I was once a very heavy drinker and a heavy smoker. I have also used chewing tobacco regularly in the past, so I know the effects of both alcohol and nicotine and I am well aware of all of the risks associated with both of them. It annoys me that there are all of these smear campaigns for tobacco (especially cigarettes), yet alcohol is glorified in our culture. All of the ads for alcohol depict people having a good time at parties, or tailgating, hunting, or say that "he is the most interesting man in the world" and completely ignore the dangers of drinking. Sure, they say that one should drink responsibly, but there really aren't any disclaimers about the dangers of drinking, even if it is in moderation. My point is that tobacco users, for the most part, are only harming themselves, while drunkards put the everyone's lives at risk when they decide to drive, operate machinery, or show up to work drunk or hung over. I also believe that DUI laws and punishments should be harsher. Alcohol related accidents are a leading cause of death in America and around the world, yet it is glorified and treated as a social norm. I believe that alcohol should be taxed just as much as, if not more than, tobacco because it is just as dangerous. Do you agree or disagree? Please explain you reasoning.
Kevin Farnum (8:00)
Kevin Farnum (8:00)
14 comments:
I agree. What is stoping people from doing it again after they get cought once. A fine or suspended drivers licens is not that big of a deal. When were dealing with possible death maxamim punshiment should be in place.
Scotty
I dont think that anyone really think that they have had to much. some young adults are just starting drinking in collage and they do not know the effects on there boddies like those who have drank before and know when to stop. They consume mass quantities and find themselves in the er not recalling any of the events of what just happend. It is becoming a problem and being punished with a fine or a ticket is not helping i think those that are constintly drinking too much unsafley should have to do comunity servise at the pavillion and see what the effects of over consuming alchole can really do .
Tyler Farmer
No too much alcohol is rarely taken serious when it should be because most young adults don't what the alcohol can do to them. Sometimes when younger people partying together they just don't know when the stopping point is an problems usually always start there ranging from people getting into fights, people getting underage drinking tickets, DUI's, or the worst of them all people could get into wrecks,or even get alcohol poison.
Kevin Hays
I believe there should be a harsher punishment for people who continuously (more than once) get caught when they have drank to much. People who do get a DUI now have the punishment of fines, community service, maybe jail time, and the breathalyzer test in their car. This is good but at the same time, how hard is it going to be for this person to have a friend blow into it for them so they can start their car and go home? So this being said I do agree.
Thysha
I have also had my problems with drinking and smoking not only in the past but I still struggle to this day with my addictions. In my opinion it would have been nice to never know or have experienced a drink of alcohol or a drag of a cigarette. Maybe if they never even existed in our society we would all live longer, healthier lives. In response to the way things actually are, and your questions though; I believe that there should be very strict punishments for drinking and driving. Even if it is your first offense you will never learn if you don't hit your rock bottom, and I think the system needs to recognize this fact with stricter sentencing.
Jessica Ervin (8:00)
I agree with how dangerous alcohol is and that it should be taxed just as much or more. I can rememebr the first time I went to a party where there was drinking I was a freshman in high school and I decided not to drink but my friend did and she didnt know her limit I mean we were 15 years old and she got so drunk that she got alcohol posioning. I think that people should think about what they are doing to their bodies and what they could possibly do to other people if they aren't careful.
Alex S. (8:00)
I agree that alcohol should be taxed as well. Most college students do not have a stopping point when they are drinking. Most will drink until they get sick or do more stupid things. For instance, getting in a car and driving. You are putting not only yourself in danger, but others too. If you were to get in a fatal wreck, you could kill a whole family in another car. If you happen to survive it, you will more than likely spend the rest of your life in jail. I think only giving out a fine is not enough of a punishment.
Macy
I agree that alcohol should be taxed. I have seen what alchohol can do to people and its not good. Alcohol probably does more damage to your body than tobacco or cigerettes. Cigerettes and tobacco don't cause someone to become violent. They don't even effect a persons driving like alcohol does.
Hillary Moore
First off, I agree with most people here that alcohol should be taxed as high as cigarettes and gasoline, if not higher. I might even go along with a 100% tax on cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana (which should be legalized). These behaviors are extremely expensive for society as a whole and should be taxed accordingly.
Of course, raising prices on cigarettes and alcohol via higher taxes is going to deter the poor from smoking and drinking more so than the rich, which might present a problem in that the poor will have even more reason to resent the rich (you can afford to drink, and I can't), which might lead to more aggressive criminal behavior from the poor, who might (correctly?) view themselves as unfairly oppressed and discriminated against. What to do about that, I don't know, but some people are already committing armed robberies to get enough $$ to buy a pack of cigarettes.
I know if alcohol were taxed significantly higher (even 100%) I would still purchase and drink red wine, but I would probably cut down at least a little.
I dispute the idea that smokers are mainly harming themselves. I haven't done the research to back this, but I highly suspect that smoking is most common among the people who can least afford health insurance or health care, which means all of us must pay for the expensive medical treatment they will much more likely need earlier in life than a nonsmoker would. So smokers DO hurt all of us, I think, though maybe not to the extent that heavy drinkers do.
