I’ve seen a few people mentioning acupuncture, and I thought it might be useful for others if I share my experience. Sorry, this is a super-long post, and I’m typing on a phone.
I see my acupuncturist (Tony) every week. It’s been a pretty long trial and error to work out which day of the week to have my sessions (in relation to when I have my infusions and my side effects) to have the biggest impact on how I feel.
What works well for me: the day of the last steroids after chemo I have a session. During steroids I don’t sleep, and I can’t eat, and I feel pretty deranged🤪. With no acupuncture this takes a week or so to calm down. With acupuncture I’m fixed overnight - it catapults me into being starving hungry and I sleep about 14 hours for the next few days.
I try and time the next session for when the side effects are starting to really kick off (so fairly soon after - less than a week). Without a session I’ll still be insatiably hungry, a lot of joint pains, my sleep will be back to very disrupted and fairly short, utterly freezing all day and night, exhausted etc. After acupuncture, I’ll be jumped forward to a normal appetite, a reduction in pain, and improved sleep (but I’ll then be very hot, especially at night). As time has gone on the post-chemo pain has reduced to almost nothing. (The first couple of sessions it was so bad I couldn’t walk). Also, my neuropathy has massively reduced despite ongoing chemo - although they have reduced one chemo drug they thought was responsible for the neuropathy to 80%. However, I’m still getting progressively more exhausted.
The following week I try and time acupuncture before my blood test, and by this stage I’m usually feeling better, but whatever is going on for me physically or mentally seems to be the focus.
And then back to post-steroids🙄 I’ve only once had a session immediately after chemo to see if I can reduce the horrible impact of steriods, because of when Tony works and when my chemo happens, and I seem to remember it did work very well.
Also, in between sessions Tony has given me needles to take home with me and instructions where to use them. They’re tiny, fine pins, individually wrapped and sterile with “launching tubes”. The pin is slightly longer than the tube, so you put the tube in the right place, tap the top of the pin and it goes in. Every week I have different places to use them depending on what’s going on for me. I only use a few pins - in a proper session with Tony he uses loads more!
I also have moxa. (I use smokeless moxa, a stick you light up like a cigarette and use the hot end to heat up points, rather than put pins in them). This is to build the blood cells that chemo has wiped out. I have permanent marker on my back (dots!) which are the places to warm up. (Permanent isn’t that permanent - I’ve got to be very careful in the shower!)
I’m lucky I have a partner who can do this, but there are places on the leg I’ve used that do the same job when my partner has been away.
The first time I “failed” my blood test (neutrophils too low - I was delayed by a week) I was prescribed Filgrastim the following round of chemo. Tony said not to do the moxa those 3 weeks because the Filgrastim should be enough, and it’s important not to overstimulate the process. The blood test after the Filgrastim? I failed it spectacularly, so I spent loads of the next 24 hours with needles in and doing moxa - tested again, and passed with flying colours! No more Filgrastim for me - I hated it!
I had another massive delay in chemo where I felt that acupuncture didn’t work for me - however, in retrospect, I think it was me. My platelet levels just wouldn’t rise. According to TCM neutrophils are Chi which can build more quickly, but platelets are Blood, which builds more slowly. And I just wasn’t resting enough. I genuinely thought I was, but these last 2 rounds of chemo I’ve rested sooooo much more it’s only now I recognise I was over-doing it. And these last two rounds have hit me hard, but I’ve passed all the blood tests!
Tony is a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) acupuncturist, he wears a mask to see me, and I’m the first patient of the day in order to protect me from any potential germs.
I hope this is helpful to someone, and I send love to all on this unplanned journey!

As an indian residing overseas, I visit india about twice a year and every time after I land, I get either a nasal infection, itchiness or face allergies which are not gone until I go back to my country of residence. Doctors often point out that it is the reaction to the extreme air pollution. I know many people who face similar issues. Living in an indian metropolis is equivalent to smoking multiple cigarettes daily.
— I’m deeply concerned about the lack of widespread action and the unmuted response to the environmental emergencies.

• We owe it to our parents who deserve to breathe fresh air in their golden years, to fellow citizens l, and future generations. They should inherit the nation that’s as beautiful and bountiful as its meant to be.
  
• It goes beyond health. Imagine getting unobscured view of the Himalayas and our country being lauded for the beauty and cleanliness and us becoming a leader in promoting a cleaner and pristine natural environment, globally.
  
• In my country of residence , Germany, parties are solely formed on the basis of environmental issues. ( Green party for example) and elections can make or break on the basis of environmental issues.
  
• This also has to do with what we as a society demand from our law and policy makers. Here I observe a huge pressure from the general population to breathe fresh air, get clean water and access to a ton of natural beauty to make living more fulfilling.
  
• We are still way focussed on topics such as communal and religious politics, in an unhealthy proposition.
  
• I am sure many people who have been in other parts of the world also more or less notice it. But it still hasn’t become a mainstream issue. None of the election manifestos emphasise on those topics. I wonder what is it going to take to finally that to happen!
  

Edit: A lot of people are straight up jumping to developed cvs developing country comparison. My question is, is physics and ecology going to care and wait until your, mine and our loved ones’ bodies have permanent damages? Are the ice glaciers going to wait for the next 50 years until India is developed and the wrongdoing in the past by other countries are balanced before cities like Mumbai are submerged? And other extreme weather conditions? Also why cannot we make our living conditions better if we see an obvious problem instead of jumping into ‘what-aboutism’ ?

Hello, new to being in China. Currently staying in Jinan. Still learning the basics mostly on getting around any paying for things. The hardest things I’ve tried to find is some type of vape.(Even smokeless tobacco or something like Zyn). I’m not a huge fan of cigarettes for the smell. I understand they made a ban on flavored Vapes and that you can’t have them delivered or purchase online. Im just trying to find what kind of store to look in to find something I’m looking for. I’ve heard RELX is a big brand here for the tobacco flavor, but I’ve yet to come across any. If anyone has some pointers to send me in the correct direction I’d really appreciate it.

I’ve been a long time lurker of this sub and I’m in a situation right now where I don’t know if this is going to work out. I’m going to try to explain this situation as well as I can. I don’t really care about changing dates and ages at this point so everything you will read here is true and accurate. I’m sorry this will be long because there is a lot to explain.
I met my now boyfriend about a year ago when we were coworkers at the same warehouse. At the time I had been engaged to my ex for four years and it was a toxic relationship. He cheated on me so many times and we lived together and he actually couldn’t keep a job because he was fired about three times from his jobs so I had to pay for mostly everything. Now my ex actually got a job at the same place that my current boyfriend and I worked at. This job is in a warehouse where there are multiple companies inside, and multiple desks. Some of you may know what I am talking about. My ex and I were drivers from different companies and my now boyfriend was a sort of manager in another company.
My ex was finishing work one day and saw (I’m just going to call him C from now) C’s laptop open to the music producing program that I use and walked up to him and told him that his fiance uses that program too. They ended up talking and my ex showed C my music and C liked it.
Around April of 2023, C ended up talking to me for the first time about the whole music thing. We became best friends and we had a lot in common. He’s almost like the male version of me and we hit it off so well. It was sad however because he told me that he was moving to California by the end of the year and had applications in for school in California.
Now in August I left my fiance for multiple reasons including the fact that he crashed my car when driving home from work one day and caused $2700 in damages and it was the last straw. We broke up and he moved back in with his parents and I continued living in our room that we rented in the house with roommates for around 3 weeks until the lease was up. It was not a strict lease and our landlord was a chill guy.
September 1 2023, C and I went out to eat at a hot pot place and then went to the movies after to see Oppenheimer. We were still best friends up to this point. At the movies C brought up the question have you ever thought about what it would be like if we were together. I had started laughing at first because I didn’t know if he was being serious but he was. I said I don’t know and I asked him why. C said that he liked me and I told him that I like him too. C asked me what would happen when he would leave for California in a few months and I said “we can keep it casual.” C kissed me and then we went to his place and slept together.
Now the issues start here. C was moving thousands of miles away. I live in Florida. I was also moving four hours away from the city we worked in to live with my grandmother since I had to leave the place I rented with my ex fiance in October. That’s why I said causal. I just got out of a horrible four year relationship and I didn’t want to immediately hop into another one with someone who was leaving across the country in a few weeks. I didn’t want to make C a rebound and I wanted more experiences with other people.
There was a few more things that bothered me such as C smoked cigarettes and my ex also did and I didn’t want to deal with that again because I hate cigarettes and vapes and I saw much money was wasted on those things with my ex and hated the smell. I also saw a glimpse of C’s photos when we were hanging out once and saw so many skimpy women saved on his phone and that turned me off. My ex had a porn addiction and cheated on me with women and I didn’t want to go through the porn addiction thing again.
After I moved four hours away in October C and I would talk on the phone for hours everyday. I continued to see other people. Some opportunities had come up where I was able to go visit C and we would hook up here and there. I assumed C was doing the same thing because we were casual and not in a relationship.
Here are mistakes I made. I would travel from city to city with new friends I made and C would get mad when I wouldn’t pick up the phone. I didn’t pick up the phone for four days once. C’s feelings kept growing for me and he would ask me if I was fucking other people and I lied because he was pretty mad and me ignoring him and I lied to his face and he knew I was lying and he actually slapped me. That was at his house. That turned me off so much and I told him if he ever slapped me again I’m leaving and I would never talk to him again. After that I felt like I didn’t owe him any explanations because we were not together so I kept seeing other people.
We got over the argument and he came to Miami with his family and we made plans to hang out when he passed through my town on the way back. We met up at a coffee shop and I was actually trying to figure out to to get something off of my new Apple Watch and since he has one himself he went on it to see how to help. He was swiping through the apps on the watch and ended up seeing a picture of me and one of the guys I was seeing and got really mad. He went through my phone and saw everything. He was so mad that he grabbed my bangs and tried to break off my hair. I told him that if he was successful in breaking off my hair I would’ve killed him. I don’t know if I would have but I was really mad. C also said “I guess now we’re even” and I didn’t know what that meant at the time but later I would.
C said goodbye and left back to his city and we didn’t talk for a few days. He reached out to me asking if we could talk and apologized and we ended up talking again and being friends again.
C tell me that we were meant to be together and that I am stupid if I chose to be single over being with him and I kept rejecting him because he was moving and I hate long distance. The other things that had happened also turned me off. But we still kept getting closer.
I eventually said that I chose him. And the day after I chose C I had plans with the last guy I was seeing. I didn’t want to cancel but I wanted to say goodbye. So It was me and him and along with two of our other friends and we were going out to this cute place to have lunch. So we had the lunch and took some pictures and then the other two friends left. The guy actually asked me his girlfriend but I declined. We went back to his place and I watched movies with him and his older sister and he was actually getting sick and not feeling well so we went had went into Walmart to get and then cvs to get medicine then went back to his place and I said goodbye and went home. We just remained as friends. One thing I have to mention is that the guys place was a garage made into a studio apartment where he stays with his two sisters because he rents out the house.
I had called C after and told him and he was mad that I still went through with the plans plus he could see my location anyway and he was mad but I explained what happened.
So It’s now January 20 and C came to visit me and stay with me for a few days. I picked him up from the train and we were hanging out. I didn’t delete all the pictures from the last of the guys I was seeing. (They weren’t nudes) Those pictures were just of us hanging out at places and having fun. The thing about the last guy I was seeing is that I had a new friend group with him and he lived only 15 minutes away and was really genuinely nice to me and I enjoyed hanging out with him. But I chose to be with C. C had an issue with those pictures and actually tried to delete those photos by force a few weeks before that but I stopped him and said that I would delete them on my own and to not force me to do anything because I hate being forced.
However the day he came to see me Jan 20 I deleted them in front of him. I took him to the beach that night and officially asked him to be my boyfriend and he said yes. So we have been together since then.
We have been living together either at my place or his since then and things have not been all good. When he went through my phone he looked at all the pictures and found out all of the names of the guys I slept with. So almost every day he would get in a mood and want to talk for hours about these stupid guys. And recite their names and dates of things it would really start to annoy me and we would argue.
Now I will go back to that coffee shop when he said “at least we’re even now.” Apparently in September when we started hooking up and our best friend dynamic changed and I said casual he said that he thought that meant that we were not together but we would only hook up with each other. However he was apparently fucking a sugar mom during the times that I would not answer the phone after September 1st.
A few days before we started a relationship he was fucking her and I saw pictures of her in his bed, the same bed that I was staying in. Before we were together and I had found that out, I told him to wash the sheets before I would come over and that I didn’t care. He would show me hickeys from her and I would not care because we were single and he could do whatever he wanted and so could I. So I found it a double standard that he was pissed at me when he was fucking someone else too.
His body count is 6 right now. My body count is 10. He keeps saying that my body count shouldn’t be higher than his and that he doesn’t feel like a “top g” because his girl has a higher body count. I find it ridiculous because I’m with him now and he knew that number before we got together and now that we are together he wants to get in a mood about it all the time.
He recently started talking to his previous girl best friend who’s across the world. I saw messages of him saying that because of me he regrets not fucking more women when he was single and that when he gets rich and jacked and women are throwing themselves all over him he wants to make his body count in the 100s.
So right now even though we have so much and common and love each other I don’t know anymore. He told me that he would be okay if he could raise his body count to be higher than mine with threesomes and that I should pick the women for him and that just annoys me. He kept asking me to be in a relationship so many times and now that I chose him he constantly wants to get in the mood and talk for hours about the past and this whole body count threesome thing.
He also has a porn addiction and I saw on his phone 50 pages of porn sites at one time that he would go on. I told him that I don’t want to have to deal with this porn addiction of his and he says he knows it wrong and he is trying to stop. I just find it disgusting because he showed me about ten thousand porn pictures and videos saved on his phone that he deleted for me.
When he gets stressed thinking about the past he punches the wall and throws tantrums and it’s turning me off more and more. It’s always like hot and cold right now with him and I don’t know if I can deal with this much longer.
It’s a little over three months since we became official and there have been good times. Trust me I may be 22 but I know what this looks like. I grew up with a stepfather who would beat me and my mom and then he would be all nice for some time too. It may seem like the same thing to you but C isn’t like how my stepfather was m.
C can be sweet but the times that he isn’t has been pissing me off more and more. He’s constantly saying that I’m going to leave him for someone better looking and then a few hours later he says how much he loves me for leaving those men who were better looking than him and closer and the friend groups and the parties to be with him.
I know that I am young. I wasted four years of my life engaged to someone horrible. I just want to finish my degree and live a happy life with someone who treats me well. I don’t want to waste any more years of my life. Things have been much better recently but I still have doubts about our relationship. Are there too many issues? Is there a chance that this relationship actually work out in the end or is this just a waste of time?
TLDR: My boyfriend has issues with my body count being higher than his and my single past, is this relationship salvageable?

