What do people think about smoking bans? I would like us to write about it in Our press, but I am not sure about the angle to look at it from. Devrim
Some food-for-thought questions: 1. What is the scope of smoking bans locally? Where has smoking been banned to the fullest extent? Who is attempting to expand bans? To contract them? 2. What social role has the production, purchase by capitalists for sale, purchase by consumers for consumption, and actual consumption played in Turkey? What is changing about these roles? 3. Are smoking bans seen as an issue by workers? If so, is it an issue on the proletariat's class terrain, or are they being led into a mystification? If the latter, what harm can the mystification do the proletariat? How should revolutionaries intervene?
-similar to US. we have a proletarian smoker and burgeoisie non-smoker social stratification. -Government is trying to make a variety of gestures for the e.u., from passing some laws like banning smoke, to opening borders with armenia. - which did not happen yet- - Moreover they might also be laying the grounds for such health policies as U.S., that if you smoke they might not pay for your health problems. - There might also be a good amount of income distributed to certain capitalists from the ones giving health services to the others. - Petty burgeoisie is the class which is also damaged badly - cafe owners I mean. I hope these might be some hints for your article.
Last time I saw figures (a couple of years back) smoking related disease cost the UK NHS £5 for every £8 paid in tax by smokers. Public health initiatives (like smoking bans) which invariably act to change the behaviours of only a very small proportion of the target audience, serve a useful ideological function: the State has the interests of all at heart. Never mind that inequality and the bloodsucking ‘Market’ are the primary drivers of poor diet, poor lifestyle, and substance abuse (including nicotine) that fuels so much disease. And of course, the clear message is that ill health is a question of individual lifestyle choices, not social class. And there’s also the world-wide increase in State surveillance of their populations – the reaction of a Bourgeois class which has lost its swaggering confidence in its future - and if this can be done under the benign guise of public health initiative, then fine.
What do people think about smoking bans? I would like us to write about it in Our press, but I am not sure about the angle to look at it from. Devrim It's important to respect both sides of course. Banning smoking in all public places, then preventing healthcare for smokers (as they are doing with the NHS here) is a combination of capitalist disregard for a large section of society that is often introduced to smoking thanks to peer pressure and let's be honest, advertising has a big effect too. I think the point of workers being unfairly affected by smoke working behind a bar for instance, is important, but smokers should also be able to smoke in bars too - it's a traditional thing in most countries really isn't it. Therefore it would be preferable to advocate smoking and non-smoking areas in places like bars, cafes etc, alternatively smokers would go outside if the place's factors make really good air conditioning for the smokers' areas impossible. Of course it would be better to advocate this in a revolutionary manner, pointing out that the bosses are hardly going to subsidise the costs of any of that.
The British State bans smoking in public places (hoping to save on health care and absenteeism), while at the same time supporting BAT etc to penetrate and dominate Asian markets. As usual its all about money and profit! Communist society will hopefully see the end of smoking, for all the right reasons ......
