Why is everybody hollering to have cigarettes/smoking banned, but yet remain neutral about alcohol?

Question

When was the last time you heard that someone lost a loved one from an accident that involved someone smoking and driving?

How many billions of dollars per year are spent on healthcare for those with alcohol-related diseases?

How many women and children suffer/die each year because somebody smoked a cigarette and blacked out and mentally/physically/sexually abused them?

Social programs exist that work to educate people about the dangers of alcohol use/abuse, but I've yet to hear people protesting to have alcohol banned from society.

Yes, smoking is a nasty habit that produces ill for those who smoke as well as those around them, but let's not be so hasty to point the finger at one single group.
I mean, come on, people......if you're going to try to stamp out the "evildoers and their evil deeds" then you need to broaden your scope.

Answer 1

Yes your right and don't think they take any of this into consideration, im a smoker myself and don't understand why they can ban smoking but not alcohol. People who smoke mainly effect their ownselves, i know we may affect other people with passive smoking, i do understand about banning it in restaurants because no-one not even smokers want their food to be stinking of smoke. I think the reason why they don't ban drinking is because of the finanacial gain. xx

Answer 2

Actually, I have heard of accidents caused by people who were smoking and driving....but that isn't really the point, I know.....I don't think everyone is staying completely neutral about alcohol. Here where I live it is illegal to drive while intoxicated of course but there are also very strict laws on public intoxication as well. If you are going to drink around here you better stay inside somewhere or you go to jail. You cannot walk down the street with a beer in your hand...you can be pretty sure that unless you go to a bar or private party you will not be exposed to people who are drinking. That is not the case with smoking. When I am sitting beside someone who is drinking I am not being affected by that alcoholic drink...it isn't getting into my system and potentially harming me like second hand smoke can do. At this time there are not regulations regarding where people may or may not smoke with a few exceptions. Now, let me make this clear, I AM a smoker...so I am not going around yelling for a smoking ban, but I can understand why people may want one. At the same time I can understand what you are saying about alcohol. It does lead to problems for some people, but I don't think it is being ignored and I don't think smokers are being singled out.

Answer 3

You are right, you have a point. I didn't know anyone was trying to ban cigarettes. I know they are banning smoking in public places so as not to give innocent people second hand smoke. I think the thing is that smoking is bad no matter what, but if someone drinks lightly and responsibly there is no harm done. There are many more deaths due to smoking than drinking. Drunk driving laws are not always effective, but the law makers do what they can. We cant ban everything, next we will want to ban knives because people get stabbed with them, then how will you slice you sandwich ?

Answer 4

Mostly because the last time that we tried to ban alcohol (it was called "Prohibition" and was the 18th Amendment ) it not only didn't work, it made things WORSE. That was what made Al Capone his millions, running illegal alcohol across the Canadian border. Eventually, people realized that alcohol was too much a part of our society and the 18th Amendment was repealed, legalizing alcohol once more.

Smoking, on the other hand, does not have the same kind of social support and integration that alcohol does. Even little old church ladies will take a sip of wine on a special occasion, but the majority of people these days not only don't smoke, they get annoyed when they have to breathe other peoples' smoke.

Answer 5

Isn't media a glorious thing? Propaganda in the media brain washes these poor souls making them think that tobacco is the number one killer, when in fact like you point out alcohol kills more then tobacco does.
Goodie too shoes out there does not realize that thinking for themselves is a glorious thing, instead choose the easy way.
Little by little our rights our being taken away. Tobacco is just one of these rights that are being taken away.
Some day these people who were part of the ban on tobacco will notice a freedom they once had will be taken away, then and only then will these ignorant people realize what they had done....
I like it when these goodie too shoes freaking out about something such as tobacco use, driving around in the biggest vehicle they can get there hands onto. Putting all that nasty smoke into the air killing many more people then one of your ciggys can kill. But this is OK in there mind lol!

Answer 6

I dig your message, but: Drinking in public is a misdemeanor. That law is already on the books, so the only place you can actually drink alcohol in public is a bar. Smoking, however, is not illegal. Not yet, anyhow. What I think is funny is that a LOT of people that drink liquor ALSO smoke a hellovalotta cigarettes. If you don't believe me, go into a bar and *try* to look across the room.

Answer 7

LMFAO YEP I AGREE WITH YOU AND I LOVE YOUR POINT OF VIEW WHEN U SAY When was the last time you heard that someone lost a loved one from an accident that involved someone smoking and driving? How many women and children suffer/die each year because somebody smoked a cigarette and blacked out and mentally/physically/sexually abused them?

Answer 8

I'm hollering about alcohol, it's bad, makes people change from "kind of cute", to "not so cute after all", and finally all the way down to downright degrading, when in excess of course. This doesn't include beautiful bartenders who get "properly" hammered, they're exempt.:-) You're right, but there will always be those who will drink that way and cause heartache and pain to others. Must be some kind of genetic disorder that makes a person predisposed to alcohol, drugs, and certain kinds of behaviour.
What's the solution? I really don't know, I just wanted to answer your question.

Answer 9

Because alcohol, when consumed in moderation, brings fun to everyone. But smoking causes more harm to third parties than to the smoker himself which is totally unfair. Let's not talk about car accidents arising from drunken drivers. Let's just say in a room someone is drinking and someone is smoking, who causes more harm? And a smoker is more of an irritant to others most of the time. And who says everyone is neutral towards alcohol? I have seen many "don't drink and drive" campaigns.

Answer 10

7

Answer 11

They tried it was called 'prohibition' and it just exasperated the problem.

The difficulty with it is that there are social drinkers who literally only have a glass of wine now and again (proven healthy) then with smoking, there is no such thing as a healthy 'now and again' cigarette.

So: Smoking gets banned and alcoholism is frowned upon. Them's the breaks.