Smoking Elimination Bill

A
BILL
TO
Create a statutory duty to eliminate most smoking by 2030, implement licensing for the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, regulate e-cigarettes and for connected purposes
BE IT ENACTED by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:--

Chapter I: Smoke Free by 2030

Section 1: Smoke Free Target

(1) It is the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that by 2030, less than 5% of the United Kingdom population are regular smokers. This shall be referred to as the “Smoke Free Target”.
(2) The Secretary of State must publish an annual smoking elimination plan, which must include:

(a) an action plan demonstrating the actions to be taken by the Secretary of State to achieve the Smoke Free Target,
(b) measurable objectives to be achieved by the time of the publication of the next annual smoking elimination plan,
(c) the best available data regarding smoking within the United Kingdom, and
(d) a summary of failures to achieve targets set out in all previous smoking elimination plans until such time as they have been achieved, alongside remedial measures to ensure ascertainment of the relevant target.

Section 2: Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this act, a regular smoker is a person who usually consumes at least one tobacco product per week
(2) For the purposes of this act, a tobacco product is a product primarily intended for the consumption of nicotine, including but not limited to:

(a) smoked tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars and hookah tobacco,
(b) smokeless tobacco products such as dipping tobacco, chewing tobacco or snus,
(c) heated tobacco products, or
(d) any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

(3) For the purposes of this act, a nicotine-containing product is any product given under subsection (3), or an electronic cigarette, or any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

Chapter II: Introduction of Licensing of Sale

Section 3: Licensing Requirement for sale

(1) A person commits an offence if they—

(a) sell nicotine-containing products by retail without a licence, or
(b) sell nicotine-containing products by retail from premises other than premises in respect of which they have been granted a licence, unless that licence is granted for online sales.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is considered to have sold a nicotine-containing product by retail if they provide the item for free.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Section 4: Regulations Regarding Licensing

(1) A body known as the Tobacco Licensing Agency is to be formed.
(2) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision about the granting of licences for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products, and such regulations as the Secretary of State deems reasonably necessary for the orderly function of the Tobacco Licensing Agency.
(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must provide that—

(a) the licensing authority for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products is the Tobacco Licensing Agency,
(b) the licensing authority may place conditions on persons to whom licences have been granted,
(c) no licence may be issued to or held by a person who has been convicted of an offence under section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
(d) licences will be issued on an individual basis for a specific address, or online point of sale, and subject to compliance inspection by the licensing authority.

(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must further ensure that the licensing authority may to such an extent compliant with other legislation regulate product standards with respect to products under their remit, including but not limited to:

(a) Restrictions of the marketing and advertising of tobacco products
(b) Requirements regarding health warning and information displays with respect to the sale of tobacco products

Section 5: Age Verification Conditions

(1) Regulations under section 4 must—

(a) require holders of a licence to operate an age verification policy,
(b) enable the licensing authority to issue fines in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy,
(c) create criminal offences in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy.

(2) The Secretary of State may publish guidance on matters relating to age verification policies, including guidance about—

(a) steps that should be taken to establish a customer's age,
(b) documents that may be shown to the person selling a tobacco product or related goods as evidence of a customer's age,
(c) training that should be undertaken by the person selling the tobacco product or related goods,
(d) the form and content of notices that should be displayed in the premises,
(e) the form and content of records that should be maintained in relation to an age verification policy.

(3) A person who carries on a business involving the retail sale of tobacco products must have regard to guidance published under subsection (2) when operating an age verification policy.

Chapter III: Regulations Regarding E-Cigarettes

Section 6: Extension of Plain Packaging to all “nicotine-containing products”

(1) Within the Plain Packaging Act 2016, the following amendments are to be made:-

(a) replace all instances of tobacco products with nicotine-containing products
(b) replace Section 1 subsection c with:

“c) Nicotine-containing products shall have the same meaning as that given in the Smoking Elimination Act 2023”.

Section 10: Ban of disposable e-cigarettes

(1) A person commits an offence if they sell disposable e-cigarettes (where intended for use as a nicotine-containing product) by retail.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or-
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of this section, an e-cigarette shall be considered disposable if it is intended only for a single use, and lacks capacity either to be refilled or recharged by the user.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Chapter IV: Implementation

Section 11: Commencement, Extent and Short Title

(1) This Act shall come into force one year after receiving Royal Assent.
(2) This Act shall extend to England only unless—

(a) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, in which case it shall also apply to Scotland, or
(b) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Senedd Cymru, in which case it shall also apply to Wales, or
(c) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Northern Ireland Assembly, in which case it shall also apply to Northern Ireland.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Smoking Elimination Act 2024.
This bill was written by the Right Honourable Dame SpectacularSalad KG KP GCB OM GCMG GBE CT PC MP MLA FRS and the Right Honourable Sir weebru_m CT KT PC MP on behalf of His Majesty’s Government
Chapter 2 was largely sourced from the real life Sale of Tobacco (Licensing) Bill.
This Legislation amends the Plain Packaging Act 2016.
Opening Speech:
Deputy Speaker,
The house recently read the Advertisement of Vape Products (Regulation) Bill, one I was happy to welcome to this house and support at division. I believe that we in this house must do more to regulate vaping, and also to do what we can to eliminate smoking more generally.
Recalling also the Plain Packaging Bill read earlier this year (and subsequently withdrawn), I was spurred into action to propose the following legislation. I have sought to propose a package of world-leading, comprehensive measures.
Firstly, this bill will create a statutory duty for the Secretary of State to reduce the number of regular smokers to 5% of the population by 2030. In 2021 it was 13.3%, and below this threshold the UK will be considered “smoke free”. This 5% target is inspired by New Zealand’s health measures, but I must make clear that this bill does not go as far as a total ban for certain ages as seen in Aotearoa.
To support this goal, the bill will introduce two new licences. These are a licence on the sale of nicotine products (meaning tobacco products, and vapes), and a licence on the purchase of tobacco products specifically, but not vapes.
The nicotine-containing products licence will come into effect a year after passage of the bill, and this will require any business selling either tobacco or vapes to be licensed. This will also ban online sales of these products, making them only available in brick and mortar stores.
This effort is aimed at cracking down on the sale of tobacco and particularly vapes to young people, as the 25 years of age check will apply as a part of the terms of the licence itself. The NHS estimates that 9% of secondary school pupils either regularly or occasionally vape. This is 9% too many.
Eliminating online sale of tobacco or vaping products will close the online sales loophole, and by controlling which businesses are able to sell these products, we can implement better checks and controls to ensure that young people are unable to access them.
The second measure is the Tobacco Purchase Licence, which will come into force no earlier than the beginning of 2027. This is a licence to be required for an individual to buy tobacco containing products (but explicitly not vapes).
This will be a free, renewable, annual licence. Everyone who is 18 or older will be able to get one, but they will need an application signed by their GP, with the licences themselves issued by NHS bodies, who may issue guidance to the GP on how to support the individual in question.
The aim here is twofold, firstly to ensure that all active smokers have some interaction with the NHS relating to smoking, giving us a greater ability to support cessation. Individuals will retain the right to choose to smoke tobacco, but they will be unable to renew their licence to purchase without a GP’s awareness.
The second aim is simply to make smoking tobacco more hassle than vaping. We do not know how harmful vaping is, but the NHS’ own guidance is that vapes are far less harmful than cigarettes, exposing users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes. By creating a licence required to buy tobacco but not vaping, it is hoped that individuals will be nudged away from cigarettes and towards vaping as a substitute. Due to the nature of the licence, this will be a passive incentive built into the nicotine-products market.
And that brings me neatly onto the fourth key strand of this legislation, that is the extension of plain packaging and out-of-view laws to vapes, and banning disposable vapes. The first component is intended to crack down on bright packaging intended especially to appeal to young people. The second component is intended to tackle both the ease of access to addictive nicotine products, and also to reduce the environmental impact of vaping.
Overall, this represents a comprehensive package of measures that will fit well with the Government’s existing proposals. I hope they will see fit to provide cross-bench support for these measures, aimed at the substantive elimination of smoking in the UK.
This reading shall end on Friday 3rd May at 10PM.

