PUBLIC OPINION > Most People Think That Cigarettes Are Worse For You Than Pot
SodaHead Living
2012/06/12 18:00:00
Teenagers are faced with a lot of temptations, both in and out of school, and for many, it's hard to keep those danger levels straight. That can be troubling for parents. For instance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that fewer teens are smoking cigarettes, but more teens are smoking pot. Is that better or worse that the status quo? We asked the public for some input.
Fortunately for parents, it looks like the trend toward pot is a positive sign. Not much is known about the long-term physical effects of marijuana, so it's very difficult to cite plausible information on its dangers, but the fact that it's so difficult to connect to major concerns like lung cancer and brain development gives it a good leg up. Tobacco is a confirmed killer; pot is a confirmed couch-magnet.
Teens Against Tobacco
Anyone who's been affected by tobacco, either directly or through the loss of a loved one, should be thrilled to see that teens are well aware of the dangers of cigarettes. Of course, this isn't the same as asking if tobacco is dangerous, but if teens are thinking critically enough to place it above pot on the danger scale, it's still a great sign.
Conservatives Consult the Law
Health isn't the only issue at hand here. There are also legal issues to consider. While it is illegal for teens to buy tobacco products, getting caught with weed will get you in way more trouble, regardless of age. Conservatives were one of the few demographics to say weed is a greater danger, and many respondents cited the substance's legality as a reason.
Women Warn Against Cigs
We really weren't sure what to expect when it came to gender, but sure enough, a correlation did emerge. Men were actually much more likely than women to cite pot as a dangerous substance for teens. Typically, gender-related smoking statistics aren't that pronounced, and the smoking demographic showed no difference anyway. Maybe it's just the smell.
If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our poll about cigarettes and pot. We'd love to hear from you!
Top Opinion
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Skeptikat 2012/06/12 20:33:21
I understand the point you are alluding to but Heroin is amongst the nastiest of drugs and up there in the top 10 percent of the most addicting and disabilitating recreational drugs out there.
High grade heroin can addict a person after 3 to 5 times while tobacco addiction can take months or years of full time smoking to become truely addicted.
Also the withdrawl symptoms from tobacco addiction would be considered hardly worth mentioning as COMPARED to Heroin addiction withdrawl symptoms.
If you have ever been around Heroin addicts verses tobacco addicts you would witness just how bad heroin can be and the awfull effects the drug has on people as compared to Tobacco where people can smoke all day and still function normally.
Take away peoples tobacco and they get all upset and edgy ...but take away a persons heroin and the person will have a really detrimental reaction when no Heroin is available after 12 to 24 hours.
The one thing that I find most disturbing is the lack of "prevention" that is practised by most people and the attitude and the apathy towards drug use by all too many citizens.
Basically the whole attitude has developed to the point where the known problem and the known problem makers are to be dealt with (AFTER ) the problem has been perpetrated by the drug suppliers and the drug users.
In North America ( U.S.A. and Canada mainly ) the peoples rights to consume all and any of the known detrimental non essential, recreational intoxicants supersedes
everything else.
The end result is millions of people practising their freedoms and practising their rights to consume what ever substances they want all the while risking their health and well being and all too often becoming a liability to themselves and a liability towards all too many other people.
The future of recreational drug use practised by tens of millions of citizens on a habitual basis is not the path to be embarking upon yet the drug consumers are digging in their heels and stubbornly fighting and defending their right to be a drug induced, drug seduced, habitually intoxicated human being no matter what the consequences to themselves or others and no matter how much contenion it creates in society amongst the citizens at large.
Not a pretty picture and it is not going to get better...only worse.
But you are right prevention IS the key... What I don't get is HOW some one starts smoking drinking drugs...
HOW do you stop what is a GOTRILLION dollars worth of abuse? Guess if we had that answer... We would change the world
I guess we will always have to suffer lots of fools when it comes to drug substance abuse while we also have to suffer their adamant defense of the drugs concerning thier right to be fools while being fools intoxicated on detrimental mind altering, physically altering substances that commonly leave them addicted and dysfunctional human beings who then become dependant on other people to help them out of the mess that they self inflicted upon themselves.
Good thing people are compassionate and caring enough to help them with their self inflicted problems.
In the animal world they would be left to die of their own demise.
Smoked a quarter million cigarettes, a few tokes ain't gonna take me down anytime soon & I allow friends to smoke a FEW cigs in my place (hypocritical if you don't).
Anyway, anything that gets smoked isn't good for lungs as is, IMHO.
I don't like either of them....
If the feds change the Schedule classification, it could get properly tested in clinical trials, and then we find out a lot more.
I doubt it is just about money, than impracticality of perception. Cocaine is classified as Schedule II and is seen as more harmful, but without a change in the Schedule classification, we won't really know.
Interesting enough both alcohol and cigarettes are indeed classified as drugs but are exempt, and that's where the money plays a part.
The scientists have to apply for a permit by the govt. for the "approved" species and that will skew the results. They need the freedom to test all species and a huge cross section and control group, and that won't happen here with a schedule one. They also need the freedom to do the testing in a setting without either business nor govt. nor special interests trying to push for early results.
I believe in science for science's sake and the valuable info. that can be gained if the scientists are allowed to do their job without pressure.
Tobacco and alcohol have an exemption from all this and shouldn't. Tobacco is also a vasocontrictor like methamphetamines and even coffee. That means it should be a schedule 2 like cocaine.