Quote:
Originally Posted by Supersonic
Studies have shown that when prices of tobacco go up, the poor just get poorer, they don't smoke any less.
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Forgive me if this sounds cruel, but this isn't about saving those who are addicted. It's about creating barriers to entry for those who haven't started smoking. I've seen plenty of smokers start when they're in their teens. The teenage years are a time when people are most vulnerable to peer pressure and image marketing, two aspects that cigarette companies strongly take advantage of. The teenage years are also a time when many people do not have much disposable income.
If the prices of cigarettes rise to a ridiculous point, I'd imagine that it would cut off younger people from buying them. The sharing of cigarettes is another method through which younger people obtain cigarettes, but if cigarettes become truly pricey, will people be so willing to share?
Ideally this would mean that the people taking up smoking are informed and reasonable adults who won't be so easily taken in by marketing tactics (one can dream, at least). Ideally they'd value their earnings and would feel that cigarettes were a waste of money, and that would be enough of a deterrant for them.
As I said, the entire issue I have with it is that the product is addictive and creates unwilling consumers. This may be forgotten knowledge, but does anyone recall that Coca Cola used to use trace amounts of cocaine in the drink? It was around the early 1900's, and from what I've read the intention was not to make addicts out of consumers. Yet from a marketing standpoint, it would be brilliant. The people consuming the drink would develop a minor (or major, depending on consumption levels) addiction to the substance, link it to Coca Cola, and just keep buying more. The government eventually stepped in and required that changes be made, probably more to prevent the use of cocaine and less to protect consumer rights.
I find it rather interesting, though. Should companies be able to strong-arm consumers into buying their product by creating a reliance on them? I don't think so, and yet that's the fate for many smokers.