Bhutan Makes Smoking Illegal

Bhutan -a small country in Himallaya is the first one which totally forbids smoking check this out!

Somebody had to lead the way, but who would have thought that it would be Bhutan? Last week, the tiny Himalayan kingdom became the first country to ban smoking altogether: indoors, outdoors, on mountain-tops, in the out-house, everywhere. It is now illegal to sell tobacco in any form in Bhutan: individuals caught doing so will pay a $210 fine (two or three months' wages for the average Bhutanese), and businesses will lose their licenses. But you know that what the Bhutanese government has just created is a smuggling industry.

The government knows it, too. "If any foreigner is caught selling tobacco products to Bhutanese nationals, he will be charged with smuggling," Karma Tshering of the Bhutanese customs told the British Broadcasting Corporation just after the ban went into effect. "Tobacco will be treated as contraband" like alcohol during the Prohibition era in the United States, or like "drugs" during the current wave of moral panic in the world.

I'm a chain smoker and I know this addiction is bad - but to go so far? Which country will be next??

US?
Ireland?
Great Britain?

[edit on 28-11-2004 by jazzgul]

Wow thats just wrong. I don't smoke nor do I ever plan to, but you can't ban smoking in the home. If people want to smoke in the privacy of their home where it hurts no one but themselves let them. I see no problem in letting people smoke in their homes. One helluva of a civil frights infringement if you ask me .

Originally posted by JediMaster
Wow thats just wrong. I don't smoke nor do I ever plan to, but you can't ban smoking in the home. If people want to smoke in the privacy of their home where it hurts no one but themselves let them. I see no problem in letting people smoke in their homes. One helluva of a civil frights infringement if you ask me

.

I totally agree - if you are not allowed to do whatever you wish in you private space - where is your freedom ? BTW - how are they going to check people houses? Non smoking BIG BROTHER???

If you smoke in your home, you are passing it on to your children, if any live with you. Still, treating tobacco like this is a tad bit sever.

Im sure most non smokers are really happy about smokers disappearing along with their health related issues...They think in America that smokers are sucking up healthcare resources and there wont be enough money for their heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

I propose:

--Maybe if the average american lost 30 pounds, alot of these health issues would disappear also along with their unsightly cellulite. Maybe we should ban fattening foods (not talking hydrogenated oils), and maybe those high in carbs also. Prohibiting alcohol is likely since we already screwed the bar industry with the smoking ban.--possibly virtually eliminating DWI and cut down on the domestic disputes ...Wont need as much law enforcement either. It wouldnt matter because Cursing, obscene gesters and mini skirts are certain to follow in the ban, making for the cause of most assaults, unlikely. No touching in public, no cosmetics, no synthetics, plastics or polymer, unless ofcource for medical purposes, latex, or glass (shatterproof only) and definitely no pets, anywhere, ever. No public restrooms available here in the US as of 2010, your personsonal hygene containers shall be on all persons at all times. And ofcource in the land of the free, we tolerate all religion, so please no public prayer as not to offend anyone.
And the toxic dump your school was built on will quietly remain. The Ozone will continue to sizzle. Cell phone towers will rise high into the air. Mass production and smog factories will rule the world! Better containment for our evergrowing quanities of nuclear by product. Thank goodness for that ban on cigarrettes.

NY has a smoking ban in effect..whats next

[edit on 28-11-2004 by xxKrisxx]

I don't have any children - if I would I'd probably quit smoking. Anyway - for those who smoke - I would like to hear your opinion... What would you do If your government made smoking forbidden? (my reason says: good idea to quit, my stubborn part - take another smoke )

[edit on 28-11-2004 by jazzgul]

!!!!!!You go Bhutan!!!!!!

seriously I have no problem with people chewing tobacco or snuff. But when you pollute my environment I should have a say in it.

Originally posted by Mynaeris
!!!!!!You go Bhutan!!!!!!

seriously I have no problem with people chewing tobacco or snuff. But when you pollute my environment I should have a say in it.

So you should have a say in where your government throws its garbage. You should have a say, that you know where they throw it so as not to build your house on top of it.


Encyclopedia

"...Love Canal, section of Niagara Falls, N.Y., that formerly contained a canal that was used as chemical disposal site. In the 1940s and 50s the empty canal was used by a chemical and plastics company to dump nearly 20,000 tons (c.18,000 metric tons) of toxic waste; the waste was sealed in metal drums in a manner that has since been declared illegal. The canal was then filled in and the land given to the expanding city of Niagara Falls by the chemical company. Housing and an elementary school were built on the site. By the late 1970s several hazardous chemicals had leaked through their drums and risen to the surface. Investigations confirmed the existence of toxins in the soil and determined that they were responsible for the area's unusually high rates of birth defects, miscarriages, cancer, illness, and chromosome damage. Families were evacuated from the area in 1978, and in 1980 the Love Canal area was declared a national emergency...."


www.factmonster.com...

