"People who work in public health, especially at the policy level, typically assume we all want to live forever and their mission is to ensure we do".

They assume that because they are young and cannot imagine themselves ageing or dying. You have to be old to know that old age sucks.

Of course smokers, and more particularly, drinkers who smugly say that they prefer to die younger but happier overlook the possibility that their habits will still leave them with a longer life, but a dribbling, demented, undignified one, and not the short, quick death they envisage.

I have a couple of pensioner mates who admit they can eat less well, because of the increase in tobacco prices.

I know a number of pensioners who not only smoke, but like a few beers as well. I very much doubt they can afford adequate food. One of these reckons it is impossible for him to give up either. He believes he is as much an addict as any other drug user, & should get as much help affording his addiction as other drug users. He reckons he is being penalised because his addiction is to legal substances. That looks to be true to me. He wants to be able to get a prescription to get his tobacco on the NBS.

I don't know, but it does appear these life long habits are extremely hard to break, & I can't see anyone doing anything to help these people.

Yeah but what about wind turbines ??

My pity observation about Davids stupidity aside, taking anecdote over data. I do think there is a case for zero advertising and zero market placement and a GST and that's about it.

As a 53 yr old who has never smoked, I find myself mostly in agreement . I'd take issue with the article in terms of no mention of second hand smoke (let alone third hand smoke). I am old enough to have flown on international flights where people smoked, and there was no escape, it was unbearable. I now live in an apartment and my neighbour smokes, and it is chocking and there is the undoubted issue of 2nd hand smoke in the work place, though it doest seem to bother Governments at the high roller rooms at Casinos for example.

but the same thing with the stupidity of our drug policy, a stupidity we inherited form the US in our so called war on drugs , or as I like to call it an lucrative employment policy for criminals, because the only thing Government has ever achieved is vast sums of money flowing to criminal enterprise. Apparently lots of health officials agree with that but does David not support their stance there as well ?

Id like to see that open up and drugs dispensed from licensed apothecary, take some of the funding from police and give that to the heath system to deal with addiction as a health issue rather then a criminal issue No adverting and no marketing allowed AND that should be applied to alcohol but let people destroy themselves if they wish... all that on the back of a report yesterday that per capita we drink more then any other nation on earth, with ScoMo as PM, I guess we need to (I don't drink).

David does seem to have a bug up his butt about heath policy officials in general though.

Smoking is suicide in slow motion.
Do not smoke!

Dan

Smoking hurts the smoker. Drinking alcohol is a threat to everyone, including non-drinkers.

I've never been interested in smoking or drinking, but I'm in agreement with Littlejohn. The world is over-governed and over-directed, to the detriment of society at large. Winding back public service over-reach and the size and range of government would foster a better, more self-reliant community.