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Comment by toomuchtodo | Hacker News Reader

Do you have a better way to convince people not to smoke?

It's an addiction. There is no convincing. That's not how addiction works. What does need to happen is people need to be convinced to never start smoking. Taxing the existing addicts does nothing for this.

Completely share this point of view. I was a heavy smoker for a ten years and no level of taxation would make me quit. Back at the time I would rather smoke and stay hungry for a while if I was to choose. And quitting is very hard. I have had dozen of failed attempts to actually quit smoking for good. Having said that, I know a lot of people who smoke just to socialize and occasionally; they are not addicted and seem to have no problem with not smoking at all...

> I know a lot of people who smoke just to socialize and occasionally; they are not addicted and seem to have no problem with not smoking at all...

I'm one of these people. I enjoy smoking cigars every once and awhile, and will enjoy a cigarette or two with no danger of addiction if I happen to be drunk and at a party with smokers. With that being said, I could easily see how an occasional smoker could turn into a regular smoker over time if tobacco was readily available and they were hanging around with other smokers regularly.

I know one way: depict smokers as unlikeable beings in popular media, instead of the other way around.

So, lie to people? Depicting smokers as vermin, and censoring depictions of smokers that imply that they have any positive characteristics would definitely work over the long term. The technique has often worked really well on homosexuals, communists, and immigrants.

Cigarettes have been promoted through media for a long time. I say it wouldn't hurt if we invert the process for a little while.

You can call this lying. However, it is what advertisers have been doing for ages.

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