The US does pretty much the same thing. Marijuana is illegal period. I don't see a difference between the two. But not as many people care because their parents and society have been saying marijuana is bad for you.

Originally posted by Jamuhn
The US does pretty much the same thing. Marijuana is illegal period. I don't see a difference between the two. But not as many people care because their parents and society have been saying marijuana is bad for you.

I believe marihuana is even better than tobacco - an definitely not so addictive...
Besides - after one joint you have enough for a while - with cigarettes can be different...(IMHO)

well'well'well who is he to make smoking illegal its after all one of the business

For those who were saying "You can do whatever you want in your own home, so you cannot ban tobacco completly... etc etc" why do you not have the same view of every other drug?

Cannabis is alot better for you than Tobacco, tobacco is one of the worst drugs for you, and people need to learn it, and learn it well!

The governments do not seem to get that it would solve most problems to legalise every drug, and then the government distributes it.

For those who say "it kills people... blah blah blah" it would do less killing if it was legalised and it would cut ALOT of crime and deaths in general.

Look at Switzerland if you dont belive me.

I don't smoke anymore, but I have no problem with those that do. Call it empathy. Who are you to tell someone that they can't smoke on their own property?

Chewing tobacco - now that is gross. The local pro baseball team has a manager who chews a wad as big as a wallet, and it is disgusting to see him slurping it back and forth from jaw to jaw. And the spit - my brother's in law chew, and are always carrying a cup or can to spit into. Never saw what they did with the cup.

People are always crying about smokers, but the politicians love those tax dollars that cigarettes bring in.

Remember - it's your right to fill your lungs with black tar. :w:

Originally posted by The_Squid
For those who were saying "You can do whatever you want in your own home, so you cannot ban tobacco completly... etc etc" why do you not have the same view of every other drug?

Cannabis is alot better for you than Tobacco, tobacco is one of the worst drugs for you, and people need to learn it, and learn it well!

The governments do not seem to get that it would solve most problems to legalise every drug, and then the government distributes it.

For those who say "it kills people... blah blah blah" it would do less killing if it was legalised and it would cut ALOT of crime and deaths in general.

Look at Switzerland if you dont belive me.

It would cut crime to make it legal? And why do you think it would be any less lethal? Sheesh. That's like saying that murder wouldn't be so bad if it was legalized. And why not? After all, if everything was legalized, then look how much less crime there would be! That's like saying there would be less deaths from druck driving if it was legalized. Would people still drink? Would drunkards still drive? This is a new height in bizzarre.

It would be less lethal if they were legalised and sold by the government because they would have saftey inctructions, like there are SO many deaths with Ecstacy users, not because the drug is harmful... Its because the users don't know to make sure they drink 1 pint of non-alcoholic fluids every hour to keep themselves hydrated.... If the drugs were legalised and sold by the government they would make sure the packets made this clear to the buyer.

Another example of the less lethality if legalised and sold by the government would be the drug would be PURE, and no crap cut in with it. Most deaths with drugs are caused by overdose, this mainly happens due to the purity of the drug that comes form the black market. Say if the drug user starts using coc aine at a strength of 30% coc aine and 70% crap mixed in (the strength is unknown to the user) and then goes out a buys another batch of it, but gets a different strength like 50% coc aine and 50% mixed in crap, the user is not used to this strength and overdoses, thus causing death.... If the government sold the drug this wouldn't be the case.

Also another factor of drugs that cause death is that people can mix drugs not knowing that it can kill you easily, like a popular one that happens is known as a "speedball" which is when a user mixed coc aine and heroin, this is an EXTREAMLY dangerous thing to do, most users don't know this though, as what happens is the coc aine kicks in instantly and the heart beat goes up tremendously, then about 20 minutes later the heroin kicks in; slowing the heart down and the heart doesn't know what to and just stops all together.
If drugs were legalised and sold by the government, there would be health warnings on packets to prevent this.

Now to the crime side of things; it would cut crime tremendously because if drugs were legal and sold by the governmendrugs etc etc... t it wouldn't cost �50 for a gram of coc aine for example, it would be more like �10 for 5-10 grams, therefore the drug addicts would not have to steal to pay for an addiction because a normal job can provide the money for an addiction.

Also; With the government selling drugs at cheap prices, why would people want to buy drugs from dealers and gangs? They wouldn't so druglords and their drug gangs and drug dealers would not be around anymore because there would be no buisness for them, this means that there would be no gang wars fought over turf and drugs etc etc...

Also those things that you said its like legalising (eg - murder and drunk driving) those effect other people, drugs on the other hand, if legalised and sold by the government, effect nobody else, only the user. So if a certain person wants to do drugs as a thing they want to do to enjoy life, why not let them? Its their life and that decision isn't effecting you at all!