Why aren’t health warnings on cigarettes expanded to alcohol?
Why aren’t health warnings on cigarettes expanded to alcohol?
New cigarette regulations offer a point for public health to refer to that would advance solutions in alcohol consumption.
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Alcohol is a massive tax revenue in pretty much everywhere in the world, but especially here in Canada. It's pretty obvious when you see the difference in price of a beer here compared to the states, as 90% of that difference is purely taxes. Hell, you can tell the difference between the beer/wine costs in Ontario vs in Quebec. There's a reason why people in Ottawa and Gatineau constantly cross the boarder to buy their poison of choice.
That said, there's also the fact that when the States tried to ban it, they basically created some of the richest criminals in the world in like a single year. Alcohol is so ingrained into modern society that people riot over it.
Tobacco is a comfort luxury that pretty much anybody can get off of with some effort. Alcohol is a crutch that far too many people use to avoid going to some pretty dark places.
Alcohol is a crutch that far too many people use to avoid going to some pretty dark places.
You could also argue, that alcohol leads to these pretty dark places in the first place. If your coping mechanism with problems in your life is to drink them away, well, that won't work in the long run.
It does. But for those that use alcohol as a crutch, its use makes those problems feel further away. Especially if you don't know how to deal with the problems, or just desperately need some relief before tackling the problem (even if it means that you never get to it until it explodes in your face), alcohol is an easy way to pretend that a problem doesn't exist.
Why do you think so many homeless are also alcoholics? I doubt all of them were alcoholics before becoming homeless, and even for those who were, there's a reason why they're still drinking tons of alcohol. All throughout human history, alcohol was known as man's best friend because life was tough, and it let you forget that fact for a while. Or at least make it feel less bad.
My point was, that it is an illusion, that consuming alcohol will help with most of the problems. Okay, for something like grief, where you mostly heal with time, it might not make it actively worse. But for every issue, that you need to tackle proactively, it does nothing. No, it even makes it worse, because you won't deal with your problem while you are drunk and not even on the next day, because you will most likely be hangover. Alcohol not only messes with your body, but also with your brain. Post-drinking depression is a thing. You get your respite and a curve ball of even worse emotions the days afterwards. Really helpful.
You make running away from your problems sound like a good thing. It isn't. Alcohol is an easy way out, until you slide down the slippery slope to addiction and it fucks up even more of your life. It is the same with other drugs. Oh, I feel so stressed, I need a cigarette and boom, you can't do without cigarettes anymore. Oh, I am so tired, I need caffeine to function. No, you need more sleep.
I think you misunderstand me. Running away from problems is rarely a good thing. Usually it'll only make things worse, so I completely agree with you.
But the issue is that it is human nature to go for the quick and easy way out, even if it means that you'll be in deeper shit because you did so. This isn't restricted to alcohol abuse either. I personally know a guy who got married because he accidentally got his girlfriend pregnant. He wasn't anywhere close to being ready to commit to it, but he went the easy route once, and now he's saddled with a marriage and baby he didn't want for life. And this is a common story, and people keep making this mistake even after being burned.
How many people can you think of who are obese and don't do anything about it despite knowing full well that one thing probably cut their life down by 10 years if they don't fix things, yet still eat far too much and indulge in sweets or other high calorie foods?
I'm not arguing against you on this point at all. Alcohol isn't a good drug at all, and generally don't provide any real benefits. Either you're dependent on it for numbing some sort of pain, or you consume it just so you're not ostracized by your social circle. Any time someone says that they drink because they truly enjoy it only does because one of those two things had happened in the past and now they've merely adapted to it and formed a different sort of dependancy.
Nicotine is one of the most dangerous substances on earth. I've been addicted to it off and on for decades. It's night and day to alcohol, which I've had problems with, but mostly from the caloric content if my tolerance goes too high.
I don't want to downplay the harm alcohol can cause. It's a crazy bad substance. I make no excuse for it. However, to say nicotine is something "anybody can get off of work some effort" is incredibly irresponsible. It is debilitatingly addictive. Smoking tobacco is so much more harmful and addicting than drinking alcohol that is not even in the same universe. Cocaine isn't even in the same universe, and yet we're constantly told that's one of the worst drugs.
Nicotine is so dangerous. I wish I had never tried it. It will haunt me for all my days, tingling in the back of my mind, telling me that I want a smoke. Forever. For fucking ever. Until the day I die. I choose to not let it be the way I die, but I'm always thinking about if ever since that fateful day in 1993 when I first inhaled tobacco smoke.
Don't start smoking, kids. Don't vape, either. Just stay away. The moment you give in, you give up a little bit of your freedom.
Alcohol withdrawal can kill you. That alone makes it more dangerous. Serious addiction to alcohol (physical dependence, 20+ units a day every day, no longer eating properly) is a completely different beast to moderate consumption. It is very, very hard to quit.
I acknowledge that, absolutely
Would you like me to tell you in detail how my mother died from alcohol?
I think he acknowledged that when he called alcohol "a crazy bad substance".
To me it sounds like he's downplaying the results of alcohol addiction and saying that nicotine addiction is much worse. And that's simply not the case. Abusing nicotine can lead to cancer and other illness. Abusing alcohol will inevitably lead to liver failure.
I'm not and alcohol can straight up kill people
Ok ok it's not a competition. My condolences.
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For me the tingling sensation stopped eventually, so there is hope.