I moved to the city after 2020. Before then, I never experienced the morning rush hour, the lunch break, or the after-work drinks nor did I have much experience at all with working. I came to a point in life where I realized that my degree meant nothing and I would be even more broke and even more unhappy after I graduated as I saw countless of my coursemates sign up for Master’s degrees as they also decided to hit the snooze button. I, like many others after 2020, started a business. The details of that can be discussed another day. However, like many others, I also started working a service job.
The Post-2020 food industry was not such a huge change from regular going-ons. Understandably, it was fuelled by panic and fear. Many restaurants were closing up shop or taking on huge debts. Two reasons. First is very obvious. Second, the chefs all decided to leave. Or just enough, to the point it got scary. The chefs had seen what seven-ten months of no work could do for you. No screaming. No cocaine. No ticket beeps. Just more than enough time to sleep and travel and eat and walk around and actually cook. Many didn’t return when it was time to. So they started hiring anybody they could. And who was lucky enough but me to see it all happen at a top restaurant in the big city.
In 2021, I had three jobs. My first job was my pitiful university degree I was still pursuing to not upset my parents, the second was managing the fashion business that had started to pick up and the third was as a full-time commis chef in Hicce in Kings Cross.
The biggest shock to me was how terribly I ate while I was there. Between fries, a mess plate of pasta and a pint with a cigarette, eating became a chore. And it only got worse when I had to cook for myself once I was home. By the time I got home at 1 am, I’d be so exhausted so I’d have a smoke, fall asleep then wake up to Apple’s Radar.
Brrring- brring, time to put on your apron.
Unbeknownst to me, dissimilar things were going on elsewhere in the world and with the help of free money, thanks JPow, business boomed and workers for a very short but important time in the world held an immeasurable amount of power. People jobhopped to double their salaries, demanded to stay at home and work culture became an overanalyzed discussion piece that is by and large, still very much ongoing till today and will definitely change our world in ways we cannot fully understand at the moment.
But back to the point. I had a girlfriend at the time who was one of these people. Until this point, I had grown familiar with the overly masculine grindset mindset way of making money - shake my hand, move fast break stuff, 6 pack, dropship, Sorkin. But now I met a girl who represented a growing section of the population - the educated post-millennial Vote-Clinton girlboss persona. My ex was a STEM major with a great CV, retarded about budgets and expenses, researching companies on Glassdoor, constantly updating her LinkedIn profile and it was all lost on me, a starving artist, bumming my way through life.
She is the silent majority of the 1%.
I quit my job on New Year’s Eve to cycle across London with my best friend. For some months, I was happily unhappily unemployed and my ex helped me write my CV. I got a job in a finance company, I quit to travel around Lebanon, spent some more months unemployed, did well in my business, then lost my business to a creative dispute (We can discuss that later) then I got a new job.
^{“I’ve been a rich man and I've been a poor man, and I choose rich every fucking time”}
Look, this isn’t going to be for everyone, that’s the caveat. Some people can and others can’t and immediately you’d know yourself whether it’s worth it. Everybody is different but I am here to present this as an option, not a definite prescription.
First things first, in corporate, people don’t work that much.
Service demands your body and soul. From day one, you’re thrown very deep into the work and are given not much time at all before you’re waiting at a table, washing up a pile or talking to customers. It’s paid hourly because an hour without you means less efficiency and less productivity.
Corporate life is a lot of filibustering, gerrymandering, and shooting the shit. Most corporate businesses are dealing with significant portions of money held by significant people. It’s hard to get a lot done fast unless it’s a startup. Even still, a lot of time is ambient. Waiting for someone to grant permission to access a file, a smoke break, a coffee break, lunch, a meeting, or catching up with another co-worker. You may have heard of Bullshit Jobs. It’s true, I know my work is bullshit, but I’m happy it is because I don’t care for it, in the same way, I never cared for any restaurant I worked at or pub I washed dishes in or table I waited at.
Two, hybrid work is a game-changer.
I have no nostalgia. There is truly nothing more incredible than the fact you can now in the current time have the option to work outside of an office. During my finance job, I spent multiple working days in Amsterdam, Lisbon, Paris without a second thought. Most hybrid workers won’t tell you they wake up at 1 pm and go to bed at 3 pm. It’s kind of the same as the last point, you don’t do that much work in the office, you just have to spend a lot of time pretending you do.
It's easier to pretend on Teams.
Three, maybe work-life balance is real.
Working in service impacted my health. I got scalded hands, and I was either underfed, underslept, or under stress, but mostly all at the same time. It’s amazing what a 35 hour work-week does for you. Access to the gym, access to night-time activities, access to a whole new mode of life.
Not to mention, you now have the money to afford this stuff. To not have to count pennies and dimes every second, it’s a bit incredible that due to my artistic pomposity, I left myself for some years out of the greatest scam ever - full-time work.
Now, on how to actually get the job.
Step One: A good resume is a great start.
Recruiters will go through more than 100 CVs in a day. Of course, standing out is important but that’s mostly in them being able to read and understand the damn thing.
So don’t go crazy, and don’t put your photo, unless you’re incredibly hot. Don’t put any of those funky gizmos or graphics. Just easy-to-read bullet points. Think of it as a fact sheet, they have requirements (facts) and they need to check it versus your document.
Every bullet point needs to be quantified, look, these guys have targets and their job is bullshit like yours, they want to be able to easily compare people to their managers, so making their job easier makes it easier for you to get the job.
Here are two examples:
A
“Creation of pastries, coffee drinks, and a large menu of breakfast and lunch items at high volume, table service restaurant.”
B
“Serving over 100 customers daily with a selection of 200+ items, all in under 30 minutes on average.”
Put yourself in their shoes. Who can send a better email? A is wordy, with unimportant details, what does high-volume mean? B is efficient, maximizing production and understands what a deadline is.
Therefore, use percentages and numbers, and convert things into things that make sense from a numerical, progressive POV. Each bullet point should be one line maximum and you’d need at least 3-8 points per job.
Unless you’ve done nothing, you can extract and embellish as much value as you can get out of work you’ve done that can make you have a decent standing versus other people. For legal considerations, I don’t know how much I can tell you to embellish but don’t get caught.
On job titles, please just make yourself a manager.
You managed yourself, didn’t you? Who gives a shit?
Get familiar with some of the tools and tech your chosen industry uses or do the thing I’m legally not allowed to mention. Use any other space to shed more light on who you are. A summary is great to give people an understanding of your experience at a glance, an interests section gives them more knowledge on your personality but make sure to get it all down in less than 2 pages. Anything more means you're being silly.
Also, last tip, don’t include your graduation year in your CV. Why would I hire a X-year old? They can figure out your age once you’ve signed your contract.
Step Two: LinkedIn
LinkedIn is where most jobs are. You should already have 500+ connections. If you don’t, you’re already one step behind. On a level, it sucks that you have to debase yourself to become a Dhakan bot farm but you are competing with the Dhakan job farm. Get a good photo, don’t use the ugly #Opentowork banner (desperate), update your info and then start hitting the button.
Focus on a sector of what you’re good at that aligns with your experience.
Remember, factsheet but also, pay and spray. You might be wasting your time, applying for Director positions when you have 1 year of internship experience, maybe. But make the filters for your search and everything extremely customised and specific for what you want and can realistically achieve.
There’s an internalistic ratio - how prepared am I to work here vs how competitive is it? Don’t waste your time and energy on anapplication you’re not passionate about. If you can’t write a good non-ChatGPT cover letter for a place you love, be prepared to not get the job.
Moreover, also prepare yourself for rejections, there will be a lot. Over my six months of unemployment, I had 478 rejections, 49 interviews, and then one job. Just remember the end goal - the one job.
Step Three: The Interview
It’s easy - suck their dick. Do as much research as you can before the interview and just act like it’s your dream to work as a project manager lol. Nobody cares, the managers just want to see passion. Lie. If you can’t get to the second stage interview, you’re not lying hard enough or you don’t seem ecstatic enough.
Don’t be a pain. Say everything they want to hear until you get the job. Once you’re in, underpromise and overdeliver; chances are there are dumber people than you on the job, they just have an MBA like that means anything.
Remember, fact-sheet, look at the job requirements and then say everything they want to hear you say. Your CV, unless you’re editing for each job application, probably doesn’t hit their 100% mark, so when you get on the interview, remember to hit on each note. If they’re looking for a team player, discuss when you led your team of regard waiters to success at that corporate lunch event. Whatever.
Besides, also dress nice and look nice. Like everything else in the world, people will make their judgements about you before you can even speak. They want young, hot, fun people to put on their business page.
Step Four: The Final Interview
Be one of the first to be interviewed, choose the earliest possible date and time.
Speak confidently and if asked about how much money you want, be clear but communicative.
In most cases, if you don’t get the job after this, they already had someone else who was more experienced and you were the option if things went nuclear with them. It’s okay. Get the feedback though, get that yummy feedback to get better.
Step Five: The Job
Congrats. You did it.
I’ve been at my job for some time now and it’s helped me in ways I didn’t think about before.

• I’m a lot more efficient with my time than I ever was.
• I’m a lot more empathetic than I ever was.
• And, I’m a lot more “responsible” than I ever was.

^{They love the working man, oh yes, they do.}
This advice is pretty basic but works across project management, customer service, recruitment, marketing, sales etc but not super qualified jobs (who wants to be a lawyer anyway?).
Be aware though, that in 10 years, your job will be done by a dude in Rajasthan or by AI.
So you better use all this new time to work on your creative self, as you promised, and which was the reason for getting the job in the first place - to support your actual ambitions.
In conclusion, it takes time - it took me months to learn this and then to get the job to get to write this but it’s way more worth it than being a fucking line cook.

B1665 - Smoking Elimination Bill - Final Division

A
BILL
TO
Create a statutory duty to eliminate most smoking by 2030, implement licensing for the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, regulate e-cigarettes and for connected purposes
BE IT ENACTED by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:--

Chapter I: Smoke Free by 2030

Section 1: Smoke Free Target

(1) It is the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that by 2030, less than 5% of the United Kingdom population are regular smokers. This shall be referred to as the “Smoke Free Target”.
(2) The Secretary of State must publish an annual smoking elimination plan, which must include:

(a) an action plan demonstrating the actions to be taken by the Secretary of State to achieve the Smoke Free Target, (b) measurable objectives to be achieved by the time of the publication of the next annual smoking elimination plan, (d) a summary of failures to achieve targets set out in all previous smoking elimination plans until such time as they have been achieved, alongside remedial measures to ensure ascertainment of the relevant target.

