Locobot

Yeah that's fine as long as you keep your secondhand smoke out of my air and refuse to seek medical attention and organ transplant as a result of ruining your body. Maybe cigarettes should require upon purchase the signing of a medical waiver refusing you the right to seek medical care from resulting injury...problem solved!

Pan- you must not realize that virtually every product you buy is already regulated, often by several different government organizations, includes some type of warning, and in most states taxed upon purchase. You seem to be arguing for a 3rd-world-style non-government that has virtually no power to limit what can be bought and no concern for the health of its citizens. I personally recommend a move to Honduras, cigarettes are about $1 a pack, no warning labels, great climate, you'll love it!

Your history of tobacco regulation has multiple glaring omissions including most egregiously a campaign on the part of cigarette companies to hide health risks associated with their products. 40-50 years ago the line from Big Tobacco was that cigarettes were safe as milk despite warnings from doctors going back at least 100 years. Cigarettes were given with meals to hospital patients for chrissake! I've already made these points above, but apparently you chose to ignore them so here they are again.

Here's a handy stat.: percent of people who had smoked at least one cigarette in the past week in 1954-45% then in 1996-27%. This is certainly due in part to government regulation. Taking tobacco ads off of TV for instance had a huge effect on the pervasiveness of cigarettes in our culture.

(aside Pan-I reject your appraisal that I can be singled out in this thread for making "personal attacks." Kutulu addressed me personally so I treated him likewise. Or did you miss the part where he labelled me as an apologist for genocide?)