When satire becomes real life

[Unfun]

Originally Posted by Ihealyou [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Hurray for addictive products which don't allow people to think for themselves.

The pictures are dumb though, plus they don't even work.

The pictures have shown to increase awareness about the health effects of smoking and influence people to smoke less. See:

http://www.tobaccolabels.ca/healt/canada~5

Page 35 or so gets into the effectiveness of these images in Canada (they've been doing this since 2001). The numbers aren't astounding but I think they are significant.

Originally Posted by Doors [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

These people need to fuck off. If people want to smoke let them. I don't see pictures on beer bottles where drunk drivers splattered a fucking kid all over the pavement.

This is a great notion of freedom of choice (which I agree with) but only works in a world where people's actions only affects themselves. It neglects the dire problems of second hand smoke (specifically with kids and fetus), millions of dollars of medical care for preventable conditions (higher insurance premiums, unpaid bills going to collections), and the people who want to quit smoking but can't due to addiction.

I am a supporter of personal freedoms but this is one where the majority of users can't moderate themselves. Just like fast food and obesity, its starting to become a societal issue, not just a personal choice.