Section 2: Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this act, a regular smoker is a person who usually consumes at least one tobacco product per week
(2) For the purposes of this act, a tobacco product is a product primarily intended for the consumption of nicotine, including but not limited to:

(a) smoked tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars and hookah tobacco, (b) smokeless tobacco products such as dipping tobacco, chewing tobacco or snus, (c) heated tobacco products, or (d) any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

(3) For the purposes of this act, a nicotine-containing product is any product given under subsection (3), or an electronic cigarette, or any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

Chapter II: Introduction of Licensing of Sale

Section 3: Licensing Requirement for sale

(1) A person commits an offence if they—

(a) sell nicotine-containing products by retail without a licence, or
(b) sell nicotine-containing products by retail from premises other than premises in respect of which they have been granted a licence, unless that licence is granted for online sales.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is considered to have sold a nicotine-containing product by retail if they provide the item for free.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Section 4: Regulations Regarding Licensing

(1) A body known as the Tobacco Licensing Agency is to be formed.
(2) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision about the granting of licences for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products, and such regulations as the Secretary of State deems reasonably necessary for the orderly function of the Tobacco Licensing Agency.
(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must provide that—

(a) the licensing authority for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products is the Tobacco Licensing Agency,

(b) the licensing authority may place conditions on persons to whom licences have been granted,
(c) no licence may be issued to or held by a person who has been convicted of an offence under section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
(d) licences will be issued on an individual basis for a specific address, or online point of sale, and subject to compliance inspection by the licensing authority.
(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must further ensure that the licensing authority may to such an extent compliant with other legislation regulate product standards with respect to products under their remit, including but not limited to:

(a) Restrictions of the marketing and advertising of tobacco products

(b) Requirements regarding health warning and information displays with respect to the sale of tobacco products

Section 5: Age Verification Conditions

(1) Regulations under section 4 must—

(a) require holders of a licence to operate an age verification policy, (b) enable the licensing authority to issue fines in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy, (c) create criminal offences in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy.

(2) The Secretary of State may publish guidance on matters relating to age verification policies, including guidance about—

(a) steps that should be taken to establish a customer's age, (b) documents that may be shown to the person selling a tobacco product or related goods as evidence of a customer's age, (c) training that should be undertaken by the person selling the tobacco product or related goods, (d) the form and content of notices that should be displayed in the premises, (e) the form and content of records that should be maintained in relation to an age verification policy.

(3) A person who carries on a business involving the retail sale of tobacco products must have regard to guidance published under subsection (2) when operating an age verification policy.

Chapter III: Regulations Regarding E-Cigarettes

Section 6: Extension of Plain Packaging to all “nicotine-containing products”

(1) Within the Plain Packaging Act 2016, the following amendments are to be made:-

(a) replace all instances of tobacco products with nicotine-containing products (b) replace Section 1 subsection c with: “c) Nicotine-containing products shall have the same meaning as that given in the Smoking Elimination Act 2023”.

Section 10: Ban of disposable e-cigarettes

(1) A person commits an offence if they sell disposable e-cigarettes (where intended for use as a nicotine-containing product) by retail.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or- (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of this section, an e-cigarette shall be considered disposable if it is intended only for a single use, and lacks capacity either to be refilled or recharged by the user.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Chapter IV: Implementation

Section 11: Commencement, Extent and Short Title

(1) This Act shall come into force one year after receiving Royal Assent.
(2) This Act shall extend to England only unless—

(a) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, in which case it shall also apply to Scotland, or (b) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Senedd Cymru, in which case it shall also apply to Wales, or (c) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Northern Ireland Assembly, in which case it shall also apply to Northern Ireland.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2024.
This bill was written by the Right Honourable Dame u/SpectacularSalad KG KP GCB OM GCMG GBE CT PC MP MLA FRS and the Right Honourable Sir u/weebru_m CT KT PC MP on behalf of His Majesty’s Government
Chapter 2 was largely sourced from the real life Sale of Tobacco (Licensing) Bill.
This Legislation amends the Plain Packaging Act 2016.
Opening Speech:
Deputy Speaker,
The house recently read the Advertisement of Vape Products (Regulation) Bill, one I was happy to welcome to this house and support at division. I believe that we in this house must do more to regulate vaping, and also to do what we can to eliminate smoking more generally.
Recalling also the Plain Packaging Bill read earlier this year (and subsequently withdrawn), I was spurred into action to propose the following legislation. I have sought to propose a package of world-leading, comprehensive measures.
Firstly, this bill will create a statutory duty for the Secretary of State to reduce the number of regular smokers to 5% of the population by 2030. In 2021 it was 13.3%, and below this threshold the UK will be considered “smoke free”. This 5% target is inspired by New Zealand’s health measures, but I must make clear that this bill does not go as far as a total ban for certain ages as seen in Aotearoa.
To support this goal, the bill will introduce two new licences. These are a licence on the sale of nicotine products (meaning tobacco products, and vapes), and a licence on the purchase of tobacco products specifically, but not vapes.
The nicotine-containing products licence will come into effect a year after passage of the bill, and this will require any business selling either tobacco or vapes to be licensed. This will also ban online sales of these products, making them only available in brick and mortar stores.
This effort is aimed at cracking down on the sale of tobacco and particularly vapes to young people, as the 25 years of age check will apply as a part of the terms of the licence itself. The NHS estimates that 9% of secondary school pupils either regularly or occasionally vape. This is 9% too many.
Eliminating online sale of tobacco or vaping products will close the online sales loophole, and by controlling which businesses are able to sell these products, we can implement better checks and controls to ensure that young people are unable to access them.
The second measure is the Tobacco Purchase Licence, which will come into for https://www.reddit.com/MHOC/comments/1bskb2u/b1665_smoking_elimination_bill_2nd_reading/ no earlier than the beginning of 2027. This is a licence to be required for an individual to buy tobacco containing products (but explicitly not vapes).
This will be a free, renewable, annual licence. Everyone who is 18 or older will be able to get one, but they will need an application signed by their GP, with the licences themselves issued by NHS bodies, who may issue guidance to the GP on how to support the individual in question.
The aim here is twofold, firstly to ensure that all active smokers have some interaction with the NHS relating to smoking, giving us a greater ability to support cessation. Individuals will retain the right to choose to smoke tobacco, but they will be unable to renew their licence to purchase without a GP’s awareness.
The second aim is simply to make smoking tobacco more hassle than vaping. We do not know how harmful vaping is, but the NHS’ own guidance is that vapes are far less harmful than cigarettes, exposing users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes. By creating a licence required to buy tobacco but not vaping, it is hoped that individuals will be nudged away from cigarettes and towards vaping as a substitute. Due to the nature of the licence, this will be a passive incentive built into the nicotine-products market.
And that brings me neatly onto the fourth key strand of this legislation, that is the extension of plain packaging and out-of-view laws to vapes, and banning disposable vapes. The first component is intended to crack down on bright packaging intended especially to appeal to young people. The second component is intended to tackle both the ease of access to addictive nicotine products, and also to reduce the environmental impact of vaping.
Overall, this represents a comprehensive package of measures that will fit well with the Government’s existing proposals. I hope they will see fit to provide cross-bench support for these measures, aimed at the substantive elimination of smoking in the UK.
Lords may vote either Content, Not Content or Present to the Bill.
This Division ends on the 25th of April at 10PM BST.

• 27 cigarette butts
• 1 cigarillo butt
• 14 mini liquor bottles
• 2 KitKat wrappers
• 1 smashed Slurpee cup, extra large
• 43 small foam stoppers (from what?)
• 3 used syringes
• 1 CVS store plastic bag

Plus miscellaneous unidentifiable trash.
None of it is ours.

B1665 - Smoking Elimination Bill - Second Reading

A
BILL
TO
Create a statutory duty to eliminate most smoking by 2030, implement licensing for the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, regulate e-cigarettes and for connected purposes
BE IT ENACTED by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:--

Chapter I: Smoke Free by 2030

Section 1: Smoke Free Target

(1) It is the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that by 2030, less than 5% of the United Kingdom population are regular smokers. This shall be referred to as the “Smoke Free Target”.
(2) The Secretary of State must publish an annual smoking elimination plan, which must include:

(a) an action plan demonstrating the actions to be taken by the Secretary of State to achieve the Smoke Free Target, (b) measurable objectives to be achieved by the time of the publication of the next annual smoking elimination plan, (d) a summary of failures to achieve targets set out in all previous smoking elimination plans until such time as they have been achieved, alongside remedial measures to ensure ascertainment of the relevant target.

Section 2: Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this act, a regular smoker is a person who usually consumes at least one tobacco product per week
(2) For the purposes of this act, a tobacco product is a product primarily intended for the consumption of nicotine, including but not limited to:

(a) smoked tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars and hookah tobacco, (b) smokeless tobacco products such as dipping tobacco, chewing tobacco or snus, (c) heated tobacco products, or (d) any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

(3) For the purposes of this act, a nicotine-containing product is any product given under subsection (3), or an electronic cigarette, or any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

Chapter II: Introduction of Licensing of Sale

Section 3: Licensing Requirement for sale

(1) A person commits an offence if they—
​

(a) sell nicotine-containing products by retail without a licence, or
(b) sell nicotine-containing products by retail from premises other than premises in respect of which they have been granted a licence, unless that licence is granted for online sales.

​
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
​

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is considered to have sold a nicotine-containing product by retail if they provide the item for free.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Section 4: Regulations Regarding Licensing

(1) A body known as the Tobacco Licensing Agency is to be formed.
(2) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision about the granting of licences for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products, and such regulations as the Secretary of State deems reasonably necessary for the orderly function of the Tobacco Licensing Agency.
(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must provide that—
​

(a) the licensing authority for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products is the Tobacco Licensing Agency,
(b) the licensing authority may place conditions on persons to whom licences have been granted,
(c) no licence may be issued to or held by a person who has been convicted of an offence under section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
(d) licences will be issued on an individual basis for a specific address, or online point of sale, and subject to compliance inspection by the licensing authority.

(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must further ensure that the licensing authority may to such an extent compliant with other legislation regulate product standards with respect to products under their remit, including but not limited to:
​

(a) Restrictions of the marketing and advertising of tobacco products
(b) Requirements regarding health warning and information displays with respect to the sale of tobacco products

Section 5: Age Verification Conditions

(1) Regulations under section 4 must—

(a) require holders of a licence to operate an age verification policy, (b) enable the licensing authority to issue fines in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy, (c) create criminal offences in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy.

(2) The Secretary of State may publish guidance on matters relating to age verification policies, including guidance about—

(a) steps that should be taken to establish a customer's age, (b) documents that may be shown to the person selling a tobacco product or related goods as evidence of a customer's age, (c) training that should be undertaken by the person selling the tobacco product or related goods, (d) the form and content of notices that should be displayed in the premises, (e) the form and content of records that should be maintained in relation to an age verification policy.

(3) A person who carries on a business involving the retail sale of tobacco products must have regard to guidance published under subsection (2) when operating an age verification policy.

