tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418301462057710132.post5133834428152595599..comments2011-02-10T18:59:06.714-05:00Comments on MethodLogical: Smoking is Still Really, Really Bad for YouAdam Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009267866977947931noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418301462057710132.post-90965729707234243442010-12-16T15:46:03.601-05:002010-12-16T15:46:03.601-05:00In general increasing tobacco taxes increases reve...In general increasing tobacco taxes increases revenue for the state, rather than decreasing it. The smaller amount of people smoking does not offset the increased funds. <br /><br />The thing that annoys me most is the WTO strong arming lesser developed countries into accepting lax cigarette laws. Countries that want really intense pack laws can get forced to decrease their requirements. WTF?<br /><br />Interestingly, heard today that more 12th graders in the US are smoking marijuana than smoking cigarettes. What do you think of this?Bradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18264956782668766881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418301462057710132.post-22417558410293161822010-12-16T08:53:38.528-05:002010-12-16T08:53:38.528-05:00Hey Kerwin- thanks for the comments.
1) The most ...Hey Kerwin- thanks for the comments.<br /><br />1) The most common cause of death in smokers is heart disease, but that increased risk can be estimated by comparing the rate in smokers to non-smokers. That gets back to my point that a lot of heart attacks and strokes are caused by smoking, but the public may not perceive it as such because we are all focused on lung cancer and don't appreciate the effect of cigarettes on cardiovascular disease. As for emphysema, another driver of mortality in smokers, you don't see much of it outside of smokers except in a few niches (e.g., miners).<br /><br />2) I agree with you on taxes, but they are a double-edged sword. Tobacco taxes can be a driver of state revenue and poor governments may be loath to oppose smoking too aggressively at the risk of losing the cash. Also, my understanding of tobacco taxes it that they don't usually encourage smokers to quit (they are addicted and will pay more for cigarettes, which is good news for governments reliant on tobacco taxes). BUT, tobacco taxes can provide a financial barrier to youths who may be considering smoking, thus averting future addictions.<br /><br />3) After reading your comment on my post, my sister emailed me: "oooh... jason took you to town..." Sigh...Adam Schwartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10009267866977947931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418301462057710132.post-62207123427320981152010-12-15T15:48:49.210-05:002010-12-15T15:48:49.210-05:00Adam, in doing research on people's overestima...Adam, in doing research on people's overestimates of HIV risks I came across the fact that the true lifetime lung cancer risk of smoking was ~3%, whereas people think the risk is 1/2 or above. I'm having trouble reconciling that with the fact that as many as half of smokers die from smoking. What do they die of? How many of the deaths are due to exacerbating the risk of other more common causes of death?<br /><br />You're right to highlight economics but I think you're missing a key component of our anti-smoking efforts: cigarette taxes, which are insanely high and which directly fund the media campaigns.<br /><br />On a lighter but simultaneously much darker note here is a video of Ardi Rizal, a chain-smoking Indonesian 2-year-old: http://www.3news.co.nz/Two-year-old-has-a-40-a-day-smoking-habit/tabid/313/articleID/157730/Default.aspxJason Kerwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11446743337803791862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418301462057710132.post-1684507673591251412010-12-15T13:31:04.383-05:002010-12-15T13:31:04.383-05:00Maybe China sees it as another form of population ...Maybe China sees it as another form of population control, supplementing its one-child policy...Elihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11532320775712506224noreply@blogger.com