Ramblings & Replies

[donnykey]

So when they ban smoking alltogether where is the government going to get all the lost cigarette taxes they gain from duties etc.....

Methinks probably Income Tax increases.

Food for thought ???

Cheers DK

[xyzzy]

So when they ban smoking alltogether where is the government going to get all the lost cigarette taxes they gain from duties etc..... Methinks probably Income Tax increases. Food for thought ???

The arguement here is that medical costs from smoking more than out weigh the the income generated. Whether that is true is often debated. Taxes here on tabacco are so high now it must generate a lot of $$$.

I disagree with DT's point above although that doesn't mean government here isn't mostly for sale.

I smoked cigarettes for over 20 years and 2012 is my 20th year of not smoking. Quitting was one of the best things I ever did in my life. But I haven't accomplished a lot.

Now that I can enjoy most indoor places in the US being smoke free I spend months every year in SE Asia where smoking is still allowed. Go figure...

[Lefty]

Even if I were a smoker, I'd say smoking is the stupidest habit that humans ever regularly take up. On the other hand, I think people should have the freedom to smoke if they so choose. I also think the taxes are too high on them. Heck, the world is overpopulated as it is. If more people smoked and died younger it would maybe put a slight dent into the rapidly spiraling out of control growth in world population. So, maybe all the anti-smoking programs should be just swept under the table for a while. Tobacco companies too are a bunch of evil bastards. They make smoking ten times worse for smokers with all the chemical additives they add to their product. If the cigarettes were just plain tobacco, organically grown and plain papers without any additives to prevent them from going out if the smoker doesn't drag on them often enough, it would be far less unhealthy. Although sucking any foreign substance into your lungs is never going to be good for you.

It is the same with many foods. The god damned govt is trying to kill us off. Try to find things in the grocery stores without either high fructose corn syrup or aspartame as an ingredient and you are down to about 20% of the food items for sale. They put that shit into so many foods that do not need it. They could substitute aspartame and corn syrup both with Stevia if they really fucking cared about the consumers.

[pacman]

So when they ban smoking alltogether where is the government going to get all the lost cigarette taxes they gain from duties etc.....

The last time this made the news here at home, the savings in health costs were estimated to outweigh the loss of the tobacco tax raised. But it will take years for the savings to be realised... first they have to pay for the smokers health problems. In other words, they have to die before the health budget fully reflects the savings.

The arguement here is that medical costs from smoking more than out weigh the the income generated. Whether that is true is often debated. Taxes here on tabacco are so high now it must generate a lot of $$$.

Yes xyzzy, you got in before me with the accepted view of the costs. And yes, the taxes raise a fortune in excise. Billions & billions of dollars a year.

I smoked cigarettes for over 20 years and 2012 is my 20th year of not smoking. Quitting was one of the best things I ever did in my life.

Well done. I only know one smoker who wouldn't stop if he could. And he gets a full medical every year & has been told his lungs are perfect. I tell him that can all change in a moment but he isn't bothered. He seems indestructible.... for now.

[Tomas]

The last time this made the news here at home, the savings in health costs were estimated to outweigh the loss of the tobacco tax raised. But it will take years for the savings to be realised... first they have to pay for the smokers health problems. In other words, they have to die before the health budget fully reflects the savings.

Just look at prohibition in the US in the 20's. It didn't work and the sale of alcohol just went under ground with bootleggers and speak easy's taking over the supply and sale.

I live along the border in Ireland which is rife with smugglers buying counterfeit cigarettes in places like the Philippines and shipping them into Ireland where the tax on them is among the highest in the world. 100,000us for a 40ft container full of cigarettes has a street value of 1,000,000us, and the punishment handed out by the courts for smuggling cigarettes is so lenient its not even a deterrent to the smugglers.

If a country was to ban cigarettes outright, they would want to back it up with other changes to the laws on smuggling with harsher sentences. I could never see it happen, even though I would like to see it because I caught my 15 year old niece smoking recently which was very disappointing, and the benefits to a country as a whole, in about 20 years time would be brilliant but in those 20 years, the burden of smokers on the health system would still be a strain.

[pacman]

Heck, the world is overpopulated as it is. If more people smoked and died younger it would maybe put a slight dent into the rapidly spiraling out of control growth in world population.

For a fella with an epithet of Lefty, you do come out with some extreme views some times. Smokers have done nothing to deserve to die more than non-smokers, I think smoking is its own punishment. And to add insult to injury, they have to pay for the privilege to smoke.

Tobacco companies too are a bunch of evil bastards. They make smoking ten times worse for smokers with all the chemical additives they add to their product. If the cigarettes were just plain tobacco, organically grown and plain papers without any additives to prevent them from going out if the smoker doesn't drag on them often enough, it would be far less unhealthy.

