My impression is that teenage drinking and smoking was really huge in say, the 80s compared to today.
Frankly, often when I hear somebody like the commenter above I think they may have had some rowdy teenage years in the 80s or thereabouts and is kind of projecting that onto today's youth. "The laws don't work!" Maybe it wouldn't have worked for them. But in the time since...
Although, I don't think it's realistic to expect the laws to get consumption to zero. Maybe it's not even strictly the goal. Reduction, or mild taboo, is not the same as total elimination. People can still buy their kids sugary snacks. I give my kids sugary snacks in small amounts, but might support such a ban, because childhood and adult obesity is a pretty serious problem.
Do you not see that anecdata is also sometimes correlated with real data? That we may be able to look around us and at life experience and observe real trends?
Yes, I personally am talking only about the US in this thread. From what I have personally seen of Europeans younger than I am, for example, it seems like they are much more likely to smoke cigarettes than an American of the same age.
Since the article is about Mexico... I have spent substantial time in Spanish speaking places. But I am unaware of current trends in Mexico, haven't been there in particular since 2006. Probably lots of smokers. Latin America tends to have more smoking than here too. I suppose they did invent the stuff.
Frankly, often when I hear somebody like the commenter above I think they may have had some rowdy teenage years in the 80s or thereabouts and is kind of projecting that onto today's youth. "The laws don't work!" Maybe it wouldn't have worked for them. But in the time since...
Although, I don't think it's realistic to expect the laws to get consumption to zero. Maybe it's not even strictly the goal. Reduction, or mild taboo, is not the same as total elimination. People can still buy their kids sugary snacks. I give my kids sugary snacks in small amounts, but might support such a ban, because childhood and adult obesity is a pretty serious problem.