The Six Legal Evils of the World?

[cyanide]

After watching Thank You For Smoking, it appears the controllable yet legal products contributes to helluva lot of our problems in the world today. I might open a can of worms by pointing out a lot of separate issues, but what do you think? Should it be banned for its destructive impact or is a good thing for our economic growth?

1. Smoking
It's addictive, causes cancer of the lungs, wastes your money, and contributes to poor hygiene. Also kills more people than firearms and alcohol every year. It's a big industry, but screw them.
My verdict: Ban.

2. Alcohol
FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) is the biggest thing, imo. You got children born messed up, and a single drink could contribute this for pregnant women. What's worse is that a woman could be drinking and not knowing she's pregnant. It can be addictive to some people, and that problem could be a life-altering addiction. It kills brain cells. On the flip side, red wine has positives for health. It's very popular in social situations. It could lead to doing things that one would regret, but we have that responsibility. All in all, drinking could very much be worse than smoking, but if done in moderation, it wouldn't be much of a problem.
My verdict: Don't ban; increase awareness for FAS.

3. Guns
Very popular in rival gangs and in paranoia households. Contributes more to murder than self-defense. Leave it up to the cops and not to the citizens. Less innocent lives will be lost.
My verdict: Ban.

4. Fast Food
Obesity is now an epidemic and many people in the hospital are obese. Sure, they contribute to the fast food industry, but they suck our tax dollars due to the countless health problems they will develop. Of course, obesity can be entirely avoided and people can still get food on the go if they can't make it themselves, or exercise more. Or make fast food healthier.
My verdict: No ban; increase health and nutrition education.

5. Oil
Well, it's impossible to ban oil, but it causes a lot of destruction to the environment. Probably could force nations into war if they don't have enough and they need more (hint, hint)
My verdict: No ban, but it'll run out in 20 years anyway when all the coastal cities are flooded due to global warming.

6. Casinos
Oh, the irony. The dreams of making big money at a casino are typically squashed only to leave somebody homeless and divorced. Casinos contribute to poverty.
My verdict: Ban.

I'm not looking for anyone to agree with me, since there's going to be a variety of opinions, and that's what a message board is for.

[Dro]

In my opinion, the only things that should be banned are the ones that directly infringe on the rights of other people. Second hand smoke can do as much damage to people who don't smoke as to those who do. And although I'm a fan, guns cause more chaos then they do peace.

Alcohol is the choice on the drinker. DUI is dangerous, put you'll be put behind bars for that anyway. Again, fast food is the choice of the eater. Same with gambling.

[Oznogrd]

Good topic on this cy...its very odd to see how some things are illegal and some things arent, but we know this is well covered territory i've gotten on rants about here before but sure i'l go through it

1. Smoking
While i would say ban i'm from the carolinas and both states economy would be crippled without big tobacco and federal aid would have to come in and help. So perhaps not ban, but perhaps do what they're starting to do: only allowed outside or in your home. I know some places have even gone as far as only allowing it in the home.

2. Alcohol
This is an odd one. I participate with it, but i lived 18 years without it, i could live 18 years more without it if i so choose. Damn, i sound like an addict already. But anyway it causes a ton of problems but most of which come from ignorance, myths, or simple accidents. Ban? nah, we tried that before and it didnt work. But better awareness/education...sure.

3. Guns
This is one i'm torn about. While i think it should be someones right to have a gun, how can you prove their stable/responsible enough to handle it? I agree about the authority should take care of it thing, but sometimes, authority isnt right there ya know? so ban? no, better control; yes. If you have a record of any thing more than a speeding ticket, you should not be allowed a gun. And maybe perhaps psychologist screenings before gun buyings? make the gun industry run by the government could certainly help

4. Fast Food
It cannot be stopped. People are always going to do it. Health awareness could certainly help, or perhaps more healthy options at the fastfood joints. I know every once in awhile they try that and then it goes away. Its not because people dont like the healthy food, its they make terrible healthy food. For instance, why for fat free dressings do they usually only have ranch? give the choices and people will take them. I know its a business, but if your consumers all die, so will your company.

