Neoshaman Posted July 7, 2009 I notice they keep raising the prices and taxes but don't ban it...that say's a lot for how much they really care about our health...this country is run on ciggarettes and pokies taxes...I'd hate to think where they would get the money from if they banned them...but they won't will they...nope they just adjust the taxes to scrape a few more coins from out of every working class citizen who is addicted to either or both...you can bet alcohol will cop some heavy taxing if ciggies and pokies ever get outlawed.H. I love our governments ideals when it comes to harm minimisation LMAO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.:Shadow:. Posted July 7, 2009 I'm with ya man, the bloody government trys to take every cent of us. I was gonna go out bush and build a house and do everything old school, but no you have to pay atleast 50 - $100,000 for that. the government is a bloody joke as with the laws, it would be awesome if the whole world retaliated against them and stuff They do have some good ways of running the country but 80% of it is a bunch of crap ( sorry i just really hate the government ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.:Shadow:. Posted July 7, 2009 Some people have adverse health effects for use/misues of ethnobotanicals should they ban the whole lot,including this forum or just levy a $15 tax per woodrose seed or thornapple lol See how ridiculous it could get? The issue is weather or not you want the govenment making decisions for you to keep you safe? What you can and cannot safetly read, what movies you can watch, what kind of video games are safe for you play and paying $20 for a pack of cigarettes during a recession lol Where does it end? A mate was saying that Australian government is going to spend 'shitloads' to block us from other websites ! ! ! I can see how this goes with child porn, bestiality & access to making illegal substances but what i really think there doing is they don't want us aussie to have free speech as the usa & now there trying to cut us out from the rest of the world so we wont learn things for ourselves. I had a dream that everyone took the streets and cutout the government from the way we live, we would be so much better off. Heck i'm uneducated and only 18 & i recon i could run this country 50x better than how its being run at the moment. . . power & $$$ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TG83 Posted July 7, 2009 (edited) If the government was serious then a proper rehabilitation plan would be provided to people wishing to quit smoking, by far out of everything I've experienced before nicotine is the hardest drug of all to quit, and in my case the withdrawls are seriously scary, I turn into an absolute monster even while trying all the nicotine replacement therapys, all they did was make my addiction even worse. This is just another blatant tax grab by the government, the same as their increase in taxes on pre mixed alcohol drinks was said to discourage binge drinking. All pre mix alcohols have dropped to around the 6% mark and went up around 15% to 20% in cost at the same time due to the tax, when the tax was blocked in senate, the government simply reinstated collecting the money and planned to attempt another pass at senate. In regards to what was to happen with the money illegally collected, the government said they could not return it because it was a direct tax on the people, as such they had no way of tracking who to return the taxes too so would instead use it as sponsorship for public based projects. In all for people who purchase pre mixed drinks, they are mostly getting lower alcohol content and paying around $2 per can / bottle more than before. The fact the senate blocked the tax then the government simply decided to continue collecting it illegally and resubmit their taxation law amendment once again is shocking, it just goes to show they can do what they want and the rights of the people are held not within the law itself but the direct decisions of the governing party. The outcome of this is that pre mixed drink sales have slightly dropped, but is still doing good trade, the amount of people who decided to turn away from pre mixed drinks isn't loosing the government taxation money due to their unofficial tax increase, they are making more now than before. Sales of pure spirits have risen quite dramatically since this new tax was brought in also, quite a scary thing if you ask me when more people stock up on bottles of spirits than a few cans, in the end its just going to end up a worse mess than before, but hey as long as somebody gets rich. In regards to the cigarettes, $20 a pack will most likely ensure that many prescriptions are filed for the newer style quit smoking tablets, with the government discounts on these medications it will likely cost them a fortune during this time and I'm not quite sure if they have realised that fact yet. For most I dare say they will continue smoking, for a lot of people its not something you can just decide, oh its too expensive forget it and stop instantly, hell I'm barely scraping in enough to pay the bills and still fork out the $100 a week to smoke and stay sane. Sure some people have the ability to just walk away without problems but what is being overlooked is the fact that for many people nicotine addiction is just as serious as an addiction to illicit drugs such as heroin or cocaine. If you have an illegal drug addiction you can normally find public help for rehabilitation and support, when it comes to cigarettes its highly limited. IMO nicotine is one drug that most addicted smokers don't like doing, but the fact is once they are hooked they can't stop. A price increase if anything attacks and exploits these peoples weaknesses in the form of a direct tax grab, knowing that for many people quitting is not an easy option and very little support exists for well managed withdrawal from the drug. Really annoys me the fact that if I was addicted to cocaine my doctor would send me direct into a government funded rehabilitation facility, but for nicotine which in my case is just as serious an addiction there is no support other than a few tablet options, a quit line to call up (most workers are psychologists, all advice you get is CBT based) or nicotine replacement therapy. The government needs to make a serious well devised withdrawal plan for the smoking community if they even care one bit about people quitting for health reasons, not simply write out a bill and start collecting notes. Edited July 7, 2009 by TG83 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