Chapter III: Regulations Regarding E-Cigarettes

Section 6: Extension of Plain Packaging to all “nicotine-containing products”

(1) Within the Plain Packaging Act 2016, the following amendments are to be made:-

(a) replace all instances of tobacco products with nicotine-containing products (b) replace Section 1 subsection c with: “c) Nicotine-containing products shall have the same meaning as that given in the Smoking Elimination Act 2023”.

Section 10: Ban of disposable e-cigarettes

(1) A person commits an offence if they sell disposable e-cigarettes (where intended for use as a nicotine-containing product) by retail.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or- (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of this section, an e-cigarette shall be considered disposable if it is intended only for a single use, and lacks capacity either to be refilled or recharged by the user.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Chapter IV: Implementation

Section 11: Commencement, Extent and Short Title

(1) This Act shall come into force one year after receiving Royal Assent.
(2) This Act shall extend to England only unless—

(a) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, in which case it shall also apply to Scotland, or (b) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Senedd Cymru, in which case it shall also apply to Wales, or (c) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Northern Ireland Assembly, in which case it shall also apply to Northern Ireland.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2024.
This bill was written by the Right Honourable Dame u/SpectacularSalad KG KP GCB OM GCMG GBE CT PC MP MLA FRS and the Right Honourable Sir u/weebru_m CT KT PC MP on behalf of His Majesty’s Government
Chapter 2 was largely sourced from the real life Sale of Tobacco (Licensing) Bill.
This Legislation amends the Plain Packaging Act 2016.
Opening Speech:
Deputy Speaker,
The house recently read the Advertisement of Vape Products (Regulation) Bill, one I was happy to welcome to this house and support at division. I believe that we in this house must do more to regulate vaping, and also to do what we can to eliminate smoking more generally.
Recalling also the Plain Packaging Bill read earlier this year (and subsequently withdrawn), I was spurred into action to propose the following legislation. I have sought to propose a package of world-leading, comprehensive measures.
Firstly, this bill will create a statutory duty for the Secretary of State to reduce the number of regular smokers to 5% of the population by 2030. In 2021 it was 13.3%, and below this threshold the UK will be considered “smoke free”. This 5% target is inspired by New Zealand’s health measures, but I must make clear that this bill does not go as far as a total ban for certain ages as seen in Aotearoa.
To support this goal, the bill will introduce two new licences. These are a licence on the sale of nicotine products (meaning tobacco products, and vapes), and a licence on the purchase of tobacco products specifically, but not vapes.
The nicotine-containing products licence will come into effect a year after passage of the bill, and this will require any business selling either tobacco or vapes to be licensed. This will also ban online sales of these products, making them only available in brick and mortar stores.
This effort is aimed at cracking down on the sale of tobacco and particularly vapes to young people, as the 25 years of age check will apply as a part of the terms of the licence itself. The NHS estimates that 9% of secondary school pupils either regularly or occasionally vape. This is 9% too many.
Eliminating online sale of tobacco or vaping products will close the online sales loophole, and by controlling which businesses are able to sell these products, we can implement better checks and controls to ensure that young people are unable to access them.
The second measure is the Tobacco Purchase Licence, which will come into forhttps://www.reddit.com/MHOC/comments/1bskb2u/b1665_smoking_elimination_bill_2nd_reading/ce no earlier than the beginning of 2027. This is a licence to be required for an individual to buy tobacco containing products (but explicitly not vapes).
This will be a free, renewable, annual licence. Everyone who is 18 or older will be able to get one, but they will need an application signed by their GP, with the licences themselves issued by NHS bodies, who may issue guidance to the GP on how to support the individual in question.
The aim here is twofold, firstly to ensure that all active smokers have some interaction with the NHS relating to smoking, giving us a greater ability to support cessation. Individuals will retain the right to choose to smoke tobacco, but they will be unable to renew their licence to purchase without a GP’s awareness.
The second aim is simply to make smoking tobacco more hassle than vaping. We do not know how harmful vaping is, but the NHS’ own guidance is that vapes are far less harmful than cigarettes, exposing users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes. By creating a licence required to buy tobacco but not vaping, it is hoped that individuals will be nudged away from cigarettes and towards vaping as a substitute. Due to the nature of the licence, this will be a passive incentive built into the nicotine-products market.
And that brings me neatly onto the fourth key strand of this legislation, that is the extension of plain packaging and out-of-view laws to vapes, and banning disposable vapes. The first component is intended to crack down on bright packaging intended especially to appeal to young people. The second component is intended to tackle both the ease of access to addictive nicotine products, and also to reduce the environmental impact of vaping.
Overall, this represents a comprehensive package of measures that will fit well with the Government’s existing proposals. I hope they will see fit to provide cross-bench support for these measures, aimed at the substantive elimination of smoking in the UK.
Lords can debate and submit amendments until the 22nd of April at 10pm BST.

I'd appreciate if someone could give me some tips on how I How I can fix my resume to appeal more to remote call cente customer service jobs. I have no experience in that field but I do feel as though my work experience should count for something because I do have a lot of experience in retail customer service.

Smoking Elimination Bill

A
BILL
TO
Create a statutory duty to eliminate most smoking by 2030, implement licensing for the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, regulate e-cigarettes and for connected purposes
BE IT ENACTED by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:--

Chapter I: Smoke Free by 2030

Section 1: Smoke Free Target

(1) It is the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that by 2030, less than 5% of the United Kingdom population are regular smokers. This shall be referred to as the “Smoke Free Target”.
(2) The Secretary of State must publish an annual smoking elimination plan, which must include:

(a) an action plan demonstrating the actions to be taken by the Secretary of State to achieve the Smoke Free Target, (b) measurable objectives to be achieved by the time of the publication of the next annual smoking elimination plan, (c) the best available data regarding smoking within the United Kingdom, and (d) a summary of failures to achieve targets set out in all previous smoking elimination plans until such time as they have been achieved, alongside remedial measures to ensure ascertainment of the relevant target.

Section 2: Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this act, a regular smoker is a person who usually consumes at least one tobacco product per week
(2) For the purposes of this act, a tobacco product is a product primarily intended for the consumption of nicotine, including but not limited to:

(a) smoked tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars and hookah tobacco, (b) smokeless tobacco products such as dipping tobacco, chewing tobacco or snus, (c) heated tobacco products, or (d) any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

(3) For the purposes of this act, a nicotine-containing product is any product given under subsection (3), or an electronic cigarette, or any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

Chapter II: Introduction of Licensing of Sale

Section 3: Licensing Requirement for sale

(1) A person commits an offence if they—

(a) sell nicotine-containing products by retail without a licence, or
(b) sell nicotine-containing products by retail from premises other than premises in respect of which they have been granted a licence, unless that licence is granted for online sales.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is considered to have sold a nicotine-containing product by retail if they provide the item for free.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Section 4: Regulations Regarding Licensing

(1) A body known as the Tobacco Licensing Agency is to be formed.
(2) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision about the granting of licences for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products, and such regulations as the Secretary of State deems reasonably necessary for the orderly function of the Tobacco Licensing Agency.
(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must provide that—

(a) the licensing authority for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products is the Tobacco Licensing Agency, (b) the licensing authority may place conditions on persons to whom licences have been granted, (c) no licence may be issued to or held by a person who has been convicted of an offence under section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. (d) licences will be issued on an individual basis for a specific address, or online point of sale, and subject to compliance inspection by the licensing authority.

(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must further ensure that the licensing authority may to such an extent compliant with other legislation regulate product standards with respect to products under their remit, including but not limited to:

(a) Restrictions of the marketing and advertising of tobacco products (b) Requirements regarding health warning and information displays with respect to the sale of tobacco products

Section 5: Age Verification Conditions

(1) Regulations under section 4 must—

(a) require holders of a licence to operate an age verification policy, (b) enable the licensing authority to issue fines in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy, (c) create criminal offences in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy.

(2) The Secretary of State may publish guidance on matters relating to age verification policies, including guidance about—

(a) steps that should be taken to establish a customer's age, (b) documents that may be shown to the person selling a tobacco product or related goods as evidence of a customer's age, (c) training that should be undertaken by the person selling the tobacco product or related goods, (d) the form and content of notices that should be displayed in the premises, (e) the form and content of records that should be maintained in relation to an age verification policy.

(3) A person who carries on a business involving the retail sale of tobacco products must have regard to guidance published under subsection (2) when operating an age verification policy.

Chapter III: Regulations Regarding E-Cigarettes

Section 6: Extension of Plain Packaging to all “nicotine-containing products”

(1) Within the Plain Packaging Act 2016, the following amendments are to be made:-

(a) replace all instances of tobacco products with nicotine-containing products (b) replace Section 1 subsection c with: “c) Nicotine-containing products shall have the same meaning as that given in the Smoking Elimination Act 2023”.

Section 10: Ban of disposable e-cigarettes

(1) A person commits an offence if they sell disposable e-cigarettes (where intended for use as a nicotine-containing product) by retail.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or- (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of this section, an e-cigarette shall be considered disposable if it is intended only for a single use, and lacks capacity either to be refilled or recharged by the user.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Chapter IV: Implementation

Section 11: Commencement, Extent and Short Title

(1) This Act shall come into force one year after receiving Royal Assent.
(2) This Act shall extend to England only unless—

(a) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, in which case it shall also apply to Scotland, or (b) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Senedd Cymru, in which case it shall also apply to Wales, or (c) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Northern Ireland Assembly, in which case it shall also apply to Northern Ireland.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2024.
This bill was written by the Right Honourable Dame u/SpectacularSalad KG KP GCB OM GCMG GBE CT PC MP MLA FRS and the Right Honourable Sir u/weebru_m CT KT PC MP on behalf of His Majesty’s Government
Chapter 2 was largely sourced from the real life Sale of Tobacco (Licensing) Bill.
This Legislation amends the Plain Packaging Act 2016.
Opening Speech:
Deputy Speaker,
The house recently read the Advertisement of Vape Products (Regulation) Bill, one I was happy to welcome to this house and support at division. I believe that we in this house must do more to regulate vaping, and also to do what we can to eliminate smoking more generally.
Recalling also the Plain Packaging Bill read earlier this year (and subsequently withdrawn), I was spurred into action to propose the following legislation. I have sought to propose a package of world-leading, comprehensive measures.
Firstly, this bill will create a statutory duty for the Secretary of State to reduce the number of regular smokers to 5% of the population by 2030. In 2021 it was 13.3%, and below this threshold the UK will be considered “smoke free”. This 5% target is inspired by New Zealand’s health measures, but I must make clear that this bill does not go as far as a total ban for certain ages as seen in Aotearoa.
To support this goal, the bill will introduce two new licences. These are a licence on the sale of nicotine products (meaning tobacco products, and vapes), and a licence on the purchase of tobacco products specifically, but not vapes.
The nicotine-containing products licence will come into effect a year after passage of the bill, and this will require any business selling either tobacco or vapes to be licensed. This will also ban online sales of these products, making them only available in brick and mortar stores.
This effort is aimed at cracking down on the sale of tobacco and particularly vapes to young people, as the 25 years of age check will apply as a part of the terms of the licence itself. The NHS estimates that 9% of secondary school pupils either regularly or occasionally vape. This is 9% too many.
Eliminating online sale of tobacco or vaping products will close the online sales loophole, and by controlling which businesses are able to sell these products, we can implement better checks and controls to ensure that young people are unable to access them.
The second measure is the Tobacco Purchase Licence, which will come into forhttps://www.reddit.com/MHOC/comments/1bskb2u/b1665_smoking_elimination_bill_2nd_reading/ce no earlier than the beginning of 2027. This is a licence to be required for an individual to buy tobacco containing products (but explicitly not vapes).
This will be a free, renewable, annual licence. Everyone who is 18 or older will be able to get one, but they will need an application signed by their GP, with the licences themselves issued by NHS bodies, who may issue guidance to the GP on how to support the individual in question.
The aim here is twofold, firstly to ensure that all active smokers have some interaction with the NHS relating to smoking, giving us a greater ability to support cessation. Individuals will retain the right to choose to smoke tobacco, but they will be unable to renew their licence to purchase without a GP’s awareness.
The second aim is simply to make smoking tobacco more hassle than vaping. We do not know how harmful vaping is, but the NHS’ own guidance is that vapes are far less harmful than cigarettes, exposing users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes. By creating a licence required to buy tobacco but not vaping, it is hoped that individuals will be nudged away from cigarettes and towards vaping as a substitute. Due to the nature of the licence, this will be a passive incentive built into the nicotine-products market.
And that brings me neatly onto the fourth key strand of this legislation, that is the extension of plain packaging and out-of-view laws to vapes, and banning disposable vapes. The first component is intended to crack down on bright packaging intended especially to appeal to young people. The second component is intended to tackle both the ease of access to addictive nicotine products, and also to reduce the environmental impact of vaping.
Overall, this represents a comprehensive package of measures that will fit well with the Government’s existing proposals. I hope they will see fit to provide cross-bench support for these measures, aimed at the substantive elimination of smoking in the UK.
This division ends at 10PM BST on Tuesday 16 April 2024.

