this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2025
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The real surprise is that it didn't become the norm, and still legal as long as it has a little warning on the pack, while in the meantime useful medical drugs are banned as "potentially risky"
Useful medical drugs need to prove they are effective before being used. That's not a bad thing. Smoking is a remnant of historical habits before it's dangers were known. The crime is more that we allow it to be used and marketed to new customers. New Zealand has the right idea by increasing the legal age annually but that got shot down.
Allowing drugs to be used without proof would likely lead to more things like smoking causing harm, not less.
Where do you live?
All black countries on this map have banned all use of asbestos.
There is still an issue, at least here in the UK, of asbestos in older buildings.
Many of our infrastructures are rather old, and unless they are individually done to remove the asbestos (at a heavy price point), many buildings still contain it.
Just a couple of years ago I had to change a light fixture, and get someone trained to handle the substance (since it is still in the ceiling between floors).
Of course it is still in use, but no new products containing asbestos are being produced or allowed to be sold. You still see e.g. Eternit roofing in Germany as well.
Aah well I can buy asbestos legally in my country then. Let's respawn Kent Cigarettes then.
And how many banned cigarettes?
AfaIk, only NZ. If that was the point you've wanted to make, it wasn't clear for me.
My point is that cigarettes are stupidly legal, so having asbestos allowed to be put in them despite the knowledge of its health effects doesn't seem much more absurd.