"Why Tango in Paris, when you can Foxtrot in Kowloon?"
  • Walter's Blog.
  • Home
  • Introduction
  • About Walter
    • 1980 Joining Up - Grafton Street >
      • Arrival and First Impressions
      • First Week
      • Training
      • Passing Out
    • Yaumati Cowboy >
      • Getting on the Streets
      • Tempo of the City
      • Jumpers, pill poppers and the indoor BBQ
      • Into a Minefield.
    • Why Tango in Paris, when you can Foxtrot in Kowloon? >
      • Baptism By Fire
      • Kai Tak with Mrs Thatcher.
      • Home; The Boy Returns
  • 1984 - 1986
    • PTU Instructor & Getting Hitched
    • Having a go: SDU
    • Starting a Chernobyl family
    • EOD - Don't touch anything
    • Semen Stains and the rules
  • 1987 to 1992 - Should I Stay or Go?
    • Blue Lights, Sirens & Grenades
    • Drugs, Broken Kids & A Plane Crash
    • 600 Happy Meals Please!
    • Hong Kong's Best Insurance
    • Riding the Iron Horse
  • Crime in Hong Kong
    • Falling Crime Rates - Why?
    • Triads
  • History of Hong Kong Policing
    • History 1841 to 1941
    • History 1945 to 1967
    • Anatomy of the 50 cent Riot - 1966
    • The Fall of a Commissioner.
    • History 1967 to 1980
    • Three Wise Men from the West
    • The Blue Berets.
    • The African Korps and other tribes.
    • Getting About - Transport.
    • A Pub in every station
    • Bullshit Bingo & Meetings
    • Godber - The one who nearly got away.
    • Uncle Ho
  • Top 20 Films
    • 2001 - A Space Odyssey.
    • The Godfather.
    • Blade Runner
    • Kes
    • Star Wars
    • Aliens
    • Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    • The Life of Brian
    • Dr Strangelove.
    • Infernal Affairs
    • Bridge on the River Kwai.
    • This Is Spinal Tap.
    • Chung King Express
    • An Officer and a Gentleman
    • PTU
    • Contact
    • Saving Private Ryan
    • Family Guy Star Wars
    • Zulu
    • Hard Day's Night
  • The Long Read
    • How The Walls Come Down
    • War in Ukraine - the narrative and other stuff.
    • The Hidden Leader
    • The Big Game
  • Walter's Blog.
  • Home
  • Introduction
  • About Walter
    • 1980 Joining Up - Grafton Street >
      • Arrival and First Impressions
      • First Week
      • Training
      • Passing Out
    • Yaumati Cowboy >
      • Getting on the Streets
      • Tempo of the City
      • Jumpers, pill poppers and the indoor BBQ
      • Into a Minefield.
    • Why Tango in Paris, when you can Foxtrot in Kowloon? >
      • Baptism By Fire
      • Kai Tak with Mrs Thatcher.
      • Home; The Boy Returns
  • 1984 - 1986
    • PTU Instructor & Getting Hitched
    • Having a go: SDU
    • Starting a Chernobyl family
    • EOD - Don't touch anything
    • Semen Stains and the rules
  • 1987 to 1992 - Should I Stay or Go?
    • Blue Lights, Sirens & Grenades
    • Drugs, Broken Kids & A Plane Crash
    • 600 Happy Meals Please!
    • Hong Kong's Best Insurance
    • Riding the Iron Horse
  • Crime in Hong Kong
    • Falling Crime Rates - Why?
    • Triads
  • History of Hong Kong Policing
    • History 1841 to 1941
    • History 1945 to 1967
    • Anatomy of the 50 cent Riot - 1966
    • The Fall of a Commissioner.
    • History 1967 to 1980
    • Three Wise Men from the West
    • The Blue Berets.
    • The African Korps and other tribes.
    • Getting About - Transport.
    • A Pub in every station
    • Bullshit Bingo & Meetings
    • Godber - The one who nearly got away.
    • Uncle Ho
  • Top 20 Films
    • 2001 - A Space Odyssey.
    • The Godfather.
    • Blade Runner
    • Kes
    • Star Wars
    • Aliens
    • Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    • The Life of Brian
    • Dr Strangelove.
    • Infernal Affairs
    • Bridge on the River Kwai.
    • This Is Spinal Tap.
    • Chung King Express
    • An Officer and a Gentleman
    • PTU
    • Contact
    • Saving Private Ryan
    • Family Guy Star Wars
    • Zulu
    • Hard Day's Night
  • The Long Read
    • How The Walls Come Down
    • War in Ukraine - the narrative and other stuff.
    • The Hidden Leader
    • The Big Game
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

Walter's Blog

"But how can you live and have no story to tell?" Fyodor Dostoevsky
Picture
Reflections on recent events, plus the occasional fact free rant unfiltered by rational argument. 

