When satire becomes real life

[Shaun421]

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

What's stupid is the fact that it required government resources to come up with this law.

That is what bothers me as well. Yeah, the pictures are likely not going to have any impact on an individual's decision to smoke/not smoke, so it's easy to say "who cares". What's troubling is that tax payer dollars are being used on a likely ineffective program.

I am in no way claiming to know where and how the budget is allocated, but I can't imagine that the entire cost of this proposal was captured via the "sin tax" on tobacco products. There were probably legislators investing 100s of man hours into this decision on the public dime. Money that didn't need to be spent, and will likely have little to no benefit.

It also sets a precident for more campaigns like this. Bicycles can be dangerous, should there be a picture of a kid with his head cracked open on every bike? Or how about cars, do we need pictures of bodies sticking through windshields to inform the public of things that could happen? Pictures of 500lb people on the front of a happy meal?

Sure, cigarettes contain addictive substances and affect the body in different ways than a car or cheeseburger, but they all have the potential to cause harm. I do not believe that the government should be spending money on campaigns of this nature. I am all for information for the sake of public safety, but showing extreme examples to make a case is an unnecessary waste of funds.