Recently, there has been a spate of fires from careless cigarette disposal. Instead of trusting all smokers to be responsible, let’s use the tax system to divert them to a safer way of getting their nicotine hit.
E-cigarettes have no glowing ember and hence should be encouraged. One could leave the tobacco tax as is, but reduce the tax for vapers to two-thirds that of tobacco. As well as lowering the fire danger from the nicotine habit to almost zero, an added benefit is to the non-smokers. Now when you pass by someone indulging, one just gets a whiff of cinnamon or some other pleasant odour instead of the choking cigarette smoke.
Another vaping drug should be tetrahydrocannabinol, as I am sure it must also lose the terrible smell that one is accosted by when passing by someone toking up.
I suppose this suggestion is too much to the left of the sanctimonious position governments like to take when dealing with tobacco, marijuana and ethanol-laced drinks. Let’s hope someone sees common sense and implements these suggestions.
Being a bike rider, I see lots of discarded cigarette butts by the roadside. Please promote e-cigarette use.
Jeremy Barnes
Chemainus