~shameless~ Posted July 8, 2009 I notice they keep raising the prices and taxes but don't ban it...that say's a lot for how much they really care about our health...this country is run on ciggarettes and pokies taxes...I'd hate to think where they would get the money from if they banned them...but they won't will they...nope they just adjust the taxes to scrape a few more coins from out of every working class citizen who is addicted to either or both...you can bet alcohol will cop some heavy taxing if ciggies and pokies ever get outlawed.H. I always thought that one day they will probably be shedueld or something like that, u know make them a perscription type of thing, for sad losers ( like me) who dont want to give up, who are smokers already. They would b available but very restricted to the population........ I'm starting to think they actually leave them on the shelves so more people can become smokers, i mean its silly to run a buisness and not grow right, what group of dim wits would sit around a corporate glass table and say...... " our forcasted growth will hopefully be in negative next year, we will start funding the next politician who has the publics best interests in mind, we are doing our best to make sure growth of the company and demand of our product is always in red". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
G*P Posted July 10, 2009 i kno that some ppl percieved that growing, brewing, building, making their own everything is the only way to go since this economic breakdown bullshit. ill b fucked if we should sit around spending more on taxed crap, run by systems that destroy us when we can all just return to natural, homegrown lifestyles. Only very clever ppl will b planting their own tobaccco and other crops in expectation of further world money collapse. Yeh, go ahead and fine us for being smart enough to live! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bℓσωηG Posted July 10, 2009 Hell yeah.... shame its illegal, lol.... i once had a six foot tobacco plant but my flatmates dad ripped it out .spewin i havnt come across one since and i dont even smoke anymore, but i have read about shamans of peru use it with honey in a nasal application, accompanied by san pedro for divination purposes ,so i was interested in doing a honey mix. the amount of toxic crap sprayed on commercial tobacco crops is a concern, surely the residues and additives do more damage than the smoking the plant material. we damn well should be growin our own... fuckin plant police suk... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smiling Cloud Posted August 3, 2009 I was talking to a mate who works in a newsagent and cigs went up 7c EACH. So thats an extra $1.40 on a pack of 20's. While looking for current prices i stumbled upon this site www.tobacco.net.au When i used to smoke i smoked rollies and a 50g pouch cost me around $23-$28 depending on where i went. However in this site they are selling pouches for $10!! And even less if you buy 5 at once. Its cheaper to buy 5 pouches there then it is to buy 2 in the shop. I got no idea whether this shop is legit or not but for the prices it would be worth buying a pack just to find out. Maybe they buy in bulk and because there aren't as many cost as a standard shop they can offer good prices. Or maybe its a dodgy site. BUt if i still smoked i would be so there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
botanika Posted August 4, 2009 I had a dream that everyone took the streets and cutout the government from the way we live, we would be so much better off. Heck i'm uneducated and only 18 & i recon i could run this country 50x better than how its being run at the moment. . . power & $$$ what would happen is chaos for a while - then people would naturally start organising themselves again into more and more complex systems of leadership and resource management (power and money) until you are back where you started except with all the costs associated with the change ciggies would be $40. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neoshaman Posted August 5, 2009 (edited) I had a dream that everyone took the streets and cutout the government from the way we live, we would be so much better off. Heck i'm uneducated and only 18 & i recon i could run this country 50x better than how its being run at the moment. . . power & $$$ Anarchy sounds good to me then someone asked who'd fix the sewers would the rednecks just play king of the ne ighbourhood , how many liberators really want to be dictators every theory has its holes when real life steps in so how do we feed and make room for all the people crowded on our earth and transfer all the wealth from the rich to those who need it , Where do you draw the line? just some Dk lyrics i thought was relevant to this statement Edited August 5, 2009 by neoshaman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheFriendlyPlanter Posted August 5, 2009 Just wait till they start cutting back on the amount of nicotine allowed, all without you knowing. Then you'll REALLY feel you've been royally screwed. Just grow your own cigarettes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