Hello everyone, I (21F) would like advice on how to convince my mother to try and get help without making her feel offended. I dont have anyone that I wanna tell about this irl so hopefully someone out there is bored enough to read this haha
To put this whole thing into context, shes an extremely volatile person that just explodes at at least something everyday.
I don't necessarily have a bad relationship with her as she's never neglected me, but ever since I can remember I've been walking on eggshells around her.
These are things that define her usual behavior:

1. She tends to get irritated and angry extremely fast and at things no one can really control, or things that really aren't that serious and should be really easy to deal with in a healthy way. She then proceeds to break things, over the years she has broken dishes, remotes, my phones and my doors. In rare cases, when i was still underage, she hit me, choked me, pinned me against walls to scream and spit in my face etc.
   
2. She does not feel shame. For as long as I can remember, she has quite frankly had very embarrassing temper tantrums in public. Just yesterday we were on a busy street at night because she wanted to accompany me to a pharmacy, she didnt like the idea of me going out alone at night as we live in a dangerous area. I did not ask for her to come with me, but I allowed her to.
   

I did not have money for a cab and we live on a road that goes uphill, so its kind of a workout to get home. When I told her we'd have to walk because I only brought money for the things I had bought, she started raising her voice at me, asking me if I was serious. She took another breath and started screaming that she shouldnt have come. I told her to please not make a scene in public, and that was all it took for her to explode, she literally said: "I can do whatever the f*ck i want, if i wanna get naked right now i'll take off my clothes in the middle of the street, who are you to tell me what to do". Obviously, everyone stopped and stared and kids were also around, so it was just really embarrassing and sad.

1. She is unable to see her faults. She is a 47 year old woman that depends on me for everything, she doesnt know how our washing machine and dishwasher work despite living in the same place for 7 years, she doesnt know how to pay bills or do taxes, she doesnt know how to drive, she barely helps out around the house, but when she does she claims i never do anything (i do 99% of housework btw). this has been a thing ever since i was a child. I had to figure out how to get in contact with an embassy to get her a new passport, then fill out all the forms online by myself at 7 years old. She refuses to apply to any job ever because writing cvs is "hard", so when i did it for her at 12, 13 and 15 years old and got her interviews, she still didnt go and made me to all of that for nothing. When I was a kid she made me get up at 2-4 am constantly to open the door for her when she had returned from a random bar. I would go on to be sleep deprived at school at least once every week.
   
2. manipulation she would promise me to get better, go to therapy and pretend to understand why i'm scared of her outbursts, only to tell me she never said any of that the next day. as a kid she would tell me we'd go watch a movie at the cinema only to take me to a bar where i had to see her get drunk with her friends as i sat in a corner playing with napkins and cigarette nubs. she vehemently denies this today.
   
3. lack of responsibility i was always the kid that was picked up last after school, or picked up by people i had never seen before. when i was 16, she left me home alone with an older male friend of hers that then proceeded to sexually assault me, i never told her because i dont want her to feel bad. obvioulsy theres way more, but you get the gist.
   

yesterday, i asked her why she was always so angry, irresponsible and shameless, i told her my whole life i had to deal with this, and that i'm just tired.
She kept screaming at the top of her lungs, saying that i'm accusing her of being a bad mother, that i'm ungrateful, selfish, evil and love to put her down. She picked up her purse, slammed the door and left. when she came back today she was still yelling and kept trying to rile me up, she also says me using that calm voice on her is the real manipulation because i'm trying to make her feel crazy. (screaming back will lead her to possibly hurt me or surely break things)
Whats worse than all of the things i listed, is that on her good days shes very affectionate, even understanding when i complain about anything other than her, funny and generous, i dont know to feel about her, i love her and i despise her for all she does to me.
She thinks the way she behaves is just her personality, and that if i dont like it i should just stay away from her.
All her friends and exes go no contact/break up with her because theyre scared of her anger. this alone tells me its not us, its HER. She cannot see that.
How can i make her see that she needs help? Even touching on the topic that she might need therapy or a psychiatrist makes her blow up at me. How can i make her see that her feelings arent normal and that help is out there? That it is possible to let go of all this anger? What if i cant? Do i go no contact? Despite having built up a sort of shell so it doesnt hurt me as much, this is affecting my mental health too. i have been in psych wards in my teenage years because of the depression and anxiety this situation gave me daily. she told me to never speak to anyone about it because it would make her seem like a bad mother.
I will soon be moving to another continent for work/school and I believe its the best for me if i go no contact if this goes on. she scares me and she ruins all my days with her unreasonable anger. every time shes around i end up distraught over how she speaks to me, seeing another thing broken and having neighbors check up on me because of how she screams at me.
i dont wanna go no contact with my mother because despite everything i love her, and i really really want to see her get better for her sake as well. i miss the side of her that tells me she loves me, caresses my hair, laughs and gossips with me, sings silly songs with me and cares about how i feel. i know shes there and i dont wanna lose her.
thanks for reading, i know this was long

Smoking Elimination Bill

A
BILL
TO
Create a statutory duty to eliminate most smoking by 2030, implement licensing for the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, regulate e-cigarettes and for connected purposes
BE IT ENACTED by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:--

Chapter I: Smoke Free by 2030

Section 1: Smoke Free Target

(1) It is the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that by 2030, less than 5% of the United Kingdom population are regular smokers. This shall be referred to as the “Smoke Free Target”.
(2) The Secretary of State must publish an annual smoking elimination plan, which must include:

(a) an action plan demonstrating the actions to be taken by the Secretary of State to achieve the Smoke Free Target, (b) measurable objectives to be achieved by the time of the publication of the next annual smoking elimination plan, (c) the best available data regarding smoking within the United Kingdom, and (d) a summary of failures to achieve targets set out in all previous smoking elimination plans until such time as they have been achieved, alongside remedial measures to ensure ascertainment of the relevant target.

Section 2: Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this act, a regular smoker is a person who usually consumes at least one tobacco product per week
(2) For the purposes of this act, a tobacco product is a product primarily intended for the consumption of nicotine, including but not limited to:

(a) smoked tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars and hookah tobacco, (b) smokeless tobacco products such as dipping tobacco, chewing tobacco or snus, (c) heated tobacco products, or (d) any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

(3) For the purposes of this act, a nicotine-containing product is any product given under subsection (3), or an electronic cigarette, or any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

Chapter II: Introduction of Licensing of Sale

Section 3: Licensing Requirement for sale

(1) A person commits an offence if they—

(a) sell nicotine-containing products by retail without a licence, or
(b) sell nicotine-containing products by retail from premises other than premises in respect of which they have been granted a licence, unless that licence is granted for online sales.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is considered to have sold a nicotine-containing product by retail if they provide the item for free.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Section 4: Regulations Regarding Licensing

(1) A body known as the Tobacco Licensing Agency is to be formed.
(2) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision about the granting of licences for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products, and such regulations as the Secretary of State deems reasonably necessary for the orderly function of the Tobacco Licensing Agency.
(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must provide that—

(a) the licensing authority for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products is the Tobacco Licensing Agency, (b) the licensing authority may place conditions on persons to whom licences have been granted, (c) no licence may be issued to or held by a person who has been convicted of an offence under section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. (d) licences will be issued on an individual basis for a specific address, or online point of sale, and subject to compliance inspection by the licensing authority.

(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must further ensure that the licensing authority may to such an extent compliant with other legislation regulate product standards with respect to products under their remit, including but not limited to:

(a) Restrictions of the marketing and advertising of tobacco products (b) Requirements regarding health warning and information displays with respect to the sale of tobacco products

Section 5: Age Verification Conditions

(1) Regulations under section 4 must—

(a) require holders of a licence to operate an age verification policy, (b) enable the licensing authority to issue fines in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy, (c) create criminal offences in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy.

(2) The Secretary of State may publish guidance on matters relating to age verification policies, including guidance about—

(a) steps that should be taken to establish a customer's age, (b) documents that may be shown to the person selling a tobacco product or related goods as evidence of a customer's age, (c) training that should be undertaken by the person selling the tobacco product or related goods, (d) the form and content of notices that should be displayed in the premises, (e) the form and content of records that should be maintained in relation to an age verification policy.

(3) A person who carries on a business involving the retail sale of tobacco products must have regard to guidance published under subsection (2) when operating an age verification policy.

Chapter III: Regulations Regarding E-Cigarettes

Section 6: Extension of Plain Packaging to all “nicotine-containing products”

(1) Within the Plain Packaging Act 2016, the following amendments are to be made:-

(a) replace all instances of tobacco products with nicotine-containing products (b) replace Section 1 subsection c with: “c) Nicotine-containing products shall have the same meaning as that given in the Smoking Elimination Act 2023”.

