this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2026
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[–] Crankley@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I always attributed it to general education being the real mover. I think as the public became more educated we looked for solutions to help curb use and the decline was the leveling out once people were able to make a more informed decision.

Some folks will always choose to smoke knowing what it is and I think we have just moved closer to that number. Certainly advertising and exposure have a large role to play as well, I just feel as though it's a whole host of elements that have changed the usage rates.

I feel as though banning something makes certain demographics less likely to take it up but I feel like the measures we had in place already target that crowd. I think we are very close to the market cap on people we can sell abstinence to.

Just my thinking on it, the numbers might bare out different results. I just personally think illegality is not the major barrier to uptake that folks think it is. I would point to coke usage and how ubiquitous it is with young adults in the UK right now.

In the end I think making something illegal that is already on the decline is a misstep, let it fade out on its own rather than call attention to it. People get up in arms about change, a great way to make something popular is to tell folks they can't have it.