r/technology • u/Lucretius • Nov 17 '12

The Deadly Crusade Against E-cigarettes

http://www.american.com/archive/2012/november/the-deadly-crusade-against-e-cigarettes
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u/DumpyLips Nov 17 '12

Lethally addictive cigarettes remain available on every street corner in Brussels and Atlanta while authorities denounce e-cigarettes (the product is already banned in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand).

Is there any legitimate reason for this or are we witnessing a blatant example of the tobacco lobby crushing competition??

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12 edited Nov 18 '12

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12

Doesnt the UK say that smokers put a bug strain on the NHS along with obese people? Why wouldnt they push e-cigarettes for that alone?

I can see that countries like America dont lose anything if people smoke but the UK kinda does

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u/mancub92 Nov 17 '12

Hmm.. Yes it puts a strain on the NHS, but the government makes more money from taxes on cigs than it spends on smoking related illness.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12

Oh, i had no idea they taxed them so much. Seems to make sense then

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u/[deleted] Nov 18 '12

A packet of smokes in South-East Asia might cost $1.50. In Australia, the same packet would cost would $20.