Tobacco companies are worried about a European-wide coordinated tax increase.
Big Tobacco argues that extra taxes will push up black market trade, but not everyone agrees.
Good shit, make them sweat.
Im liking the EU more and more every day
Oh no!
Anyways....
The tobacco lobby says boosting taxes on its products will just encourage black market sales and cut national revenue – undermining any attempt to funnel revenue into the bloc's next long-term budget.
So...they're straight up admitting that they're just going to start selling their product under the table, if this passes?
Sure sounds like it to anyone able to figure out that 1+1=2, yes.
They're probably trying to say that cigarettes will simply be bought in non-EU states and brought in by others to sell. Which will definitely happen and is already happening. If anything an increase will only marginally effect the current underground market.
So they're just trying to fear monger a bit. They know current smokers will continue to buy and it. Doesn't matter if they buy it from a 3rd party seller or not. They made their money. What these companies fear is that high prices will discourage future smokers from starting
It does work though. Here in Australia you still see people smoke here and there, but you notice the difference when travelling around the world.
Went to Paris and Rome in December and it was really annoying having to deal with smokers and vapers seemingly everywhere.
Australia has a massive cigarette black market now though, with big organised crime syndicates running it. They need to roll back the taxes to regain the market.
It's not nearly as massive as the "legit" tobacco industry. If it was that big an issue, people would be smoking everywhere. And as I mentioned it's obvious how much more people are smoking in Europe compared to here.
So the point stands, that in absolute terms, smoking is way down. Your average person doesn't want to buy cigarettes from their local drug dealer.
Increase the taxes to kingdom come, both for normal and e-smoking stuff. Make advertising, vending machines, and smoking in public places illegal.
Why e-smoking? Why not just tobacco products?
The most common justification for taxes on tabacoo products is that they're bad for the health of the general public, and the same goes for e-smoking.
This is only semi-related but I dislike e-smoking more than cigs, mainly cuz people that vape seem to think nobody is bothered by it and sometimes just straight up do it in public buildings, smokers atleast are selfaware and at the very least step away from people when they need a puff from the good'ol cancer stick
Ramp those taxes up!
Taxes are fine but there are more effective ways.
put BIG warning labels on packages and every single cigarette
already done, even with images of lung cancer, addicted people don't care and kids think it's "cool" and "taboo"
put quit smoking programs onto every package
same as above.
- prohibit smoking in ALL public spaces
- prohibit smoking while driving
- prohibit smoking while near vulnerable groups (kids, pregnant women, ill) even at home
how are you going to catch them? who is gonna enforce the law, the chain smoker cop? you directly, going against an highly aggressive person who's in the middle of nicotine withdrawal?
Remove vending machines which provide this drug 24/7
- move dispensary to drug stores
i mean sure it cooould teeechnically work
a bit of an unpopular opinion, but as someone who almost chokes on second hand smoke, i'd personally say just fuck it and outlaw cigarettes and vapes entirely, they're durgs after all, no? (this might open up another discussion about legalizing drugs, but whatever. Also shrooms and LSD don't stink up the whole place and actually have fun effects unlike cigs)
already done, even with images of lung cancer, addicted people don’t care and kids think it’s “cool” and “taboo”
They're effective.
The effectiveness of tobacco warning labels has been studied extensively over the past 50 years, and research shows that they are generally effective in changing smoking attitudes and behaviors.[3][4][5] A 2009 science review determined that there is "clear evidence that tobacco package health warnings increase consumers' knowledge about the health consequences of tobacco use". The warning messages "contribute to changing consumers' attitudes towards tobacco use as well as changing consumers' behavior".[6]
same as above.
Haven't seen them here in Austria/Germany. Also if you do that put websites not phone numbers there.
how are you going to catch them? who is gonna enforce the law, the chain smoker cop? you directly, going against an highly aggressive person who’s in the middle of nicotine withdrawal?
I mean I can still drive faster then allowed if nobody is watching. Should we stop enforcing speed limits because of that?
i’d personally say just fuck it and outlaw cigarettes and vapes entirely, they’re durgs after all, no?
It's way to ingrained into society to be outlawed completely.
I'm for controlled legalization of ALL drugs but keep them highly regulated. Drugs that directly harm others, like smoking should only be allowed in very specific locations like at home.
I hope it's sensible with regards to tobacco derived products (ie nicotine).
I used vaping to quit smoking. And I'm now on the nicotine pouches and have quit vaping.
I know I'm just swapping 1 addiction for another, but each has significantly reduced the risk to me and those around me.
But if the pouches do get more expensive, I'm sure there's some nicorette or some other official/medical nicotine thing I can swap to. I assume they won't get a tax increase (cause if they do, then the tax is stupid)
That's very impressive you are quitting. It takes lots of effort to do that. You can keep it up!
I don't mean this as a judgement. Ideally, wouldn't you now have preferred if smoking was prohibitively hard to start in the first place?
Oh yeh. I wish smoking was just completely not a thing and never was a thing.
When I started it was very socially acceptable and cheap to smoke.
Then it got less socially acceptable (indoor smoking ban), and a big bump in price. I tried quiting a few times, but I always ended up smoking again.
Somehow, when working hard and under time constraints "going for a smoke break" was an accepted excuse to spend 5 minutes outside. Bonkers.
Anyway, a proper vaping setup, making my own vape juice and all that had me forget about cigarettes within a few weeks, and I vaped for 5 years. Maybe 8?
Still had an excuse to go for a break, but I felt so much healthier vaping than I ever did smoking. And I could still sneak a vape indoors if there wasn't time for me to go outside.
Been on the pouches for 1.5 years now.
So yeh, increase the taxes on tobacco. A small bump for vaping nicotine (imo, safer than smoking but not risk free). And ideally no tax increase for nicotine products.
I could see a minor bump in taxes for snus/snuff/chewing tobacco. It's still a risk to the consumer (because it's tobacco), but it doesn't pose a risk to 3rd parties (because it's not burnt or aerosolised).
Good.
Semi related: I learned recently that there's no tobacco tax on raw tobacco in the EU. You can buy whole leaves online for like 10€/kg and then turn them into rolling tobacco or snus or snuff or whatever. No additives unless you put them in yourself and you can blend different strains to your personal taste (not that I'm advocating for it but you know, if you're a tobacco user anyway). It's not that difficult to do either, plenty of tutorials on youtube.
I don't smoke anymore 🚬
At a certain point it just becomes an additional poor person tax.
Tax it enough to offset the additional healthcare costs. Enact strict laws on where and when you may smoke, but not so strict it becomes impossible for a smoker to smoke. Then be done.
I don't think there's a person on earth who doesn't know it's bad for you. This punitive tax increase after increase is just making people miserable for no reason other than so legislators have something to point at to justify their salaries.
Dammit... Wellp! Guess I'm learning how to grow my own tobacco!
We had a tobacco plant in university we could take home after experiments were finished. Of course we dried the leaves and tried it. Tasted like shit, so good luck. Glad that I stopped smoking two years ago!
You have to cure tobacco, just like cannabis. You have to slow the end of the drying process to allow cells to continue to break down starches and chlorophyll.
And pot, too, right?
Right?
Nah, legalize weed, shrooms and coca leaves.
That's my point, the hypocrisy is deafening.