Section 10: Ban of disposable e-cigarettes

(1) A person commits an offence if they sell disposable e-cigarettes (where intended for use as a nicotine-containing product) by retail.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or- (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of this section, an e-cigarette shall be considered disposable if it is intended only for a single use, and lacks capacity either to be refilled or recharged by the user.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Chapter IV: Implementation

Section 11: Commencement, Extent and Short Title

(1) This Act shall come into force one year after receiving Royal Assent.
(2) This Act shall extend to England only unless—

(a) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, in which case it shall also apply to Scotland, or (b) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Senedd Cymru, in which case it shall also apply to Wales, or (c) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Northern Ireland Assembly, in which case it shall also apply to Northern Ireland.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2024.
This bill was written by the Right Honourable Dame u/SpectacularSalad KG KP GCB OM GCMG GBE CT PC MP MLA FRS and the Right Honourable Sir u/weebru_m CT KT PC MP on behalf of His Majesty’s Government
Chapter 2 was largely sourced from the real life Sale of Tobacco (Licensing) Bill.
This Legislation amends the Plain Packaging Act 2016.
Opening Speech:
Deputy Speaker,
The house recently read the Advertisement of Vape Products (Regulation) Bill, one I was happy to welcome to this house and support at division. I believe that we in this house must do more to regulate vaping, and also to do what we can to eliminate smoking more generally.
Recalling also the Plain Packaging Bill read earlier this year (and subsequently withdrawn), I was spurred into action to propose the following legislation. I have sought to propose a package of world-leading, comprehensive measures.
Firstly, this bill will create a statutory duty for the Secretary of State to reduce the number of regular smokers to 5% of the population by 2030. In 2021 it was 13.3%, and below this threshold the UK will be considered “smoke free”. This 5% target is inspired by New Zealand’s health measures, but I must make clear that this bill does not go as far as a total ban for certain ages as seen in Aotearoa.
To support this goal, the bill will introduce two new licences. These are a licence on the sale of nicotine products (meaning tobacco products, and vapes), and a licence on the purchase of tobacco products specifically, but not vapes.
The nicotine-containing products licence will come into effect a year after passage of the bill, and this will require any business selling either tobacco or vapes to be licensed. This will also ban online sales of these products, making them only available in brick and mortar stores.
This effort is aimed at cracking down on the sale of tobacco and particularly vapes to young people, as the 25 years of age check will apply as a part of the terms of the licence itself. The NHS estimates that 9% of secondary school pupils either regularly or occasionally vape. This is 9% too many.
Eliminating online sale of tobacco or vaping products will close the online sales loophole, and by controlling which businesses are able to sell these products, we can implement better checks and controls to ensure that young people are unable to access them.
The second measure is the Tobacco Purchase Licence, which will come into forhttps://www.reddit.com/MHOC/comments/1bskb2u/b1665_smoking_elimination_bill_2nd_reading/ce no earlier than the beginning of 2027. This is a licence to be required for an individual to buy tobacco containing products (but explicitly not vapes).
This will be a free, renewable, annual licence. Everyone who is 18 or older will be able to get one, but they will need an application signed by their GP, with the licences themselves issued by NHS bodies, who may issue guidance to the GP on how to support the individual in question.
The aim here is twofold, firstly to ensure that all active smokers have some interaction with the NHS relating to smoking, giving us a greater ability to support cessation. Individuals will retain the right to choose to smoke tobacco, but they will be unable to renew their licence to purchase without a GP’s awareness.
The second aim is simply to make smoking tobacco more hassle than vaping. We do not know how harmful vaping is, but the NHS’ own guidance is that vapes are far less harmful than cigarettes, exposing users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes. By creating a licence required to buy tobacco but not vaping, it is hoped that individuals will be nudged away from cigarettes and towards vaping as a substitute. Due to the nature of the licence, this will be a passive incentive built into the nicotine-products market.
And that brings me neatly onto the fourth key strand of this legislation, that is the extension of plain packaging and out-of-view laws to vapes, and banning disposable vapes. The first component is intended to crack down on bright packaging intended especially to appeal to young people. The second component is intended to tackle both the ease of access to addictive nicotine products, and also to reduce the environmental impact of vaping.
Overall, this represents a comprehensive package of measures that will fit well with the Government’s existing proposals. I hope they will see fit to provide cross-bench support for these measures, aimed at the substantive elimination of smoking in the UK.
​
This Reading will end on the 11th at 10PM.

Can I put all my vitamins, supplements, and nootropics into 1 unmarked bag/bottle? Will I have any issue getting through security or whatever? Also, I keep hearing split things regarding vaping/smoking? So I understand you can’t bring a vape with you to Cancun but apparently you can buy one when you get there? Is this accurate? What about smoking cigarettes? If i can’t vape can i atleast smoke cigarettes? I plan on taking some form of smokeless tobacco (dip, zyn, etc) just in case. I’m going there next month and trying to prep.
Thank you

Im not promising tendies with this one but there’s definitely a good theory behind all of this. But you should grab some tendies and a brewski, pop a zynny in your upper deck and lets hop into this.

Big Tobacco Lost Revenue Due to Disposable Vapes

Let’s start with the bad, the kind of really bad. However, we will show you why it doesn’t matter much towards the end. But it’s true, analysts have concluded that disposable vapes are hurting Altria’s cigarette sales. They reported a loss of 10% of sales by shipping volume and a 2% decline in EBIT.

Big Tobacco and Big Pharma are Fighting Back by Lobbying Against the Vape Industry

Losing 10% of your revenue is a big deal. So what do you do when you’re the big sheriff in town? You act like a fucking sheriff and use your guns. Altria sued everyone in the vape industry and started lobbying to ban vapes. Shit’s about to get serious for the vaping industry, like pretty fucking bad.

PMTA Registered List

Altria bought some lawmakers in 28 states and convinced them to write bills that ban a bunch of vapes. Smoke shops can only sell shit that is PMTA permitted (don’t even get me started on PMTA approvals). Turns out there's only a handful of products that are approved and surprise! They’re all made by big tobacco. Monopoly aint just a game it means we eat more tendies.
So Altria’s bills passed in at least 3 states already (Utah, Virginia, Kentucky), but it was already law in Louisiana, Alabama, Wisconsin & Oklahoma - they just weren't enforcing it… until two weeks ago. Expect the bill to pass in lots of other states. 2024 will bring heavy regulation on the vaping industry, which will only help Altria.

Altria is Creating Their Own Flavored Bluetooth Disposable Vape

So Altria wants to ban flavored vapes? Well, sort of but not really. Altria wants disposable vapes to be illegal, except theirs! Theyre working on a bluetooth disposable vape with flavors and they will bypass the laws AND get it PMTA accepted because it has Bluetooth technology to verify if you’re underage or not. And they will get it approved because Big Tobacco basically owns the FDA - 100% of FDA’s tobacco department funding comes from big tobacco. The feds are not on antiwork theyre big tobacco boot lickers looking for more funding, and they’ll get it if they approve.

Altria’s On! Nicotine Pouches - ZYNs Biggest Competitor

In case you didn’t know, all the main nicotine pouches that are popping up everywhere are owned by Big Tobacco. Altria is in on it with their On! Nicotine pouches. Altria had shipment issues in 2023 but they’re expected to double revenues from On! Nicotine pouches to a little over $5 billion.
One of the best parts about this part of the business is that the ex-commissioner of the FDA tweeted that nicotine pouches can help smokers quit. At the end of the day, Big Tobacco wins. If you smoke cigarettes, they got that covered. If you wanna vape, they have the only vapes allowed on the market. If you wanna stuff your gourd with nic pouches like a cracked-out squirrel, hit up Altria. Smoking rates may be going down, but nicotine consumption rates are not.

Altria’s “Moving Beyond Smoking” Plan

Altria is dead set on its new campaign, “Moving Beyond Smoking”. They know smoking rates are declining so they’re repositioning to other products like smokeless products, aka On!, and they just bought the #3 vape on the market too, Njoy. That’s why Morningstar says they’re worth $49 and Stifel has em at $50 and so many others say it’s a value stock.

Bonus Altria is planning on selling its shares of AB InBev

Altria just sold $2 billion worth of AB Inbev (Bud Light) and is flush with cash ready to buyback shares and further increase the share price or inject that sweet sweet capital into their new line of bluetooth vapes. Finally, with jobless claims at a 9-week high, expect even more people to use nicotine as a way to cope with their shitty lives (1, 2) while they’re out looking for jobs and smoking cigarettes, we’ll be eating tendies and banging their wives.
Positions $MO 47.5c 6/21, 50c 6/21, $PM 100c 4/26

I have since recently a girlfriend who had negative experiences with her Ex.
She smokes +-10 cigarettes a day and told me she wanted me to stop. I on the other hand smoked for the last 8 years after work 1-2 joints at night to unwind. I also wanted to stop before she came in my life. I told her that on the first date. Now, her bad experiences are with weed. She has a complete warped idea about weed. (Becoming a criminal and violent when using it.) So while dating I told her I wouldn't smoke if she was in my surroundings.
After coming home from one of the toughest days at the Job in 4 years of working there I wanted to smoke a bit to unwind. I waited for her to be asleep went outside and smoked half a joint. I washed my mouth and brushed my teeth so she would smell as less as possible.
She smelled it and she said "well, well ,well." Cuddled some and went to sleep again in my arms. The morning after I noticed how bothered she was. So I took my smoking related stuff and threw it all in the garbage. After all, if she is so bothered by it. Put the plan i had in working. She means more to me than any kind of substance. Now on day 2 of stopping with little to non withdrawals and I want to ensure her that I am genuinely attempting to stop. I already picked out a gym to get to work on my condition and body, going to sign up tomorrow.
She doesn't seem to want to understand why I smoked 1/2 a joint and when I threw my stuff away she was like "you are going to buy new stuff anyway". So far the support I got for starting my way to a smokeless life. The life she also wants to live.
Any tips or advice on this topic?

Taking care of your teeth is essential for maintaining good oral health. Here are some basic pieces of advice for proper dental care:

1. **Brushing**: Brush your teeth at least twice a day, preferably after meals, using fluoride toothpaste. Make sure to brush for at least two minutes each time, covering all surfaces of your teeth - front, back, and chewing surfaces.
   
2. **Flossing**: Floss your teeth at least once a day to remove plaque and food particles from between your teeth and along the gumline. Flossing helps prevent cavities and gum disease.
   
3. **Regular dental check-ups**: Visit your dentist regularly for check-ups and professional cleanings. Your dentist can detect any issues early and provide appropriate treatment.
   
4. **Healthy diet**: Limit sugary and acidic foods and drinks, as they can contribute to tooth decay. Instead, opt for a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
   
5. **Drink water**: Drink plenty of water, especially fluoridated water, to help rinse away food particles and bacteria and keep your mouth hydrated.
   
6. **Avoid tobacco**: Tobacco products, including cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, can harm your oral health and increase the risk of gum disease, oral cancer, and other dental problems.
   
7. **Protect your teeth**: Wear a mouthguard when participating in sports or activities that could result in mouth injuries. Avoid using your teeth to open bottles, tear packages, or perform other tasks that could damage them.
   
8. **Replace your toothbrush**: Replace your toothbrush or toothbrush head every three to four months, or sooner if the bristles become frayed.
   

By following these basic guidelines, you can help maintain healthy teeth and gums for a lifetime.

