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Monday 16 August 2010

Cigarettes are 'not normal' - but drugs are fine

Australia would appear, at first glance, to have completely lost the plot.

All shops and tobacconists in the ACT are required by law to remove tobacco products, such as cigarettes, from public display by the end of the year.

Every Australian state either has similar laws already in force, or laws that will be phased in by 2013, on the basis that research shows point-of-sale displays promote and normalise smoking.

In 2008, ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher told the Assembly, "The territory will be the first to send the message that it is not normal."
Yep. A legal product is now deemed 'not normal'.

Illegal products, however, ...

But while tobacco is banned from display, equipment used to consume illegal drugs such as cannabis, methamphetamine and cocaine can be displayed at shopping centres throughout the ACT.

Attorney-General Simon Corbell said there are no plans to ban the display of drug paraphernalia in the ACT.
... are as normal as barbecues and sunscreen in the land where they take to the waves on an ironing board.

"The Government is not currently considering a ban on the display of such drug smoking paraphernalia," a spokesman for the minister said.
Well, of course not. They haven't developed pharma-manufactured drug cessation therapy to sell to the Australian government yet.

Besides, pharma may have an eye on manufacturing the drugs themselves if the growing movement for legalisation bears fruit.

Just saying, is all.

9 comments:

Baz said...

Taking the definition of normal as "The psychological characteristics attributed to the majority of people in a population at a given time." and also "In behavior, normal refers to a lack of significant deviation from the average."

81% of Austrailians don't smoke.

I'd say that was a pretty accurate description. The problem is that you percieve the inverse of that statement in a negative. When no positive is applied to the statement in it's original form. You assume that it's bad to be abnormal instead of being good. Most cult followings for music/tv/arts/religion/science are not followed by the norm.. are they bad? Are all ethnic minorities bad, because they are not the norm? Are all vegans/vegetarians bad because they are not the norm? by those definitions someone who doesn't watch EastEnders is abnormal.

Maybe it's time to stop being so paranoid and start being positive about it..

Baz said...

be proud.. smokers are not normal.. embrace it..

Unknown said...

smokers are not normal.. embrace it..

Baz, do feel free to fuck off. You talk as if Vegans are 'normal'. Yeah, you wish.

Baz said...

I clearly said Vegans were not normal TBY. Didn't you read my last post?

Eating cows and other defenseless animals and spreading insect secretion on ones toast in the morning is normal. I'm quite happy to be abnormal and not do those things.

B Manning said...

Hell, if we all became effing vegans evolution would go into reverse. It'd be Planet of the effing Bazzas.

Baz said...

Doubt we'd all be Vegan B Manning. Some people like the taste of meat too much. Mind you, meat eaters should be ok. I read in the Daily Mail (so it must be true) that scientists could grow meat in a vat by 2050. so there will be no need to raise animals on land at all. "...Mmm that is a tasty vat burger!"

Anonymous said...

@Baz: Maybe it's time to stop being so paranoid and start being positive about it..be proud.. smokers are not normal.. embrace it..

From the same bloke who constantly whines: Why does your CHOICE to pollute air that we BOTH breathe in a contained space override my CHOICE to breathe in air that is clean!?

Are you saying we should be proud of inflicting our pollution on non-smokers?

B manning said...

vegan is an old Indian word for lousy hunter

Baz said...

Everyone is allowed to smoke, anon, I'm not stopping you, it's a legal drug, remember

My vegan beliefs don't affect anyone else :)

B Manning, it's true, I couldn't kill a cow with my bare hands.

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