Australian Tobacco Marketing Laws~Would it Work Here?~~~

I caught this blurb the other day and wondered how such a thing would work here in the good 'ole U S of A.

http://news.msn.com/world/australias-tobacco-marketing-laws-give-retailers-a-headache

"The new law, aimed to deter young people from smoking, will require companies to strip away all of the branding.

SYDNEY - James Yu, who runs the King of the Pack tobacconist in central Sydney, is indignant about Australia's stringent anti-tobacco laws making manufacturers package cigarettes in drab olive green packs with pictures of ill babies and diseased body parts.
The packages, mandatory from Saturday when the laws take effect, make it hard to tell brands apart, complicating deliveries and adding to costs in his cramped, dark booth.
The legislation, the most Draconian in the world, strips packs of all branding, bright colors and logos, leaving only the name printed in identical small font."

"Australia's plain packaging laws are a potential watershed for the global industry, which serves 1 billion regular smokers, according to World Health Organization statistics."

Wow. A billlion smokers in the world. Big money for sure and we know that in the US.
I happen to be one of those billion actually and get this. I KNOW it's not good for me.
I've known it for years. It's been drilled into my head since childhood.

I'm pretty certain the majority of smokers know this as well. It is a choice. A legal choice.

When I buy a pack of smokes the person selling them to me knows them by the package. I smoke Newport Blues. They know where they are and they don't look like a Marlboro red or a Winston light.

Folks that sell them really don't make that much on smokes but the government does for sure. LOTS of taxes and it's been that way for a long time.

If you suddenly cut the amount of money a retailer would make it would seem to reason they would cut their stock if not eliminating it entirely.

That would be great for all the anti smokers I suppose. Hooray!

One teeny problem though. It involves a multi billion dollar industry.

Think companies like Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds might have a problem with this? Do you think they might have a few people "in their pocket"? Maybe some lobbyists?
I do.

Now I'm "just sayin'" here folks and looking for other opinions. Lots of money and lots of interest in the tobacco industry and the tax money it generates after all. Only a total fool would deny that.

As a side note I find it highly ironic that as laws seem to be getting tougher on tobacco they are being reevalulated when it comes to marijuana.
Legalize it and tax it?

 

As a smoker, I can say smoking sucks. Damn addiction makes me growl at tobacco manufacturers for producing them, but it's my idiocy that got me hooked so I growl at myself too. I growl at the state too, for all the taxes they put on them to make people stop, which seems like a conflict of interest though, since they rake in tons of cash from the remaining, stubborn people like me who are growling every day at nothing in particular (growling is an awful habit).

Should packaging change? Go for it, I wouldn't give a crap lol

I will say they may as well put fat people's naked bodies on the packages of Twinkies and such, maybe with a finger pointing at the consumer telling them they are "never going to be healthy if they keep eating this crap." That would go over well with everyone, I'm sure.

Then there's the pollution issue. People should revert back to the pre-industrial age and stop polluting our land, air, and water. Cut off that electricity 'cause of all that coal spewing tons of mercury and other nasty stuff everywhere.

OK, maybe that's a tiny bit off the subject lol...but when it comes to health issues, pollution is the number one cause of our declining health, IMO, so why not? We want healthy people, right?

As for marijuana, I'm amazed it's gained this much traction. In the 80s I thought that we'd never reach this stage in my lifetime, what with Reagan and the renewed drug war and with Nancy scrambling people's brains on TV.

Today, opponents don't want to even talk about the revenue it would bring the states and feds 'cause they don't want to be seen as promoting taxes.

The health benefits can be denied, since studies are extremely limited, due to it being classed as freakin' nuclear waste..."It bad! It really really bad!"

It doesn't matter that sick person after sick person are using marijuana, despite their previous hate for it due to their upbringing following the law. Like a parent bringing in his ten year old because it's the only thing that helps.

So yeah, I'd say make it legal and tax it, but I still say that I'll believe it when I see the smoke from it.

 

TOBACCO: The state shouldn't tax it more than any other product. Tobacco is perfectly legal. If there is a market for it (and there is still a tremendous market for it), let supply and demand dictate the price. If the tobacco companies want to wrap them in gold packages with diamond studs and neon lights, let them. If the government doesn't deem tobacco an illegal product, they should keep their noses out of the industry (other than collecting revenue and keeping it regulated).

MARIJUANA: Legalize it immediately. Regulate it the same as tobacco and liquor. Sell it in liquor stores. Absolutely no punishment whatsoever for legally obtained marijuana in any amount. For instance, I can have a semi-truck full of liquor I bought at the liquor store (tax stamps and all), but I can't have a moonshine still churning out gallons of the stuff. Since it would be legal, tax it the same as you'd tax a pack of gum or a hamburger at McDonald's. If the pot companies want to make their packages with mirrors on the outside that change color at certain times of the day or play Snoop Dogg songs when you open the package, that's their business. If it's sold in liquor stores, they're not marketing to kids.

Let me add more:

PROSTITUTION: You're not going to get rid of it and mankind has tried a long time without success. Legalize prostitution, get the workers off the street into a clean, safer environment, mandate health inspections and tax the workers and the brothels.

HARDCORE PORNOGRAPHY: Give me a break... Is this even an issue any more? Adults should be able to view whatever pornography suits them (except kiddie porn, of course) without interference from the government. Less government intrusion is what is needed.

In all the instances I've cited above, there is waaaaaaaaay too much government intrusion into the regulation of these industries and our lives, in general. Less Governmental Regulation = More Individual Freedom.

Let our government do what it's supposed to do: Provide for the common defense, ensure life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Too many regulations such as the NDAA for example, have the potential to destroy our freedoms. Once they're gone, they're gone.

 

You forgot one.

ABORTION: ...is perfectly legal. If there is a market for it (and there is still IS a market for it), let supply and demand dictate the availability. If the abortion doctors want to preform abortions on every street corner in the country, let them. If the Supreme Court hasn't deem abortions illegal, religious zealots should keep their noses out of other people's business.

 

The same Constitution that guarantees us the right to liberty also guarantees our right to life. If we're going to guarantee the liberty to smoke tobacco and marijuana, engage in prostitution and view hardcore porn then we must also guarantee the right to life.

Is the "guarantee of the right to life" only conveyed on those who have gone through the birthing process? Or is it also conveyed on those who possess life, but haven't yet been birthed? You tell me.

 

OMG! From smoking to abortion in 3 easy steps. Only here!!!!!!!!!!

 

Well,

I was asking for opinions rlm.

 

On smoking or abortion?

 

Why would I even specify here rlm?

I mentioned tobacco and marijuana which quickly got ramped up to prostitution and porn so why not abortion?

Like you said.

Only here.

 

Someone mentioned prostitution and porn?

...Why was I not informed!

Is their a discount yet? Like, "Two-fer Tuesdays" or something? No? Oh. Never mind then...

 

Two-fer Tuesdays at the post office in Germfask.

 

Silliness.. pure silliness.

 

Perhaps.

Have you ever been to Germfask? It's southwest of Seney.

Ernest Hemingway loved Seney.

 

I did not know that. It makes sense though. I stopped on the Seney Stretch once and noticed a very large, colorful moth on a building. A kid saw it too, and wanted to kill it. I talked to him a bit, and he seemed to get why I thought it was better to leave it be. I later identified it as an extremely rare species, so hopefully the kid let it be after I left.

 

No, I haven't. But, if Hemingway loved Seney then I probably would too.