"If you want to read a blog to get a sense of what is going on in Hong Kong these days or a blog that would tell you wh at life was like living in colonial Hong Kong, this blog, WALTER'S BLOG, fits the bill."  Hong Kong Blog Review

19/12/2021 0 Comments

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Picture
"Smoking is projected to a take toll of one billion lives by the end of the 21st century." 
Hearing that New Zealand proposes banning smoking, my emotional brain blurted out, "Good for you!”. Then my rational side engaged, "Wait a minute, this isn't going to work. All they've done is create a new revenue stream for the criminals and reduced government tax coffers".

On a positive note, smoking rates are falling worldwide. For generation Z —those born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s — 68% never smoked. Government policies and tactics played a role; gigantic health warnings, age restrictions, plain packaging, disgusting pictures of cancerous lungs, stiff taxes, public smoking bans and so on. 

Less obvious is that people are more health-conscious. This change in the culture removes the subtle group pressure that may push young people into the habit. As a result, according to data for Hong Kong, 10% of the population are regular smokers, a decline from about 23% in the early 1980s. 

Although Hong Kong's heavy taxation on cigarettes meant the triads and others, who illegally import untaxed tobacco that sells cheaper, had a business opportunity; that trade continues despite regular seizures.

The merits of reducing smoking are a non-brainer. In the US, cigarette smoking is the leading cause of cancer mortality. The National Cancer Institute director Norman Sharpless asserts," Eliminating smoking in America would cut about one-third of all cancer deaths."

Globally, tobacco use killed over 100 million people in the 20th century and is projected to a take toll of one billion lives by the end of the 21st century. 

Yet still, some people keep smoking. And while officials and campaigners talk of an 'endgame' for smoking, that's a tricky one. For the record, I probably smoked about 10 cigarettes in my teens. Fortunately it always disagreed with me, and I avoided tobacco since. Watching a close relative slowly die from lung cancer reinforced the message - stay away. 

​As far as I can tell, only Bhutan tried to ban smoking starting in 2004. Almost immediately, this led to rapid growth in the illicit sale of tobacco.


Also, something else odd happened. As the ban was imposed, only 1% of the Bhutanese were smokers. However, recent data shows that around 34% of men and about 13.6% of women aged 18-69 are tobacco users– a stark growth in numbers.

What is going on? There is a suggestion that making smoking illegal developed an aura of the 'forbidden fruit' that attracted people to tobacco. This effect proved somewhat pronounced in young people. According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, the prevalence of tobacco use in this age group is disproportionately high in Bhutan.

Bhutan has now eased the ban because it drove illicit cross-border movement into India, bringing Covid back. Although, the Bhutan government asserts this relaxation is a temporary measure. 

The proportion of people who smoke in New Zealand has fallen to 16%, while some 5,000 New Zealanders die from smoking-related causes every year. That death rate corresponds with global rates. 

The New Zealand approach involves a long run-up to the all-out ban on smoking. Incrementally they plan to reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes. Anyone born after 2008 will not be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime, under a law expected next year. Hence tobacco will be available for those born before 2008, allowing a black market to develop.

Also, nicotine may be the most addictive bit of smoking, but it is not the most harmful. The leading causes of disease are tar, toxic chemicals, and smoke inhalation. 

How you enforce the age restrictions may prove a contentious issue. There are no national identity cards, and who carries the liability for proving age? 

When the United States banned alcohol, under prohibition, Americans wanted to carry on drinking. So they did. Thus rather than legitimate, tax-paying businesses, they bought their alcohol from the mob. In the process, many law enforcement agencies fell to corruption as the mob gained influence. 

Plus, I hear the US war on drugs is still going brilliantly. The country has millions of addicts that even militarised policing can't contain. 

So, while New Zealand's approach is, on the surface, a worthy initiative, it is the unforeseen consequences that may trip up this bold move. Others argue that these proposals are illiberal, suggesting the New Zealand government is over-reaching in a intrusive manner.

Let’s see how this unfolds. 
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Walter De Havilland was one of the last of the colonial coppers. He served 35 years in the Royal Hong Kong Police and Hong Kong Police Force. He's long retired. 

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    RSS Feed

Home

Introduction

Contact Walter

Copyright © 2015