Good point. The additives are in cigarettes to make one brand taste "better" than another. And all those chemicals are the reason for the increase in the rate of illness. 200 or so chemicals are now in cigarettes that weren't there in the 18th & 19th century when tobacco use wasn't considered unsafe.

It is the same with many foods. The god damned govt is trying to kill us off. Try to find things in the grocery stores without either high fructose corn syrup or aspartame as an ingredient and you are down to about 20% of the food items for sale. They put that shit into so many foods that do not need it. They could substitute aspartame and corn syrup both with Stevia if they really fucking cared about the consumers.

Don't get me started with food. All those chemicals interfering with the development of children's brains, it isn't right & the companies should be forced to stop it. Calcium propionate added to bread is responsible for most of the ADD cases in the world today. You can buy bread without it but why is it allowed in the first place? Unbelievable.

[pacman]

Just look at prohibition in the US in the 20's. It didn't work and the sale of alcohol just went under ground with bootleggers and speak easy's taking over the supply and sale.

If a country was to ban cigarettes outright, they would want to back it up with other changes to the laws on smuggling with harsher sentences. I could never see it happen, even though I would like to see it because I caught my 15 year old niece smoking recently which was very disappointing, and the benefits to a country as a whole, in about 20 years time would be brilliant but in those 20 years, the burden of smokers on the health system would still be a strain.

Very good point but I don't believe the banning of smoking is akin to prohibition. The drinking culture is so established that I can't imagine a government anywhere would try to repeat the prohibition disaster. But if any country were to start an anti-smoking campaign as harsh as the one I have lived with for over 30 years, they might find that like here, their smoking rates drop so low & the attitude against smoking becomes so extreme, that if a referendum were held as to banning the sale of cigarettes, it would win by the proverbial country mile. Of course, the rights of smokers would have to be taken into account & they would probably find themselves licenced with access to cheaper, government distributed cigarettes.

The current smoking rate here in my home town is given as 17% of adults but I am fucked if I know where they live because it is so unusual to see someone smoking. I occasionally walk past smokers outside their office buildings but that's about it. I certainly haven't been to a dinner party or private gathering where someone has wanted to light up in a good 20 or more years. I really suffer in LOS.

[Tomas]

I always set up a profile on a site for meeting ladyboys about 2 or 3 weeks before my departure so I can harvest ladyboy phone numbers.

The site I find best is gayromeo. Its usually a no bullshit site all about meeting for sex, whether its paid or unpaid. But you usually have to sift through all the gay guys on this site, and no matter how well you get the message across in your profile that your only into ladyboys, they will keep sending you messages.

I got this funny one today. Its from a German guy who is 65 and is coming to Bangkok next week. I was actually quite flattered as am sure he intends to pay me lol

[Whateva]

yes unfortunately im a dirty rotten smoker , , going to try giving them up again starting this coming Monday,,,,slowly but surely they are wrecking me, ( i'm still in reasonable condition though) so i figure if i can flick them now (47) while the body still has some chance to mend a little,,,,i have smoked for 30 years..,so its not so easy just to quit ,but there is a lot of help and advice now to assist.......i know it will be the best thing i ever do in my life (just gotta convince the nicotine demons in the head),,,,(oh and yeah as a smoker i love south east asia lol)

[pacman]

There is nothing anyone can say to a smoker that they don't know already. And I stopped trying to "help" smokers quit many years ago when I realised that anything I said was actually making it worse. I guess it's something that earnest, well-intentioned people all learn eventually. Live & let live is a good philosophy to live by. (I wish some politicians would take the hint.)

But at the age of 47 you don't have a minute to waste. I really hope you can do it. End of sermon.

[deepthroat]

I always set up a profile on a site for meeting ladyboys about 2 or 3 weeks before my departure so I can harvest ladyboy phone numbers.

The site I find best is gayromeo. Its usually a no bullshit site all about meeting for sex, whether its paid or unpaid. But you usually have to sift through all the gay guys on this site, and no matter how well you get the message across in your profile that your only into ladyboys, they will keep sending you messages.

I got this funny one today. Its from a German guy who is 65 and is coming to Bangkok next week. I was actually quite flattered as am sure he intends to pay me lol

I'm not German! And although my profile says I'm 65 I'm actually only 51 and very handsome.

[bumblebee]

I always set up a profile on a site for meeting ladyboys about 2 or 3 weeks before my departure so I can harvest ladyboy phone numbers.

The site I find best is gayromeo. Its usually a no bullshit site all about meeting for sex, whether its paid or unpaid. But you usually have to sift through all the gay guys on this site, and no matter how well you get the message across in your profile that your only into ladyboys, they will keep sending you messages.

