smoking license anyone ?

[Mabs]

really pathetic, but currently sadly unsuprising

beeb link

i particularly like this bit :

~~~~~
He said it was the inconvenience of getting a permit - as much as the cost - that would deter people from persisting with the smoking habit.

"You've got to get a form, a complex form - the government's good at complex forms; you have got to get a photograph.
~~~~~

 

[nath]

If this happens I'll eat my shoe.

 

[tris-]

fuck that. ill just buy the 20 packs for 3.50 that dodgy mike gets round the corner.

 

[Mabs]

oh dont get me wrong - i dont think they will get anywhere with it

but times were when someone even suggesting something like this would just get you laughed at

 

[nath]

I think the thing is people love to get riled up by a good old "nanny state zomgzzz!" story.

 

[Ch3tan]

Meh, just tax them more.

 

[Trem]

No, if its so awful and so unacceptable then just ban ciggies, but oh wait no the government can't do that as they make far too much money off them. On the one hand you are the scum of the earth if you smoke but on the otherhand they won't ban them.

As soon as is possible I am leaving England.

 

[nath]

As soon as is possible I am leaving England.

Where would you go?

 

[angrymoon]

Where would you go?

hibernia

 

[Raven]

Ireland? Its no different there really, best bet at them moment is Australia.

 

[Chilly]

uk aint so bad, as long as you have money.

 

[Trem]

Close, quite fancy New Zealand or Canada.

Somewhere where at least 1 area of tax isn't aimed at the working class or poor. If it isn't tobacco its fuel, if it isn't fuel its food, if it isn't food its living ect....

 

[rynnor]

Close, quite fancy New Zealand or Canada.

Well NZ has a fragile economy and few jobs - theres a good reason most of em are over here and forget about culture I hope you like sheep - oh and dont get sick or have kids because it will cost you a ton.

Canadas a lovely place for a few months in the summer and a frozen hell the rest of the time - economy isnt great either - second language is french and dont mention independance for Quebec!

Theres good reasons these countries will take almost anyone but I guess the grass is always greener...

Why not try somewhere closer to home like a european country - saves all that hassle getting visa's and residency and you'll save a lot in flights home to see family n friends.

 

[Jeros]

Cry more smokers, bring it on gov

dont you see guys

people are stupid enough to smoke

gov makes money of stupid people

more money for the rest of us yay! (NHS etc)

tho i spose there is that whole ethical issue of making money from peoples suffering to consider

 

[Mabs]

Cry more smokers, bring it on gov

dont you see guys

people are stupid enough to smoke

gov makes money of stupid people

more money for the rest of us yay! (NHS etc)

tho i spose there is that whole ethical issue of making money from peoples suffering to consider

yeah cos they spend more on NHS on smokers than they make from the tax

oh wait, no they dont, the smokers fund a lot more than they use, thats why they wont make it illegal

and if you want to ban "bad" chemicals and drugs thats fine - ill even sign the petition if you want, as long as the first place to go is the bars in the house of commons.. oh, wait, double standards anyone ?

 

[Himse]

Everything is fucking tax over here.
Its getting to the point, where you might aswell not have a good job.
A house.
A car.

I think they want you to ride your bike everywhere, earn under 20 grand a year and still live at home.

Ken Livingston is raising the congestion charge AGAIN, it doesnt relieve any congestion, ppl still use the roads no matter what, its just stupidly expensive.

Personally i don't drive yet, but i feel sorry for ppl that HAVE to drive into the city centre and stuff, also the zone is expanding.

Just pisses me off that the government think they know how to spend our money better than we do to be perfectly honest.

I'd be much happier with a 10% flat rate tax on all earnings or something, i'd feel it was worth working.

 

[nath]

Cry more smokers, bring it on gov

dont you see guys

people are stupid enough to smoke

gov makes money of stupid people

more money for the rest of us yay! (NHS etc)

tho i spose there is that whole ethical issue of making money from peoples suffering to consider

Hurray for fucking morons!*









*for the record I'm not a smoker so this opinion is in no way biased.

 

[ZiggY]

What about just dont pay it!

 

[Trem]

and if you want to ban "bad" chemicals and drugs thats fine - ill even sign the petition if you want, as long as the first place to go is the bars in the house of commons.. oh, wait, double standards anyone ?

Exactly.

Canada I have been to and loved, it was uber hot when I went but for the record I love the cold, I am miserable as sin in the summer here. Canada would be my first choice and NZ my second, not really looked into either countries though as its no use while my nan is still alive, won't go anywhere until she pops her clogs

I have to say that I don't think either country is a doddle to get in to, me and Samm both have a trade so hopefully shouldn't be too hard for us.

