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77 sats \ 11 replies \ @Undisciplined 23h \ parent \ on: How can we combat the obesity epidemic? AskSN
Vaping came on much later and still the rates are way below the high.
Getting priced out is part of what happens with product liability. The product immediately becomes more expensive to produce, so producers can't afford to push as much product at the same prices.
You might want to counter with taxes being the cause of higher prices, but I'd argue those are also downstream of acknowledging the health problems.
I never met a smoker that didn't know it was killing them. When I started smoking I knew it was bad for me. I'd argue the taxes came from a greedy government taxing a product because they knew users couldn't quit. I don't think the negative health effects had much to do with that.
If knowing the risks prevented people from doing unhealthy things, nobody would be unhealthy.
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I almost never make absolute claims. People do and will continue to do any stupid thing you can think of. What matters are changes on the margins.
Yes, smokers are aware of the health problems, but there are fewer of them, now that people know about the health problems. Some people stopped and now smoking is a much smaller problem than it used to be.
Imagine if sugary, highly processed foods were 10x as expensive as they are now. Lots of people would change their habits and producers would substitute for the cheaper healthier alternatives.
There would still be obese people, but the epidemic might end.
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The 10x cost would come from tax in all likelihood. I imagine that would prevent people from eating as much, bit it would still be direct government intervention.
It would likely be effective, but you'd have to be willing to allow intervention to the free market.
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I think it's all downstream from opening these manufacturers to liability. I don't want the government intervention, but it's coming whether I want it or not.
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How do you hold a company liable for selling a product that people willingly buy? Most people know the difference between what is and isn't healthy, at least to some degree.
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The issue is that people are sold things like food and medicine that contain known toxins, without the manufacturers disclosing the known harms of the ingredients they're using.
That was the tobacco industry's downfall. They knew they were selling poison to people and they weren't disclosing that.
If they disclosed things like "this shot contains known neurotoxins" or "this cereal contains known carcinogens", they would sell fewer units, but not be liable for those damages.