Philip Morris moves to block new tobacco law in Thailand

[hawker9000]

Tobacco smoking should be banned forever. It should only be used as a pesticide.

Don't forget to ban alcoholic beverages, sugary soft drinks, salted snacks, loud cell phone talkers, soap box advocates, etc.

Who decides what to ban and where? Not me for sure. I'm not in charge.

When people start smoking ...

... "alcoholic beverages, sugary soft drinks, salted snacks"

... and/or forcing them down my throat, THEN maybe there might be some impossibly obscure point in talking about banning them. So no reason to stray from the discussion about smoking (except to lamely try and fend off what can't be defended...). Now loud cell phone talkers ... hmmmm. But still totally irrelevant to the current discussion.

The criteria for banning should have something to I think with the burden imposed on others by whatever we're talking about banning. Courteous smokers who are considerate of the non-smokers in their midst (and I know there are some) can thank their rude and arrogant brethren for the willingness among non-smokers to see the boom lowered, with maybe a little gratitude left over for Big Tobacco aggravating the situation further by doing what PM is doing here.

[Praematura]

E-cigarettes may not be better than traditional cigarettes because the high concentrations of formaldehyde.

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/28665/20150126/e-cigarettes-not-safer-than-ordinary-cigarettes-contains-high-concentration-of-formaldehyde.htm

[Fullstop]

180 BILLION Dollars a year addictive drug industry! A drug that doesn't even get you high. It just makes no logical sense that they are allowed to do business at all. Why can't I sell crack? It's just as addictive and deadly.

Votes. That's what it's all about. Gutless governments afraid of losing votes if they criminalised the sale of tobacco.

*sigh*

PS... I'm a smoker.

[The manic]

At last a story on TV about real drug dealers who ruin people's lives. All PM sales reps should be arrested and jailed. Yet they have the nerve to try to influence government policy. On so many levels from past slavery, land ruination and attacks on the health of whole countries the tobacco companies are unethical, cancerous vermin.

[Yunla]

Advertising should be 100% banned, cigs on sale should be kept out of view, smoking around others in enclosed public spaces should be banned. This is all happening already to a large extent.

That covers the "don't encourage kids / new smokers" side of it, and the passive smoking too.

But beyond that, if you want to smoke where it won't affect other people, then you should be left to enjoy your smoking in peace. You enjoy it, you know the risks, and you're not affecting others with it.

Obesity-related illness kills and cripples millions too, but that doesn't stop them putting sugar in everything. Also there was a report many years ago about lung cancer in smokers and lung cancer in staff who pump diesel fuel at stations, and the rates of lung cancer in people who were breathing diesel fumes daily was actually higher than among smokers. Smoking is very bad for you, but it is set against a backdrop of lots of other bad for you things, which you don't even enjoy or have much control over.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Yunla

[The manic]

180 BILLION Dollars a year addictive drug industry! A drug that doesn't even get you high. It just makes no logical sense that they are allowed to do business at all. Why can't I sell crack? It's just as addictive and deadly.

Votes. That's what it's all about. Gutless governments afraid of losing votes if they criminalised the sale of tobacco.

*sigh*

PS... I'm a smoker.

You are so right! It's a crap drug that does nothing except get you addicted to it. All other recreational drugs have a point-even the bad boys but tobacco is a con trick drug sanctioned by governments, due to not public interest, but to private lobbying companies on behalf shameless unethical crooks.

monopolies.

[Fullstop]

But beyond that, if you want to smoke where it won't affect other people, then you should be left to enjoy your smoking in peace. You enjoy it, you know the risks, and you're not affecting others with it.

I agree ... but I'm guessing you won't apply that to crack, speed and pot etc.

What a twisted and hypocritical world we live in. Again ... allowing people to use "drugs" in their own home is a voting deal breaker. That's what it's all about. Not the nations health.

[StefanBBK]

I don't really know what the new law is all about, but....

Every company or even person should be allowed to voice their concerns/opinion. That does not mean the government should change their minds.

I completely agree with regulating smoking. I also think that advertising sugary soft drinks should be banned and only healthy food sold in schools. Where to start and where to stop....

[halloween]

180 BILLION Dollars a year addictive drug industry! A drug that doesn't even get you high. It just makes no logical sense that they are allowed to do business at all. Why can't I sell crack? It's just as addictive and deadly.

Votes. That's what it's all about. Gutless governments afraid of losing votes if they criminalised the sale of tobacco.

*sigh*

PS... I'm a smoker.

Sir Humphrey Appleby: [discussing how to stop the PM's anti-smoking legislation] I think the crucial argument is that we are living in a free country and we *must* be free to make our own decisions. After all, government shouldn't be a nursemaid, we don't want the nanny state.

Sir Frank Gordon: Oh, that's very good.

Sir Ian Whitworth: Excellent.

Sir Humphrey Appleby: The only problem is that that is also the argument for legalising the sale of marijuana, heroin, cocaine, arsenic and gelignite.

[chainarong]

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If this was correct Phillip Morris should be banned from operating in Thailand ,however I gather Phillip Morris has forwarded a letter discouraging the new changes hardly a move to block anything, , Phillip Morris has no power to block any legislation in any country, let alone Thailand on Tobacco law change, I doubt that this is a true accurate account of Phillip Morris intentions and would take it with a grain of salt coming from the anti tobacco lobby, I am a non smoke but sensational reporting gives me the shits. width=32 alt=coffee1.gif> .

I wish u were right but unfortunately this isn't sensationalism. These tobacco companies have more power than most think. John Oliver does a good job explaining this exact situation happening in other countries... it's worth a watch and bloody funny too!

Not in OZ they don't , they are well n truly on the outer.

[Yunla]

But beyond that, if you want to smoke where it won't affect other people, then you should be left to enjoy your smoking in peace. You enjoy it, you know the risks, and you're not affecting others with it.

I agree ... but I'm guessing you won't apply that to crack, speed and pot etc.

What a twisted and hypocritical world we live in. Again ... allowing people to use "drugs" in their own home is a voting deal breaker. That's what it's all about. Not the nations health.

I think I can probably answer that with staying on-topic (just about) since the thread is about laws on a drug.

The fact is that legalising all drugs would save lives, for the simple reason that drugs would be produced in legal labs and dispensed through proper establishments. So people wouldn't be snorting drain-cleaner anymore. That said, there are a lot of good reasons to not use powerful stimulants and hallucinogens, they can disrupt your equilibrium in a variety of ways, take the edge off your game and change you from the person you were.

I don't want to try any of that stuff, I'm not interested in taking any kind of 'recreational' drugs. I have been on medicines since I was a baby, for epilepsy, ms, palsy. I've had all the different brands of pills given to me over the years, they are no fun at all, and I'll be popping them to the end lol.

My interest in tobacco is that I know it has prevented suicide in several people who I know, they have severe trauma PTSD etc. and they find that smoking cigarettes calms them down and gives them a "prop" to use when they feel awkward. So yes, smoking cigarettes will possibly kill you in the long-term, but what about the short term if you are a very unhappy person? Cigarettes might extend your life in those circumstances.

They are like crash-barriers, nobody wants to crash into them, but if you do, you're glad they're there.

[maidee]

money speaks and if the big multinational cancer promotor has contacts within the governement, they can dictate what they want

[FarangKino]

What becomes abundantly clear, from both the OP and a great many of the subsequent posts, is the sheer hypocrisy on the legality of the drug nicotine! People have been, and continue to be, executed for having a spliff, but governments and big business makes billions every year from the sale of tobacco.

AND still most of you lot just don't get it.

Forget Ebola, the World needs a Sheeple vaccine!