5. Oil
It is a sad state the world is in because of whoever figured out this could be used for fuel. Cant be banned till we have better technology...quick, get working on that fuel from water thing!!!

6. Casinos
While they fuck alot of people, they've saved countless native american tribes from extinction so i cant fully say fuck casinos. They do give unrealistic expectations, but if someone chooses to use their last dollar at a casino rather than on food for their kid; theres alot more going on outside the casino than in it affecting it.

[bigh0rt]

I don't think any of these things should be banned. I just think people should be more intelligent in how they use each of these, or be able to stop themselves from partaking in any or all of them if they choose.

[mvpshaq32]

Smoking definetely needs to be contained. Either ban it or put a room specifically for smoking like in the airport. Make a law of limiting second hand smoke.
I agree about leaving the guns to cops, not citizens. You always have other weapons of defense.
Fast food will always be here. It's people choices to eat fast food but some eat it because well, basically it's fast. Just have more healthy choices all around. Didn't McDonalds report they created an oil to reduce the fat in their fries?
Casinos...Where will the old people go?

[Cable]

Smoking should have been banned a long time ago. Guns too. Alcohol can stay because it's not completely bad for you. Oil should be banned too, but that impossible. Casinos should be banned, but with online gambling, it wouldn't do much to ban casinos.

Fast food should be eliminated from the world. I don't get why people want to pay less and less for food. It's like 'only $1 for this hamburger right now'; how the fuck can a burger that costs you less than a bottle of water be remotely good for anything, let alone eating?

I don't think any of these things should be banned. I just think people should be more intelligent in how they use each of these, or be able to stop themselves from partaking in any or all of them if they choose.

I would hope that everyone thinks people should be more intelligent, but that will never happen. As your sig says, people are just too stupid. I'm astonished at the amount of people in the world who don't realize how stupid they're being. That's astonished at the number, not the fact, I know people are stupid.

EDIT: For those who don't know, smoking has been illegal in any public place in Ontario for a while now. That includes restaurants, bars, casinos, and just about everywhere else.

[Anthony15]

4. Fast Food

Only for America.

[Oznogrd]

Cy made the topics, not me, i just commented on each, and i really dont think its true, i saw plenty of fast food in aussie, as much as in North america. but i think the difference is in lifestyle...from the small sample i saw Australian citizens seemed more active than most americans....and just because i like to argue, you must mean continent with only for america because cy is in canada

[Dan's Brain]

do american cigarette packets have pictures and warnings of the dangers on them?

[Oznogrd]

nah we just have surgeon generals warning. about hte dangers. They've been trying to put pics on them for years but it wouldnt curb smoking if you ask me.

[cyanide]

In my opinion, the only things that should be banned are the ones that directly infringe on the rights of other people.

That's a very good point. It's also ironic because banning smoking would also take away the person's right to smoke; however, if it harms rather than helps, then there's not much of a strong case.

quick, get working on that fuel from water thing!

Yeah, my girlfriend told me about that. I hope they can figure it out given the huge amount of sea water we have in the world. They're finding lots of uses for silica, so why not sea water?

I don't think any of these things should be banned. I just think people should be more intelligent in how they use each of these, or be able to stop themselves from partaking in any or all of them if they choose.

But that's unrealistic. There's factors like peer pressure, or having been raised in a household that participates in something, or people who are uneducated on how a substance affects a person. A good example is obesity, where they eat food because food's a basic need for life, but they don't understand what kind of foods are good or bad. Then they attempt to go on a fad diet, which never works. There's not a lot of smart people in the world, and it's not always easy for them to find access to help. Or admitting they have a problem.

For those who don't know, smoking has been illegal in any public place in Ontario for a while now. That includes restaurants, bars, casinos, and just about everywhere else.

Same here in Alberta since last year!

[Cable]

Well Canada obviously knows what to do. Too bad Americans are too stupid to follow.

[Riot]

Well Canada obviously knows what to do. Too bad Americans are too stupid to follow.

