On Thu, Sep 19, 2013 at 02:33:25AM +1000, Lauchlin Wilkinson wrote:
As you seem pro-smoking (correct me if I am wrong),
i'm not pro-smoking. i'm anti-wowser.
can you enlighten me to the positive benefits of smoking?
i don't think it's necessary for me to do so, any more than it's necessary for me out enlighten you as to the positive benefits of sky-diving. but since you asked, here's one benefit: nicotine is a fairly strong central nervous stimulant, it aids in concentration and focus. it's a lot less effective than than methamphetamine for these purpose, but also a lot less harmful. nicotine also aids in fixing short-term memory (which is why cramming students often smoke)
A costs/benefits analysis as part of a harm reduction strategy doesn't just look at the costs involved in an activity.
people make decisions for all sorts of reasons, most of which aren't in the least bit rational (which doesn't necessarily mean that they're bad decisions, just that humans are far more complex than the idiot economic rationalists pretend we are).
If it did driving would be banned considering the number of Australian's that die on roads.
as would most activities, including jogging and running, riding bicycles, roller-skates, mountain climbing, scuba diving, parachuting and more. pretty nearly anything you do involves some risk, and many offer no tangible reward (just a feeling of accomplishment, which you can't take to the bank or buy food with or do anything practical with). BTW, football and other sports are *huge* sources of hospitalisation injuries to children, but most people find that acceptable and nobody would ever seriously proposing banning sport for children. craig -- craig sanders <cas@taz.net.au>