I think DUI laws should be harsher in some cases and less harsh in others. There's so much room for a police officer to abuse this law if he doesn't like a particular person. I know a guy who tested positive (barely) in a breath test but had never had an accident in his 30 years of driving. He was tested by an officer who didn't like his attitude (irate) after another driver collided into him while on a cell phone. It turned out this driver was much more heavily penalized for an accident that someone else had caused. It's up to you to consider if driving while talking on a cell phone is more or less dangerous than driving after 2 or 3 beers (and these were domestic beers, with low alcohol content). I guess my point is that the legal percentage of alcohol in the blood is not always the best way to determine how dangerous a driver is.
On the other hand, if a person is drunk to the point of reckless driving, I do think his DUI fine should be higher than current limits permit. I don't think he should be incarcerated unless he continues to drive after losing his license. If the dude is rich, take more and more of his money, and give it to the truly needy via welfare programs (if it only worked this way!).
I want to add that I have no faith in the system in which our taxes are collected and spent. It could be that higher taxes, and increased revenue through higher tickets for DUI, will only be wasted within our current, highly inefficient system. In this case, although the higher taxes and stiffer penalties will deter some offenders, no one will significantly gain by the greater amount of $$ raked in. If we could see a system in which taxes on alcohol and smoking were directly applied to a particular area, such as feeding hungry children, I would be much more satisfied with seeing these taxes go sky high.
Jim Burke
Well, I agree that the commercialism of alcohol is a problem in the US and other countries as well. I think the statement about driving drunk is the number one cause of deaths in America and other countries.
Diseas and hunger kill more people than alcohol,but that does not take away from what you are saying.
I think that alcohol and tobacco are taxed enough. Why should drinkers and smokers pay more taxes to take care of all the problems in society. I'm sure they cause a lot of problems but they do not cause all problems.
I do believe that alcohol should be treated the same as tobacco as far as commercials go. That being said, when they took the Marlboro man off TV, did smoking decrease in America?
Yes the commercials are a problem./ They glorify use of alcohol and they use all the pretty women, (Coors Light,) and they use humor to glorify use. I think that needs to stop. As afr as this ending the problem, it will not.
America is a free country, and with freedom comes problems. I think the way to deter is with money. Fines and penalties.
Just because you used to drink heavilty and smoke heavily does not give you the right to judge people who drink and smoke. I do understand the problem as you see it but by not drinking and smoking, does that make you a better person in society?
As said before taxing people who drink and smoke is not the answer. If so, the I say tax all the people who drink Mountain Dew, Coke, Pepsi and other sodas who are becoming diabetic because of this habit and that will alsoo cost us in health care. Should they be punished if they drink too much caffiene and cause an accident because they are juiced up?
If you want to tax me for what I do then people will tax you for what you do. It is already happening. Look at some of the bills going through our Congress and Senate and look at what they want to tax us for.
This is a great question with a lot of opionated answers. I do agree that commercials for alcohol need to be taken off TV. They put too much of an influence on children and young adults to party at every occasion.
Jesse Hill 8:00
I think that the punishment for dui should be very harsh because everyone has a way of learnig their lessons and some of the drunk drivers who get caught or get into an accident are usually repeat offenders. so they seem to wont learn from their mistakes.
Demario Jordan
My mom and my sister are alcoholics. I dealt with them all though out high school which made me feel differently about drinking when I hit college. I couldn't understand how my friends and the people around me would purposely intoxicate themselves to the point where they had no control over their bodies. it was scary and upsetting. its become a trendy thing, a given when you go to college, its how you make friends and deal with adjusting to the transition. most people do it out of pressure--the saddest part. they end up looking and acting dumb, feeling like shit, giving off wrong impressions, turning ppl off, ..making continual mistakes that they will always regret. and they just end up feeling empty used and alone. its a continuous cycle of self-destruction that is being projected on others. no one really realizes what alcohol does to a person and how it affects the ppl around them. too many ppl make excuses and overlook it.
Spice
I am right with you on this point. I think that alchol should hold stiffer punishments and be taxed just as much as tobacco products. And, you are right most commercials are glorifing alcohol use, you see people at parties dancing. What you dont see are the car accidents, domestic abuse, or the weathered state of someone who has been using for years. I was in a relationship with an alcoholic and at the very least that was an abusive relationship. I also for the first time in my life became an enabler. I decided that I didnt want to deal with the harsh punishment of not coming home without a drink, or going to the store late at night or very early in the morning to purchase liquir. Eventually I left the relationship because I could no longer watch the other person waste way. tobacco is equally a life ruiner. Second hand smoke also causes lung cancer and other harmful effects.
Tyreis (8:00)
I believe that all drugs are dangerous and that they should not be sold period. But since they are then yes I believe that alcohol should be taxed the same as tabacco because it is still a drug and it can still affect you the same way you can feel different, pass out, and get addicted to it.
Sierra (noon)
Post a Comment