Positions: 30c 4/26 $100, tldr at bottom
Philip Morris ($PM) is one of the largest tobacco companies worldwide. Most people have experienced PM through the most iconic American cigarette brand - Marlboro. Besides Marlboro, PM owns some of the most popular cigarettes worldwide - Parliament, Chesterfield, Virginia Slims, and more. PM also recently acquired Swedish Match last year.
Swedish Match is the largest and most successful company when it comes to oral nicotine pouches. Their biggest brands include General, Göteborgs Rapé, and, most importantly, ZYN. ZYN has been blowing up in the media over the past year. Most notably Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, and many professional baseball players have been walking advertisments for ZYN pouches.
This word-of-mouth advertising has done wonders for Swedish Match, and therefore Philip Morris as well. From the Q4 2023 Earnings Release:
> "ZYN nicotine pouch shipment volume in the U.S. of 116.3 million cans, representing growth of 78.2% versus fourth-quarter 2022 Swedish Match shipments of 65.3 million cans"
> "Adjusted diluted EPS of $6.01 increased by 11.0%, excluding currency, driven primarily by the organic growth in adjusted operating income, as well as the results of the Swedish Match business and its strong performance led by ZYN in the U.S."
> "Nicotine pouch shipment volume increased by 68.6% compared to Swedish Match's fourth-quarter 2022 shipment volume of 73.8 million cans, mainly driven by 78.2% growth for ZYN in the U.S. -- an outstanding performance that reflected continued broad strength across the country. In Scandinavia, shipment volume for nicotine pouches grew by 3.0%"
Anyone who has tried ZYN knows that these things are AWESOME, and the public agrees
Now, same with Juul back around 2018, we all know the most loyal and dedicated customers for tobacco alternatives: Ex-smokers children. ZYN has blown up all over TikTok in a way that vaping could not. Lately, the news has been spreading about smokeless nicotine appearing on underaged users' social media, but this has been going on for much longer. These pouches have slowly been taking place of vapes for underaged users over the past year, most notably among college students. However, there's been a large recent uptick in use among high-schoolers due to both the fact that it is seen as "healthier" than vaping, as well as that it can be done easily without being caught.
For the past year, ZYN has been set up to be the next Juul - the perfect form of nicotine for those who have to hide their use. I believe this quarter's earnings and next are going to reflect the social media popularity of oral nicotine pouches. This really is like investing into Juul before it made its way into the schools.
Consider these factors:
PM has been considered a strong-moderate buy YTD
I'm literally just banking on enough teens buying ZYNs that PM made money. I'm assuming everything else will be the same as last quarter
I'm in the red overall Went back green today, buying more calls for earnings
They're also selling some shares in alcohol companies
Even when PM beats expectations, their stock drops
I have Clinodactyly, a condition found in 3% of the regular population, but in 25% of those with down syndrome.) Let this one marinate
tdlr; kids love nicotine, ZYN is the new craze, underage use will skyrocket $PM sales
​
4/2 edits: -This isn’t going to actually hit $100, many people have pointed out why this is true. Sell the hype. $PM has not been over $100 since 2017. -ZYN operates under Swedish Match NA, owned by Philip Morris International ($PM)

Smoking Elimination Bill

A
BILL
TO
Create a statutory duty to eliminate most smoking by 2030, implement licensing for the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, regulate e-cigarettes and for connected purposes
BE IT ENACTED by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:--

Chapter I: Smoke Free by 2030

Section 1: Smoke Free Target

(1) It is the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that by 2030, less than 5% of the United Kingdom population are regular smokers. This shall be referred to as the “Smoke Free Target”.
(2) The Secretary of State must publish an annual smoking elimination plan, which must include:

(a) an action plan demonstrating the actions to be taken by the Secretary of State to achieve the Smoke Free Target,
(b) measurable objectives to be achieved by the time of the publication of the next annual smoking elimination plan,
(c) the best available data regarding smoking within the United Kingdom, and
(d) a summary of failures to achieve targets set out in all previous smoking elimination plans until such time as they have been achieved, alongside remedial measures to ensure ascertainment of the relevant target.

Section 2: Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this act, a regular smoker is a person who usually consumes at least one tobacco product per week
(2) For the purposes of this act, a tobacco product is a product primarily intended for the consumption of nicotine, including but not limited to:

(a) smoked tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars and hookah tobacco,
(b) smokeless tobacco products such as dipping tobacco, chewing tobacco or snus,
(c) heated tobacco products, or
(d) any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

(3) For the purposes of this act, a nicotine-containing product is any product given under subsection (3), or an electronic cigarette, or any other product as designated by regulations by the Secretary of State.

Chapter II: Introduction of Licensing of Sale

Section 3: Licensing Requirement for sale

(1) A person commits an offence if they—

(a) sell nicotine-containing products by retail without a licence, or
(b) sell nicotine-containing products by retail from premises other than premises in respect of which they have been granted a licence, unless that licence is granted for online sales.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is considered to have sold a nicotine-containing product by retail if they provide the item for free.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Section 4: Regulations Regarding Licensing

(1) A body known as the Tobacco Licensing Agency is to be formed.
(2) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision about the granting of licences for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products, and such regulations as the Secretary of State deems reasonably necessary for the orderly function of the Tobacco Licensing Agency.
(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must provide that—

(a) the licensing authority for the sale by retail of nicotine-containing products is the Tobacco Licensing Agency,
(b) the licensing authority may place conditions on persons to whom licences have been granted,
(c) no licence may be issued to or held by a person who has been convicted of an offence under section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
(d) licences will be issued on an individual basis for a specific address, or online point of sale, and subject to compliance inspection by the licensing authority.

(3) Regulations under subsection (2) must further ensure that the licensing authority may to such an extent compliant with other legislation regulate product standards with respect to products under their remit, including but not limited to:

(a) Restrictions of the marketing and advertising of tobacco products
(b) Requirements regarding health warning and information displays with respect to the sale of tobacco products

Section 5: Age Verification Conditions

(1) Regulations under section 4 must—

(a) require holders of a licence to operate an age verification policy,
(b) enable the licensing authority to issue fines in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy,
(c) create criminal offences in respect of a failure to operate an age verification policy.

(2) The Secretary of State may publish guidance on matters relating to age verification policies, including guidance about—

(a) steps that should be taken to establish a customer's age,
(b) documents that may be shown to the person selling a tobacco product or related goods as evidence of a customer's age,
(c) training that should be undertaken by the person selling the tobacco product or related goods,
(d) the form and content of notices that should be displayed in the premises,
(e) the form and content of records that should be maintained in relation to an age verification policy.

(3) A person who carries on a business involving the retail sale of tobacco products must have regard to guidance published under subsection (2) when operating an age verification policy.

Chapter III: Regulations Regarding E-Cigarettes

Section 6: Extension of Plain Packaging to all “nicotine-containing products”

(1) Within the Plain Packaging Act 2016, the following amendments are to be made:-

(a) replace all instances of tobacco products with nicotine-containing products
(b) replace Section 1 subsection c with:

“c) Nicotine-containing products shall have the same meaning as that given in the Smoking Elimination Act 2023”.

Section 10: Ban of disposable e-cigarettes

(1) A person commits an offence if they sell disposable e-cigarettes (where intended for use as a nicotine-containing product) by retail.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine, or-
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.

(3) For the purposes of this section, an e-cigarette shall be considered disposable if it is intended only for a single use, and lacks capacity either to be refilled or recharged by the user.
(4) This Subsection shall come into force upon either the 1st of January 2025, or on a date appointed by regulation by the Secretary of State not later than the 1st of January 2027.

Chapter IV: Implementation

Section 11: Commencement, Extent and Short Title

(1) This Act shall come into force one year after receiving Royal Assent.
(2) This Act shall extend to England only unless—

(a) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, in which case it shall also apply to Scotland, or
(b) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Senedd Cymru, in which case it shall also apply to Wales, or
(c) a Legislative Consent Motion is passed in the Northern Ireland Assembly, in which case it shall also apply to Northern Ireland.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Smoking Elimination Act 2024.
This bill was written by the Right Honourable Dame SpectacularSalad KG KP GCB OM GCMG GBE CT PC MP MLA FRS and the Right Honourable Sir weebru_m CT KT PC MP on behalf of His Majesty’s Government
Chapter 2 was largely sourced from the real life Sale of Tobacco (Licensing) Bill.
This Legislation amends the Plain Packaging Act 2016.
Opening Speech:
Deputy Speaker,
The house recently read the Advertisement of Vape Products (Regulation) Bill, one I was happy to welcome to this house and support at division. I believe that we in this house must do more to regulate vaping, and also to do what we can to eliminate smoking more generally.
Recalling also the Plain Packaging Bill read earlier this year (and subsequently withdrawn), I was spurred into action to propose the following legislation. I have sought to propose a package of world-leading, comprehensive measures.
Firstly, this bill will create a statutory duty for the Secretary of State to reduce the number of regular smokers to 5% of the population by 2030. In 2021 it was 13.3%, and below this threshold the UK will be considered “smoke free”. This 5% target is inspired by New Zealand’s health measures, but I must make clear that this bill does not go as far as a total ban for certain ages as seen in Aotearoa.
To support this goal, the bill will introduce two new licences. These are a licence on the sale of nicotine products (meaning tobacco products, and vapes), and a licence on the purchase of tobacco products specifically, but not vapes.
The nicotine-containing products licence will come into effect a year after passage of the bill, and this will require any business selling either tobacco or vapes to be licensed. This will also ban online sales of these products, making them only available in brick and mortar stores.
This effort is aimed at cracking down on the sale of tobacco and particularly vapes to young people, as the 25 years of age check will apply as a part of the terms of the licence itself. The NHS estimates that 9% of secondary school pupils either regularly or occasionally vape. This is 9% too many.
Eliminating online sale of tobacco or vaping products will close the online sales loophole, and by controlling which businesses are able to sell these products, we can implement better checks and controls to ensure that young people are unable to access them.
The second measure is the Tobacco Purchase Licence, which will come into force no earlier than the beginning of 2027. This is a licence to be required for an individual to buy tobacco containing products (but explicitly not vapes).
This will be a free, renewable, annual licence. Everyone who is 18 or older will be able to get one, but they will need an application signed by their GP, with the licences themselves issued by NHS bodies, who may issue guidance to the GP on how to support the individual in question.
The aim here is twofold, firstly to ensure that all active smokers have some interaction with the NHS relating to smoking, giving us a greater ability to support cessation. Individuals will retain the right to choose to smoke tobacco, but they will be unable to renew their licence to purchase without a GP’s awareness.
The second aim is simply to make smoking tobacco more hassle than vaping. We do not know how harmful vaping is, but the NHS’ own guidance is that vapes are far less harmful than cigarettes, exposing users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes. By creating a licence required to buy tobacco but not vaping, it is hoped that individuals will be nudged away from cigarettes and towards vaping as a substitute. Due to the nature of the licence, this will be a passive incentive built into the nicotine-products market.
And that brings me neatly onto the fourth key strand of this legislation, that is the extension of plain packaging and out-of-view laws to vapes, and banning disposable vapes. The first component is intended to crack down on bright packaging intended especially to appeal to young people. The second component is intended to tackle both the ease of access to addictive nicotine products, and also to reduce the environmental impact of vaping.
Overall, this represents a comprehensive package of measures that will fit well with the Government’s existing proposals. I hope they will see fit to provide cross-bench support for these measures, aimed at the substantive elimination of smoking in the UK.
This reading ends at 10PM BST on Wednesday 3 April 2024.