conservative me. Yes, you have quite a lot to learn about conservatives that can't be summed up in "pious, selfish, and greedy." Amazing, the reactions that come from liberals who actually try talking to one of us....
Caveat to all of that: you stopped smoking for a reason; I don't smoke for a reason. And if I don't buy happy meals every day, it damn-well isn't because the government told me not to. My response to this friend: There is a very important difference between thinking something is unhealthy, or thinking something is wrong, and thinking that it is the government's responsibility to make sure we all live accordingly.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo, do you suppose the government would now insist that photos of aborted babies be on the doors of abortion clinics and on Planned Parenthood brochures? You know, just to let people know what happens when they have a abortion.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOkay, I agree with everything except your last sentence. I work in the home oxygen business (emphysema and chronic bronchitis (COPD) patients mostly). Don't cut off your nose to spite your face. The government is a ass; be smarter than it is. (If you do need encouragement, you can hang out with a home O2 driver for a week or two. You won't ever want to smoke again.)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseEh, on the spectrum of intrusive nanny-statisms by the government, I'm not so opposed to this one. They're not forbidding anything, thankfully, nor taxing it into oblivion with this measure.
While a lot of the nutritional nanny-statism is truly ridiculous in trying to calculate the public health costs of, say, obesity, the reality is that smokers do cost us a lot of money. On the one hand, they do die younger, on the other hand, they often need a lot of medical care, paid for by higher private insurance premiums or increased Medicare costs.
So I'm not terribly offended by the government mandating graphic depictions of the consequences of smoking right on the package. You still want to buy them, fine. You don't want to look at the pictures, get a case to put your packs in. You want to destroy your lungs to spite the nanny-state, go ahead. I will strongly defend your right to do so. But I'm ok with the government making you see, at the point of purchase, the potential consequences of your actions.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHere in Brazil they have been doing this for several years. The propaganda on the packs looks almost exactly like the samples in your post. The worst thing is that they so exaggerate the harmful effects of smoking that it is laughable. One warning says cigarettes can cause impotency. There is a photo with a guy in his underwear, holding his hand at about his beltline with the thumb pointing down. (Maybe that's why in the movies people smoke afterwards.) There are also pictures of rotten teeth and wrinkles, and, of course, a variety of suffering children. This is the worst type of propaganda - paternalistic and false.
I am also thinking about taking up smoking again. How about starting a movement for the healthy use of tobacco? Two or three all-natural non-addicting cigarettes a day, with morning coffee, while studying, or in the evening after dinner, can be good for the mind!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou tube has a video of the Brazilian warning labels - rats, roaches, respirators, and more:
"Pare de fumar"
External Link
These labels are required by the government on all cigarette packs.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt's ironic, isn't it. On the one hand, nanny do-gooders want to warn of the dangers of smoking cigarettes and want to legalize marijuana on the other. I guess they will start stigmatizing weed as "bad" as soon as Big Pot gets up and running.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSomeone tell them that Thank You for Smoking was satire! Christopher Buckley should demand credit for this, since he is aboard the hope & change express now.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe second image from top bears a striking resemblance to Obama!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHow 'bout "Don't smoke and you'll never die!"
Oh no! I'll be out of business.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNot to be the regulatory wonk, but as the FDA site states, the agency is now receiving public comment on these graphics and the notice of proposed rulemaking. I suggest interested parties to take their comments to the FDA instead.
In other words, you can vote for Corpse Y or Corpse Z to adorn your cigarettes. Thank God for the Administrative Procedures Act!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAt what point does the government's war on tobacco become unconstitutional? There are a variety of products that put our health and our lives at risk - have you ever seen what happens to someone who flies off a motorcycle traveling 60 miles an hour - but the federal government doesn't force the manufacturers of those products to put warning labels on them. Notifying the public of a product's risk is one thing, but this is a grotesque example of the kind of government intervention most Americans don't want.
We aren't children who need pictures to understand that smoking cigarettes is bad for us and we certainly don't need to remind people who have cancer how devastating it is. We get the message. Now leave us alone to make the decision to smoke or not to smoke. I don't smoke, but as long as it's a legal activity I support the right of those who do and oppose the government's use of my tax dollars to interfere with their right by harassing and demonizing them. Just as Barack Obama demonized Wall Street while accepting millions in campaign contributions from those who work there, the federal government demonizes the tobacco industry while relying on it for significant tax revenue.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThese are quite tame compared to Canadian warnings, which are sometimes graphic and always state the specifics, ie why smoking affects impotence, children and so on.
You can judge for yourself here: External Link
As to the nanny state or european approach to life (curtailment of personal liberty) I agree 100% with Jenna.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat about blind smokers; why aren't the warnings in braille? I'd hate for them to miss out on the warnings.
I'd like to see the government go whole hog; if the things are so dangerous why are we allowing blind people to just go about inhaling the dangerous smoke without similar warnings?
Either Mommy FDA is serious about the dangers, or she's not. So we should insist that the warnings are both in braille and in various languages besides english. Illegal immigrants are allowed to vote; they shouldn't be endangered as well.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"I’ve been an on-and-off smoker since college, but recently quit cold turkey and haven’t had a drag in a month. Now I’m thinking about starting up again."
Moral courage.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOh goodie -death pictures warning of risky behavior. Will we be treated to the same about the behavior implicite in gay marriage certificates, and abortion mills? Will the later ever become part of our children's social values school indoctrination programs, or will we hear the tiresome mantra of they're going to do it anyways?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseActually smoking prevents lung cancer...at least in uranium miners who smoke moderately.
In the late 80's, the NYTimes Magazine had a seminal article on the perils of radon gas. It noted the incidence of lung cancer among uranium miners who were exposed to large amounts of radon gas.
Remarkably, when the results were controlled for smoking, they found that non smoking miners had a higher incidence of lung cancer than miners that smoked cigarettes in moderation (up to 10 cigarettes a day).
On the other hand, heavy smokers (over 10 per day) had the highest incidence. They theorized that a lesser amount of smoke built up the resistance of the lungs to impurities but that too much caused damage.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWell, I'm very conservative. But I'm also a physician, and I think these warning pictures are a good idea. I don't think young people have much idea of the kind of horrors we see from smoking related diseases.
Perhaps it will discourage children from smoking.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseDoesn't anyone remember Christopher Buckley's book and movie-"Thank You For Smoking"? This is the dream effort of William Hurt's character- the Senator from Vermont- writ large. Parody come to life!
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