There are actually a ton of places in America that have smoking bans out as well.

[Christopherson]

My takes on the issues at hand:

1. Smoking
I don't see any good smoking can do for anyone other than those who get rich selling it. There is NO reasonable argument whatsoever for not banning smoking. My verdict: Ban.

2. Alcohol
Alcohol is fine in moderation, but the penalties for missuse should be harsher in my opinion. Drunk Driving, etc, should be a major felony, in my opinion. Alcohol also leads to many other poor decisions by people.
My verdict: Don't ban

A side note: many people don't think it is feasable to ban alcohol citing our attempt with prohibition. I would like to argue that it is feasable to almost eliminate alcohol use. This isn't 1920 anymore. Grandpa isn't going to be makin hooch in the woods behind the barn. Alcohol couldn't be smuggled across the border the way most drugs are, due to the sheer size of it. (ie: a case of beer compared to a few grams of coke)


3. Guns
I am strongly against banning guns, mainly because I live in a rural area and I enjoy hunting and shooting sports. I know several families who would starve, or at least be a drain on welfare, if not for the animals they hunt. That being said, nobody in a city has almost no business owning a gun. It should be a very strict process for purchasing a gun, and an unlicensed gun should be a big crime.
My verdict: Don't ban

4. Fast Food
If you are going to ban fast food, you gotta ban candy and soda, etc...
My verdict: No ban; increase health and nutrition education.

5. Oil
I have a bit of a radical solution to our oil problem. If the government would slap about a $3/gallon tax on gas, I think it would solve our problem. First, it would vastly increase the demand for fuel efficient cars which would spur automakers to come out with better technology. Second, we could put all of that extra money towards research for a cleaner, more efficient fuel source. We would have to make some sort of exception for commercial use, ie: long haul trucking, otherwise the increased costs of transporting goods would just be passed onto consumers and we would essentially be taxed twice. They have a similar exception for deisel where the fuel is subsadised for agricultural purposes.
My verdict: See above

6. Casinos
Somebody smart once said, "casinos are a tax on people who suck at math."
My feelings exactly. I dislike casinos and think they should be banned, but I have no problems with scratch tickets, power ball, etc.
My verdict: above

What do you all think about my propositions?

[Cable]

Well Canada obviously knows what to do. Too bad Americans are too stupid to follow.

There are actually a ton of places in America that have smoking bans out as well.

I hope you realized I was only partly serious. Canada still has a long way to go before we have smoking under control.

[Joe']

Well Canada obviously knows what to do. Too bad Americans are too stupid to follow.

There are actually a ton of places in America that have smoking bans out as well.

Too bad smoking in public places is not a nationwide law like in the European Union and Canada (and maybe other places like Norway but I don't really know.)
Riot, America isn't exactly the best place in the world, you gotta admit that; It's still ten times better than 80% of the UE but it's certainly not the best place in the world, you can't always defend it (Now I should expect a long-ass reply from you.)

Anyways, back on topic, I agree with Bigh0rt: People are stupid and sometimes ignorant, that's why cigarettes, drugs and alcohol are so popular. Usually, people start doing any of the things listed above because other people (friends mainly) that they consider "cool" (and that I myself consider "poor idiots") do it.
But if people had just a bit of personality, a piece of brain, and considered the fact that every minute one person dies because of cigarettes, drugs or alcohol, they wouldn't do it.

One thing that annoys me is when you tell people not to smoke because it bothers you and because it causes cancer and they smoke on your face and tell you that they can stop when they want. Then you see them a year after, smoking, and you say "Hey, you said you could stop when you wanted it" and they tell you "Yeah, but I don't want to."

What is the thing (cigarettes, alcohol, drugs) that annoy you guys the most?

[Gedas]

I do not think that any of these should be banned. At least completely. If talking about smoking, if the public smoking ban is acceptable, I don't see how people could be denied to their right to smoke.

[Mikki]

Very nice post cyanide.

I say I gotta agree with everything in there.

