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The U.S. surgeon general has warned against surging e-cigarette use among teenagers, calling it a "major public health concern" in a new report:
The U.S. surgeon general is calling e-cigarettes an emerging public health threat to the nation's youth. In a report being released Thursday, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy acknowledged a need for more research into the health effects of "vaping," but said e-cigarettes aren't harmless and too many teens are using them. "My concern is e-cigarettes have the potential to create a whole new generation of kids who are addicted to nicotine," Murthy told The Associated Press. "If that leads to the use of other tobacco-related products, then we are going to be moving backward instead of forward."
[...] Federal figures show that last year, 16 percent of high school students reported at least some use of e-cigarettes - even some who say they've never smoked a conventional cigarette. While not all contain nicotine, Murthy's report says e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco-related product among youth. Nicotine is bad for a developing brain no matter how it's exposed, Murthy said. "Your kids are not an experiment," he says in a public service announcement being released with the report.
It's already illegal to sell e-cigarettes to minors. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration issued new rules that, for the first time, will require makers of nicotine-emitting devices to begin submitting their ingredients for regulators to review.
Also at USA Today, NYT, The Hill, and The Washington Post.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Friday December 09 2016, @07:02PM
Authoritarianism, for those who actually care, is defined as
To a libertarian it's more like
(Score: 2) by rondon on Friday December 09 2016, @08:00PM
Do you dispute that our government has "almost absolute control" over the drugs nicotine, alcohol, and most others except for caffeine? Do I not remember a man in New York City being choked to death for selling cigarettes for which he hadn't paid the tax man enough money? Is that not, by definition, authoritarian when a man can be murdered for not paying taxes on the drug that he sells?
Jesus Christ, why do we need to argue in this day and age about whether or not our government is freaking authoritarian on drugs? They are waging a war on drugs, for Christ's sake.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Friday December 09 2016, @08:17PM
Yes I do dispute that. You're wrong. You're 100% wrong.
You're arguing from example. The reality is that any drug which has passed safety inspections sufficient to be sold freely, can be examined, bought, and consumed from any number of privately run drug stores in the country, with non-government, expert oversight required in situations where taking the substance is measurably risky and hard for non-expert to understand.
Sorry this is once again a case where the libertarian "side" is just being an obsessed idiot who decries any and all regulation on willful misunderstandings. It's basically baby's first ideology, and a modest amount of self-critical analysis would have driven you to ways you're just utterly incorrect.
(The excessive use of force by police enforcing laws is a serious problem, and in general, enforcement of this medical law should be run through citations and fines)
(Score: 2) by rondon on Wednesday December 14 2016, @01:53PM
I don't understand how you are ignoring your own caveats. "Safety inspections sufficient" means that the government can declare any substance unsafe, regardless of actual safety, and then regulate that up unto the point of enforcing their rules with violence. The violence, I might add, can escalate to murder without serious repercussions. This strikes me as well within the definition of authoritarian.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday December 09 2016, @08:02PM
You've chosen one definition, as it applies to government, and that appeals to your own opinions.
au·thor·i·tar·i·an
əˌTHôrəˈterēən/
adjective
adjective: authoritarian
1.
favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom.
"the transition from an authoritarian to a democratic regime"
synonyms: autocratic, dictatorial, despotic, tyrannical, draconian, oppressive, repressive, illiberal, undemocratic; More
disciplinarian, domineering, overbearing, iron-fisted, high-handed, peremptory, imperious, strict, rigid, inflexible;
informalbossy
"his authoritarian manner"
antonyms: democratic, liberal
showing a lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others; domineering; dictatorial.
"he had an authoritarian and at times belligerent manner"
noun
noun: authoritarian; plural noun: authoritarians
1.
an authoritarian person.
synonyms: autocrat, despot, dictator, tyrant; More
disciplinarian, martinet
"the army is dominated by authoritarians"
Translate authoritarian to
Use over time for: authoritarian
adjective
1.
favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom:
authoritarian principles; authoritarian attitudes.
2.
of or relating to a governmental or political system, principle, or practice in which individual freedom is held as completely subordinate to the power or authority of the state, centered either in one person or a small group that is not constitutionally accountable to the people.
3.
exercising complete or almost complete control over the will of another or of others:
an authoritarian parent.
noun
4.
a person who favors or acts according to authoritarian principles.
________________________________
Take a leadership test someday. FYI, I am an authoritarian/coach blend of leader. I know what authoritarian is, because I are one. Take a course, take a test, and learn more about yourself. YOu ARE an authoritarian. You are not the same kind of authoritarian that I am, but you are one.
I'm going to buy my defensive radar from Temu, just like Venezuela!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 10 2016, @05:36AM
So is the NSA's mass surveillance authoritarian? How do you know if their control is absolute or approaching absolute? How can that be measured? By this standard, it's hard to say with confidence that authoritarianism exists at all, even in the worst countries.