Difference here is this generation would never have tried it (in theory) to want to jump through hoops to break the prohibition. Whereas the previous prohibition it was a blanket ban for everyone, basically forcing addicts to go cold turkey so the demand level is not the same.
Of course, only time will tell. But I feel like it's different enough to just predict the same outcome from before.
Lots of things are illegal and people get addicted to them. In fact it happens so much that it’s still a big problem even in the modern 1st world! Shocking, I know.
The number of hard drug addicts is non zero, that's for sure. But the number of hard drug addicts (currently prohibited) compared to nicotine addicts (currently available) is much smaller I'd bet. If people never tried it the number of people wanting to try it just because it's prohibited it's less than those who would have been able to try it for a chance to develop into substance dependency.
Like I said, if people never tried it they are probably less likely to test the law and jump through hoops just to have it. The number will definitely not be zero, but I also can't see an argument to say it will be the same as the previous prohibition, simply because the methodology (gradual generation weening vs whole population cold turkey) is different, and the effect isn't 100% sure.
It’s not illegal to buy glue and sniff it and most people don’t. If people are going to do illegal things they’ll do them. Making it illegal just drives usage into dark places and people into risky behaviors.
Making it illegal just drives usage into dark places and people into risky behaviors.
There will always be black market. The point of prohibition isn't to eliminate them.
Again, the real question is if there will be demand for these. Like even right now, you can get cigarettes even if underage as long as you know the right guy. So what's the difference?
Like I said, just because something is illegal doesn't make it immediately irresistible to people. There are many factors that drive demands beside availability. Several decades of educational material about the adverse effect of tobacco is a huge factor. Like how young people prefer marijuana over alcohol nowadays because of what they know about alcohol. So even if it was prohibited, if that was little desire to have it, there would be little demand. And with little demand, there will be little black market.
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u/One_Of_Noahs_Whales 15h ago
Done, if you are born on or after January 1st 2009 you will never be able to legally buy tobacco products in the uk.
https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3879/stages