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The total effect on health seems rather debatable, and even if so there are better solutions (e.g. minimum ventilation requirements) for that.

Total bans on products people use and can enjoy responsibility due to potential health risks is nearly always a bad idea in my opinion. Just look at smoking in the US, for example, which recently hit an all time low. We could have gone the prohibition route (and we can guess how that would turn out), but instead we clamped down on advertising, increased taxes, and helped usher in a societal change where smoking is largely seen as unacceptable behavior by huge swaths of people now.




This is not a total ban though?

They aren't going to force the gas to be removed from current kitchens and heaters any time soon.

There is a prohibition on smoking, kids aren't allowed to buy cigarettes


Theres a comment upthread championing this law because eventually government will ban all the miscreants who use gas powered appliances and heating from using them and using something much more hip and palatable to a subset of voters who can afford expensive house upgrades and electric cars at the snap of a finger.


A top end GE induction range top is $1700. A lower end one is $400.

These are both rounding errors vs. a year of energy bills. If you want something even cheaper (for instance, because you hate your tenants, and they are paying the power bill), resistive ones are still available.


Are you going to be paying for the electrical upgrades to homes that people on fixed incomes will need to get their 100+ year old homes up to code to be able to use one of these induction tops or should they just not live in a house to make you feel good?


Cool, let me tell my grandparents who are on a fixed income that they need to replace their heating and stovetop because they're dirty polluters and it's totally only going to cost a month or two of their after necessities money to do just their stove top!


Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States.

• 40% of cancer deaths are related to smoking • 80% of lung cancer deaths are related to smoking • 33% of heart disease deaths are related to smoking

There's over half a million deaths a year from smoking and 10% are second hand smoking related.

I’m not quite sure we can call this a win yet.


of course we can. big tobacco can't get away with lying about risks any more so new smokers know what they're getting into

the plain packaging stuff is moving past people taking informed risks (even if i think they're stupid ones) and towards overt control of behavior for technocratic reasons. which explains why there's way more uptake for it in europe and australia than here


As far as I know, the lower levels of smoking have not made the US health outcomes any better than places where smoking is at ridiculously high levels, like France.


The health outcomes for illnesses related to smoking are for sure better in the US.


The last I checked there was no significant difference.

It was a long time ago though.


cause we turned into a nation of lardasses lol. like half the country is obese and normal people seem to think that being just kinda fat is normal now

also, opioid epidemic is not helping things. this is really reaching and not sourced but i wonder if less smoking means more people reach for pills?


because the usa never stopped smoking.

numbers are higher now. but nobody was counting e-cig before. some were even getting money to buy them as they were spined as a quiting smoke path.




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