Here is a "Cliffs Notes" style list on how to make cigarettes and other smokeable tobacco products less addictive and appealing WITHOUT banning it outright, raising the age limit any higher than 18, or even reducing nicotine below natural levels:
- First and foremost, BAN ADDITIVES! No non-tobacco ingredients should be added, period.
- Adding extra nicotine deliberately should also be banned as well.
- Require the smoke pH to be 8 or higher to discourage deep inhalation of smoke, as it naturally was prior to the 20th century.
- Phase out the pH-lowering and environmentally unsustainable practice of flue-curing tobacco.
- Phase out cigarette "filters", which don't really filter, and merely provide a false sense of security to smokers, and inherently creates a major toxic waste littering problem to boot.
If they still want to reduce maximum nicotine levels to a non-addictive level in ready-made commercial cigarettes and little cigars, go right ahead. But it would be best to do the other things on the list first.
Also, banning the use of radioactive (!) phosphate fertilizers to grow tobacco is really a textbook no-brainer in terms of tobacco harm reduction.
Additionally, requiring all tobacco products to be sold only in dedicated tobacco stores, or other places where you have to be 18 or older to enter, would really not be a bad idea either. It would certainly make it less ubiquitous, convenient, and tempting without the constant reminder in grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, pharmacies, etc.
So what are we waiting for?
These are all good ideas. I also believe that tobacco will eventually be phased out by companies since less people smoke today compared to previous decades. CVS no longer sells tobacco products and other stores might want to take an idea from CVS. I think that increasing taxes on tobacco products is the best answer in reducing smoking or vaping. Making tobacco products more expensive makes it less likely that people who smoke or vape will continue to do so. Magazine publishers should also ban tobacco advertising as well.
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