EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion
In short, on January 27, 2012, we will answer "Yes" or "No" to a question to which neither I nor a large majority of Bulgarians can give a sufficiently substantiated answer, but no one will ask us about the far more prosaic and "unimportant" question about cigarettes.
Today there will be a protest against the total ban on smoking. This seems to be causing more interest than expected in the public space. Everyone has their own opinion on the subject, and that's normal. At the same time, quite harsh comments are appearing, starting from television and ending with social networks.
Let's take for example a popular figure like Dimitar Pavlov, who expressed his opinion:
It is liked and shared by many people, both in the figurative Facebook sense and in the literal sense. The answer to these and similar questions is actually quite simple and clear.
- The smoking issue affects everyone – you are either for a total ban or you are against it. At the same time, not everyone drives a car, and even fewer have savings in banks. An objective assessment there is much more difficult to make;
- The tax on deposits, the price of fuel, the price of electricity, and even more so the development of nuclear energy through new capacities are associated with direct state control over areas of our economy in which, as citizens, we are: A) insufficiently competent, B) do not affect us directly, or C) it is obvious that the political pressure and distortion are too strong;
- A complete ban on smoking invades the personal space of each individual, taking away their right to choose one way or another. Restaurant owners do not have the right to decide whether or not to allow smoking in their establishment. Smokers are prohibited from using an otherwise perfectly legal product, and non-smokers do not have the opportunity to decide for themselves where and with whom to spend their time;
- Ако законовата рамка позволява съществуването на заведения само за пушачи, с отделни помещения за непушачи и пушачи, както и само за непушачи, биха се създали свободни пазарни ниши, които ще намерят своите потребители. Т.к. потенциални потребители, следователно и печалба, има във всеки от тези сегменти, не бива да се съмняваме в способността на пазара да монетизира подобна възможност, като създаде повече конкуренция и избор за различни опции потребител;
In short, on January 27, 2012, we will answer with "Yes" or "No" to a question to which neither I nor a large part of Bulgarians can give a sufficiently substantiated answer, but no one will ask us about the far more prosaic and "unimportant" question about cigarettes. On the other hand, we will once again leave it to politicians to convince us how it is good to develop nuclear energy.
П.п.: Аз не пуша и харесвам работата на Митко Павлов.
The excise tax on fuels directly affects the life of every citizen, regardless of whether they drive a car. Higher fuel prices = higher prices for goods. The 30% increase in the price of electricity directly affects _all_ citizens and has nothing to do with the competence regarding seismicity in the Belene region and nuclear energy in general. The tithe on deposits affects all citizens who have deposits.
It is extremely unpleasant for me that a protest generated by entirely selfish motives has received such media attention. The Internet is clogged with articles about the closed pub on Dore Boulevard, it turned out on television that millions of Bulgarians intend to spend their holidays in Serbia because they smoke there. The appeals are brazen and selfish, "if you don't want to smoke in the pubs, don't go!". I have participated in quite a few discussions on the topic and no matter how much I try to speak civilly and politely, I invariably receive even ruder answers. Obviously, the opposite argument, "well, since they don't let you smoke in the pubs, don't go" is not accepted.
It is constantly pointed out that in the past, there were places for non-smokers in bars. It's a big deal that the places were invariably in the basement next to the toilet. As we have already said, if I don't like it, then I shouldn't go. I didn't know until now that only smokers went to bars, but now I understand. I understood that my unwillingness to have my clothes smell like an ashtray after two washes and after just one visit to a bar or restaurant violated the human rights of someone who doesn't care at all that cigarette smoke bothers me and that I don't want my clothes and hair to smell like an ashtray. For some reason, it is unclear what, I have to take him into account and my rights are not as great as his.
In general, I have always been against excesses. I find the crusade against cigarettes excessive. I have said it before, and I say it now. I do not find that cigarettes are the greatest public enemy, I do not think that the world as a whole has blossomed and become so tied up that the only thing left is cigarettes. But this outrageous protest is just as excessive and orders of magnitude more ridiculous. The thirty percent increase in electricity does not concern people who, en masse, have to make do with 300-400 leva a month?! Seriously? The monopoly on fuels, which leads to unjustifiably high prices for them, which in turn leads to unjustifiably high and completely comparable to European prices for basic goods and services, is not important? And is this serious? We can't protest about this, but if we have to defend our right to display bad manners by smoking people who don't want to be smoked because WE WILL GET SICK IF WE GO OUTSIDE TO SMOKE, BASTARD!!!, then we're already on the line. And if I or another non-smoker doesn't like swallowing smoke instead of a beer, they shouldn't go to the bar.
Здравей, Весела,
I also believe that protest is an extreme form and one should not speculate on such manifestations, because they really often sound ridiculous.
The emphasis is rather on the right to choose.
Що се касае до горивата и влоговете, ясно е, че те влияят върху цената на живота. Твърдението ми е, че за хората е по-трудно да осъзнаят подобна намеса, отколкото тази при силно нееластична стока като цигарите. Освен всичко друго, тези теми са силно политизирани - политиците използват популистки както ценообразуването на тока, така и на горивата. Това демотивира гражданите поне малко и ги кара да мислят, че нямат реален глас.
Regarding public places, don't you think it would be better to have places for everyone - both smokers and non-smokers. That way everyone could choose where to go and decide for themselves whether to "go"?
Smoking areas were usually shoved into the basement, near the toilet, right next to the kitchen, or in places where, by any logic, there shouldn't be any customer tables at all. There's another thing that always amazed me - if there's a smoker in a company, he usually starts to get upset and make a scene because he doesn't enjoy just drinking, eating, and talking, he has to smoke too. Mandatory. It doesn't matter what others want. So - let's all go to the smoking area. Can anyone deny that?
The thirty percent increase in electricity is not a highly politicized topic, it goes directly into the pocket of absolutely every Bulgarian who does not live in the forest on wood and candles. It is absolutely abnormal for a third of your salary to go to electricity. If anything is worth throwing tomatoes at, this is it. It still seems to me that a person can get by without cigarettes, but without electricity, food and medicine it will be quite difficult. Of course, I could be wrong.
If there is one thing that I really find unfair, it is the half-hearted decision that obliged the owners of establishments to provide for smoking and non-smoking areas, so some money was thrown away that ultimately turned out to be unnecessary. The ban should have been adopted back then, during the time of Ana-Maria Borisova, but the Tape Cutter crouched. Then, of course, Europe told him that this one would not be, and trouble ensued. And speaking of extremes and establishments closed due to non-smoking - for the first time in the world and only in Bulgaria, people! - I cannot help but admire the creativity of some owners threatened with bankruptcy, who announced that as a sign of protest they would not work with customers for two hours a day...
By the way, there are establishments that have really shown creativity, but with the opposite effect. They provide capes for smokers, blankets, electronic cigarettes... And strangely enough, turnover in such places does not drop, in fact, quite the opposite.