[el badman]

Too bad smoking in public places is not a nationwide law like in the European Union and Canada (and maybe other places like Norway but I don't really know.)

Europen Union?? I dunno about other countries, but I can tell you that everybody smokes their ass off in France, doesn't matter if it's in public places. That's the first thing u notice when I arrive at the airport in Paris and everyone who's barely outta the plane already has a cigarette ready to be lit....That's how I know I'm home...

Regarding the initial subject, I definitely don't think that any of these should be banned, except guns. There's just no justification for them, period.
As far as the others, a lot of countries have laws and regulations that are less strict than in the US, and they still have less problems with the consequences of these "legal evils" (mainly alcohol, drugs and smoking). Some things are just anchored in a country's national culture, and it'd take a long time to get rid of them, but like it's already been said, everything's about educating people properly.

When I first arrived in the US, I was astonished how everything was meant to literally demonize drugs and alcohol for example, more than anywhere else I've been. It's too extreme here, there's no actual educational process when it comes to dealing with these issues, it's just Mr Mackey-style (from South Park): "hmm, drugs are bad, mkay?"

[Silas]

I think the smoking problems in America are WAY better than the smoking problems in Europe. Especially in the pacific northwest, where few people smoke. In the state of Washington, it's illegal to smoke in indoor public places, like restaurants and stuff. Every restaurant you go to in Europe is chock full of smoke.

[Riot]

3. Guns
I am strongly against banning guns, mainly because I live in a rural area and I enjoy hunting and shooting sports. I know several families who would starve, or at least be a drain on welfare, if not for the animals they hunt. That being said, nobody in a city has almost no business owning a gun. It should be a very strict process for purchasing a gun, and an unlicensed gun should be a big crime.
My verdict: Don't ban

So what you are saying is people who live in rural areas should have more rights than people who live in the city? Who says those who live in the city don't like hunting, too? What is considered the city? If you live in the suburbs is that considered the city? What you are telling me is you should have the right to own a gun but other people can't just because of where you live in America. That isn't right.

Riot, America isn't exactly the best place in the world, you gotta admit that

Well...no I don't admit that. I think America is the best place in the world. Do I think it's flawless? Far from it...but I still think it's the best place in the world.

As for the actual topic at hand. Many of you want to ban things because it is bad for your health and, in my mind, isn't right. People should have the freedom to eat fast food or to own a firearm. I hate people who smoke but if they want to smoke let them. Just make sure it is in a restricted area where those who are innocent aren't harmed by the dangerous smoke.

You can't ban casinos because most of them are on Indian Reservations and those are soverign ground. We let them be able to build and operate a casino on their land to give back to them. Plus, it is a choice people make and that is the reality of this country. Some people are going to get hurt by gambling. Some people are going to get hurt by fast food. Some people are going to get hurt walking down a flight of stairs. Shit happens. You can try to encourage better eating habits or free time usage but banning it completely? That would not be right.

[Joe']

Man, I can assure you that since February 2005 smoking in a public or private indoor place that is open to anyone is illegal (Not really illegal. I mean, you have to pay a fine that goes from 250 to 2500€, if I'm not wrong, if you smoke in an indoor place that does not have a smokers section.) At least here in Italy. I know it's like that in Switzerland too.
I thought the rest of Europe applied that law too. Guess I was wrong.

[Indy]

Ban smoking? As a smoker, that would make me pretty angry, considering I would be left with an illegal addiction. Imagine the amount of people that would all of a sudden have a habit that was illegal. People would have to get their cigarettes on the black market which would be insane. I can't see how any reasonable person could be for banning cigarettes. If someone decides that they want to start smoking despite all the information out there about how bad it is for you, then let them smoke.

All this talk about cigarettes makes me need one.

[bigh0rt]

I've been considering starting smoking again. Been years since I've even thought about wanting one, but I've been fighting the urge every day for weeks now.

[LakersRule24]

Going to make a quick list
1. Smoking
2. Alchohol
3. Bad Drugs
4. Guns
5. Unhealthy Food
6. Technology