 

[Raven]

About five years ago my cousin moved to Australia with virtually nothing and has built up his own painting and decorating business from scratch, has his own home now, wife kids. It seems like the sort of place that if you want to put the work in will reward you for it.

 

[DaGaffer]

About five years ago my cousin moved to Australia with virtually nothing and has built up his own painting and decorating business from scratch, has his own home now, wife kids. It seems like the sort of place that if you want to put the work in will reward you for it.

Australia is just as bad, if not worse, for iniquitous laws and tax as here (who do you think first came up with the idea of making money out of speed cameras?). On the plus side, the weather's better. On the minus side, the weather is so "good", that they're running out of water and they have the highest skin cancer rates in the world (one in five white Australians get it!). NZ is better than Oz as a place to live imho, but the problem is lack of jobs; as someone else said, why do you think they're all over here? Funnily enough I was talking to a Kiwi guy at a party the other night and I asked him when he was going to go back. Answer, not until he retires; his view was that for young people (e.g anyone under 50), the UK was a far better place to live than NZ or Australia. Grass is always greener, and I remind myself of that every time I look at living abroad.

I know loads of people who live abroad (not least, my Mum), and most of them moan about their host countries (even if they wouldn't dream of returning to the UK). I think its just something we Brits do, and anyone thinking of moving should bear that in mind, the one thing that's always the same when you move abroad is you.

 

[pez]

I really don't think smoking is as lucrative as people are making out. Whether smokers cost more than they provide is debateable from both side imo.

The reason the government dosent ban smoking outright is because of the fact we live in a democracy and they have to be voted in to power, nothing to do with, zomg smokers provide 78% of the GDP from their taxes!

 

[DaGaffer]

I really don't think smoking is as lucrative as people are making out. Whether smokers cost more than they provide is debateable from both side imo.

No its not debatable. Its been pretty much proved. Smokers pay far more tax during their lifetime, and then conveniently remove themselves from the population before they are too much of a pension burden. Yes they tend to generate more health costs, but actually for a relatively short period (the care costs for a 'healthy' octogenarian in a care home for years on end are way higher than for a smoker with lung cancer for a year or two before they croak). There was a Dutch study about this very recently that was pretty conclusive.

 

[rynnor]

On the plus side, the weather's better. On the minus side, the weather is so "good", that they're running out of water and they have the highest skin cancer rates in the world (one in five white Australians get it!).

Oh and less seriously but still a bummer is the state of women over 30 in Oz - due to UV related Skin aging the white ones look like they've been dug up in egypt wrapped in bandages - I mean seriously be carefull - waking up with one in the morning before shes got the undercoat on could do you permanent psychological trauma unless your a necrophiliac!!

 

[rynnor]

Smokers pay far more tax during their lifetime, and then conveniently remove themselves from the population before they are too much of a pension burden.

Aye - once smoking has died out we'll need to find a new way of drastically shortening peoples lives or the pension system will go tits up!

Tbh I'm fairly certain that the pension will one day be scrapped as too expensive...

 

[pez]

No its not debatable. Its been pretty much proved. Smokers pay far more tax during their lifetime, and then conveniently remove themselves from the population before they are too much of a pension burden. Yes they tend to generate more health costs, but actually for a relatively short period (the care costs for a 'healthy' octogenarian in a care home for years on end are way higher than for a smoker with lung cancer for a year or two before they croak). There was a Dutch study about this very recently that was pretty conclusive.

That study, while interesting, dosen't close the debate. They found that smokers cost more money than non-smokers while they are alive. and yes they die on average 5 years earlier or whatever and save money by dying quick painful deaths of lung cancer. They themselves admitted though that their study wasn't conclusive because it took no account of extra social costs and loss of productivity so using it and saying 'case closed' is weak.

 

[Nate]

Tax them more, lower diesel prices!! YEAH!!!!

 

[Ctuchik]

Meh, just tax them more.

thats not gonna help. that would just give the smugglers a even bigger market.

 

[Chilly]

So maybe, JUST MAYBE, its not about the money? Banning smoking would lose tax revenue, yes, but it would raise quality of life on average and promote a more healthy attitude. Plugging the few billion quid shortfall the loss of the tax would create is not really a problem, its not a big part of the budget compared to income tax, vat, corp tax, fuel tax, etc.

 

[Sharma]

Meh, just tax them more.

The government will lose more money over it.

Reason for this? People find fag houses and buy a 20 pack for £3.50.

In the end the government will lose out because they're fucking morons.