I got this funny one today. Its from a German guy who is 65 and is coming to Bangkok next week. I was actually quite flattered as am sure he intends to pay me lol

Gayrome/Planetrome is great as you say Tomas. With so many of us on it now mind, meeting guys in town who have a site girl with them can lead to some awkward moments if you have been with her before or even just flirted online. Same goes for Thaifriendly, I have seen a few well known faces there with various guys over the last year or so. It's a bit like a small pond, full of the same LB fish and more and more guys are coming to test their rods..

[bumblebee]

Steve Hughes and his take on the old "What is gay?" question. Interesting angle on it all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in9SiDtJLaU

[bumblebee]

The Euro just went over the 40 B mark yesterday, yippee. When it was 50 B 4 years ago it was happy days. Now 20% less and I am still happy after it was floating around 38 a few months ago. Interesting how our perceptions of what is good change.

[Tomas]

I just noticed it went up to 40Baht today. I always knew it was going to hit 40 for my trip which I had to cancel. I should have been on the Dubai to Bangkok leg of my trip right now

Here is a funny one I spotted on Facebook earlier. I couldn't help thinking about the likes of Beam who is sometimes spotted around High Boss.

[bumblebee]

Great photo and tragically so trueTomas, and sorry to hear you had to miss your trip.

[Tomas]

Cheers Bumblebee. Still should have a good christmas at home with family as usual, and there will be more trips for sure.

[bumblebee]

These beer mats,coaster are always handy to have while socilaising in the PBG.  Why cant ladyboy bars have something similar so that guys who are not looking but just drinking with friends, can let the girl know to keep away without her pestering for a drink, bar fine etc.

[pacman]

I watched a new movie Samsara this week. It's another documentary of the weird & wonderful sights of the world from the guys who made Baraka 20+ years ago. There is not a single word of narration during the entire film, nor one word spoken by those who feature in it. But it boasts the most fantastic sound track with various elements from neoclassical to Gregorian chants to Tibetan throat singing at one point. It is so well done the time passed too quickly & before I knew it, it was over. I would have liked another few hours of it, it was quite meditative in its presentation. 

 

And for those who have seen it & hated it, bite me. 

 

Why I mention it in this thread is that in the 90 minutes of the strange & beautiful sights from around the world, about 1 minute is filmed in Cascades. There are many familiar faces on the stage slowly dancing while the camera pans around them. Of the faces I know, the only name I can recall is Cindy. It has been awhile since I was last in Bangkok. There is zero reference to the fact that we aren't looking at girls in a Bangkok bar except for a lingering close-up of a couple of crotches with their unmistakable bulge. Small bulges but the point wasn't lost.

 

I found it interesting that in a movie that has scenes of exploding volcanoes, the temples of Pagan, dancing inmates at a Filipino prison (100's & 100's of 'em, quite bizarre), African villagers, production lines of 1000's of people in China, etc, that the producers of the film thought that 20 dancing ladyboys were worthy of a place among such a line-up. It's easy to forget that the rest of the world still sees them as something to ogle. Pity.

[4:17]

... I found it interesting that in a movie that has scenes of exploding volcanoes, the temples of Pagan, dancing inmates at a Filipino prison (100's & 100's of 'em, quite bizarre), African villagers, production lines of 1000's of people in China, etc, that the producers of the film thought that 20 dancing ladyboys were worthy of a place among such a line-up. It's easy to forget that the rest of the world still sees them as something to ogle. Pity.

 

Interesting point, Pacman, and it sounds like an interesting film. On the other hand, Cindy has been known to go off like an exploding volcano, as I recall.

[TEXASMAC]

  relax

[Tomas]

[bumblebee]

Interesting video of excerpts of a lecture on why straight guys are attracted to transsexuals.  Worth a listen perhaps without rolling your eyes to heaven and thinking here we go on another boring " Am I gay?" thread.

http://youtu.be/0v79_9x7JlQ

[Kahuna]

Interesting and educational...Thanks BB...She is bright and articulate...

 

I have personally come full circle and have reached my final and absolute opinion on this subject and that is that we all have the inalienable right to define ourselves as we see fit...And everyone else with their definitions of me and of you can go and fuck themselves...But I get to watch...

[xrayspecs]

I just watched this video on Youtube and found it an interesting take on the subject of sexuality.

 

She makes reference to the Kinsey scale which as you are probably aware suggests that sexuality is not a binary choice. The part I found most interesting is that she goes on to discuss a similar scale for gender, which is something I'd never thought about much before but makes sense.

 

http://youtu.be/JxNgR8dkVQc