• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

New York Plans to Ban Sale of Big Sizes of Sugary Drinks

Blue_State said:
Out of sheer curiosity, what soda are you drinking 3 liters of? Is it jolt or mountain dew? If so, you must be a computer programmer.
Click to expand...

Dr Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper (I don't want too much sugar, so I mix it up a bit). I take care of my father who has a brain injury during the day and I'm getting my masters degree at night. In between I chase my one year old son around pretty much nonstop. Basically the days are long and boring and I get jack **** for sleep at night.
 
Goshin said:
Smoking went down.... to a point. There are still LOTS of people who smoke. Many have gone to roll-your-own, or cigars or pipes which are not as heavily taxed yet. Those who were going to quit over price mostly already have. Those who remain aren't likely to quit, but simply engage in tax-avoidance behaviors like rolling your own cigs at 1/3rd the price. Tax that and they'll find another way around it.
Click to expand...

Reality contradicts your claims. Smoking tobacco has gone down drastically. When I was a kid, nearly every adult smoked, and plenty of kids too. Now, most do not.


I've noticed a lot more young people smoking in recent years than was the case about a decade ago... wonder if it has anything to do with the societal demonization of tobacco, leading it to be one of those "alluring taboo" items. :shrug:
Click to expand...

What you've noticed is contrary to what is known - the % of teens who smoke is lower than the % of adults who smoke. Goshin, I know you're a smart guy, so I know that you know that this whole "I noticed" ploy your wrote isn't worth the paper it's written on



Bottom line... it isn't government's business to make healthy decisions FOR me. If it were, they'd send me a menu every week and tell me that was what I had to eat. You want that?
Click to expand...

Bottom line is that it is the govts job, and they're doing an excellent job when it comes to reducing the # of people who smoke tobacco
 
sangha said:
Reality contradicts your claims. Smoking tobacco has gone down drastically. When I was a kid, nearly every adult smoked, and plenty of kids too. Now, most do not.
Click to expand...

Is that due to the price of cigarettes or increased awareness and social hatred of smoking?
 
Phoenix said:
Which is It? Well Established or Not clear?

4 posts apart. sheez dude lay off the sauce.
Click to expand...

Medical science isn't clear about the costs and risks of different levels of obesity. They are clear that obesity related diseases cost of billions
 
Dittohead not! said:
Raping people takes away the freedom of the victim. Big, big difference. Government is there to ensure the liberty of all of us, not just the strongest.
Click to expand...

No, govt is not there to ensure the liberty of all. It is not there to ensure the liberty of rapists.
 
rocket88 said:
So are Obama and Romney. Personally I'd vote for Bloomberg before I voted for either of those two. Alas, I don't have that choice...
Click to expand...


No ****ing way.... bloomberg is worse than both of them. FAR worse.


Illegal gun stings
Spying across state lines on muslims
sugar bans
fat bans
smoking bans
car bans
food donation bans
happy hour bans
Duracoat Paint bans (yes gun paint)


Should I keep going? The guy is a power hungry tyrant, who needs to be hit by a bus....
 
Tucker Case said:
Is that due to the price of cigarettes or increased awareness and social hatred of smoking?
Click to expand...

A combination of factors, but IMO, the increased awareness and social stigma are in large part due to govt efforts to reduce smoking
 
Tucker Case said:
I don't think it has anything to do with the taxes, though.
Click to expand...

Yes and no. I don't think having to pay the tax convinced many nicotine addicts to stop smoking. Nor did it stop foolish teens from starting to smoke in order to be cool. However, the money was used by the govt to fund anti-smoking campaigns which did have an effect, so in a roundabout way, the taxes were a big factor
 
sangha said:
Yes and no. I don't think having to pay the tax convinced many nicotine addicts to stop smoking. Nor did it stop foolish teens from starting to smoke in order to be cool. However, the money was used by the govt to fund anti-smoking campaigns which did have an effect, so in a roundabout way, the taxes were a big factor
Click to expand...

Most of the taxes imposed are local taxes, very little of which goes toward anti-smoking campaigns.

I think the biggest factor was the major crackdown on sales to underage smokers.
 
Just another reason why New York is worst the Major City in the USA.
 
Tucker Case said:
Most of the taxes imposed are local taxes, very little of which goes toward anti-smoking campaigns.

I think the biggest factor was the major crackdown on sales to underage smokers.
Click to expand...

Well, we could probably quibble about this for ages, and never come to a firm conclusion because it can't be scientifically proven either way. We'll just have to agree to disagree
 
cpgrad08 said:
Just another reason why New York is worst the Major City in the USA.
Click to expand...

Yes, our higher incomes, standard of living, the best educational and cultural institutions in the world, and low crime rates are just horrible to endure
 
sangha said:
Well, we could probably quibble about this for ages, and never come to a firm conclusion because it can't be scientifically proven either way. We'll just have to agree to disagree
Click to expand...

Actually, we might be able to find some correlations to tax rates and rates of smoking across multiple regions with different tax rates. I'm feeling too lazy right now to look for these studies, though.
 
sangha said:
Well, we could probably quibble about this for ages, and never come to a firm conclusion because it can't be scientifically proven either way. We'll just have to agree to disagree
Click to expand...

Tucker Case said:
Actually, we might be able to find some correlations to tax rates and rates of smoking across multiple regions with different tax rates. I'm feeling too lazy right now to look for these studies, though.
Click to expand...

I just did a cursory search on this and it seems that the states with teh highest taxes do tend to have the lowest rates of smoking and those with the lowest taxes tend to have the highest rates of smoking. So I stand corrected on that.
 
Tucker Case said:
Actually, we might be able to find some correlations to tax rates and rates of smoking across multiple regions with different tax rates. I'm feeling too lazy right now to look for these studies, though.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, but correlation <> causation
 
Tucker Case said:
True, but it does imply a relationship, meaning that further investigation would be required.
Click to expand...

Agreed. It's evidence, but not proof.

As I said, neither of us could prove our positions are true. It's obviously a "matter of opinion", and not a "matter of fact".
 
sangha said:
Agreed. It's evidence, but not proof.

As I said, neither of us could prove our positions are true. It's obviously a "matter of opinion", and not a "matter of fact".
Click to expand...

True. But evidence can cause one of us to change their opinion, if in fact that opinion was made in ignorance of the evidence, as mine was.
 
Tucker Case said:
True. But evidence can cause one of us to change their opinion, if in fact that opinion was made in ignorance of the evidence, as mine was.
Click to expand...

Yes. I guess that sometimes, it's more useful to concentrate on areas of agreement than areas of disagreement. In this case, I think where we agree (ie that govt has had an effect on reducing the # of smokers) is the important point (though evidence might persuade me to change my opinion :lol:)
 
I think Bloomberg was just preparing for the big pot legalization in NYC. He doesn't want the potheads with cottonmouth getting too fat!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom