How will the idea that smokers are social outcasts affect kids?
The social issues are much more dominant for kids than concern about health. They all think they’re going to live until they’re 120. So if they think they’ll be pariahs they won’t smoke? That’s right. You’ll notice the advertisements from the industry are to show that smoking is cool, or the act of being a rebel. Don’t be like your parents, smoke. What makes people quit besides feeling shunned? One is price sensitivity. It’s been clearly shown that raising the cost of cigarettes discourages people from starting. It makes them want to quit, and if they can’t quit they’ll smoke less. The second major influence is smoke-free buildings. If you’re working on the 30th floor of a building, and you have to go out for your smoke break, you have to get your coat and your purse, push the down button, then you’ve got to do all that again. You’re gone a long time. The economic pressures from the taxes, and the social pressure from the clean indoor air movement have contributed to the lower smoking
