August 13, 2025 • 29 mins
Insurance export Rob Bhatt has back to school driving tips and Sofia Hamilton from Young Voices weighs the pros and cons of new laws that could make Vapes illegal in the state.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
As the summer driving season reaches a close, we wanted
to talk about some driving pet peeves that are not
just a nuisance, they can make our roads more dangerous. Hello,
I'm John Mounce and this week on Viewpoint, Alabama, I'm
speaking with insurance expert Rob Bott. We're talking about dangerous driving. Rob.
Welcome to Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Here in Alabama, we've got a bad history of road
rage incidents, some of which have ended in tragedies. Recently
is last month in Alabaster, two people shot each other
on I sixty five at almost the same spot where
twenty five years ago Shirley Henson shot Gena Foster following
a road rage altercation that same exit on sixty five southbound.
Rob in Lending Trees Annual twenty twenty five Driving Pet
(00:39):
Peeves Survey, we see some activities that can trigger these
road rage incidents. What are some of those behaviors and
are we getting better or worse?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Well, I'm not sure if we're getting better. These things
seem to be a perpetual, a perpetual situation where you're
seeing these things reported across the country, and I'm not
sure if we've seen it slow down in our survey,
we did a survey and a nationwide survey, and we
found that, you know, ninety two percent of drivers have
at least one pet peeve. The biggest pet peeve people
(01:09):
had was other people not using the turn signal. And
then the next is something that also gets most drivers upset,
along with tailgating.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
And when we talk about not using a turn single,
I can tell you here in Alabama, I rarely see
people use turn singles. In fact, I see police officers
even not use turn signals. Although you can't trust the
turn signal, I you know, because you see somebody say, uh,
approaching you and you think they're going to turn in
one lane and maybe they turn, you know, just past
the place you thought they're gonna turn. You can't trust
(01:38):
a turn single. But it is a good habit to,
you know, at least kind of let people know what
your plans are.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
You know, it's a great habit letting people know your intent.
You know where you're going, but other people can't read
your mind. It's it's a common courtesy really more than anything.
I mean, as a driver, you should just You're right,
you can't always trust turn signals. Sometimes people leave them
on inadvertently or sometimes people don't do what they think
(02:05):
that you're going to do. I mean, you have to
take them with a grain of salt. But you as
a driver could be very considerate and courteous to your
fellow drivers by always using your turn signals so you
know other people have an idea of what they have
a general sense of what you're going to do.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Another one that you have on your list is tailgating,
and one of the causes of tailgating is usually people
driving to slowly, which irritates somebody so they get up
right on their tail and you know, get in close
to tell them to move over. In fact, in Alabama,
we recently passed a lag which says you cannot travel
in the left lane on a controlled access highway from
more than I believe it's a mile unless you're passing somebody.
(02:42):
But if you can't overtake them in a mile, you're
supposed to get back over. You're not supposed to travel
that lane. They can write you a ticket, but if
they don't write you a ticket, you could possibly irritate
somebody to the point of their tailgating, which is unsafe
on multiple levels.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Tailgating is extremely unsafe because it doesn't give you enough
time to stop. And you're right, there are a lot
of people who are inattentive when they drive, and they
don't or maybe just unaware that the passing lane is
for faster moving traffic. It is for passing. So anything
that raises awareness of it, including these move overlaws, is
(03:16):
generally a good thing, just because it allows people to
travel a little more safely. And also it stops this
number one for this not number one, but this high
cause of consternation among drivers.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
And I see also on your list that drivers going
slow in the passing lane. Thirty six percent of people
say that's the biggest pet peeve, which ties back into
the previous thing we mentioned. So that's another one when
you're not going because we have speed limits on roads,
and then that's more of it seemed like almost like
a lower limit for a lot of people, especially around
the Birmingham era four to fifty nine. People don't go
(03:51):
slower than seventy on that where that's the minimum speed
they're going to go on four to fifty nine, and
you get passed out towards bestmer people are flying. I mean,
look at eighty ninety miles an hour into you're not
you're getting it ran over.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
You know, these things like going too slow in lanes
and tailgating, they are intertwined, but there are also different
shades of them. I mean, if you're talking about going
seventy or even higher than that in an area where
maybe the speed limit's only sixty. You know, if you're
speeding and you're tailgating, that's an extremely I'm sorry. If
you're already going over the speed limit and the person
(04:22):
in front of you is going over the speed limit
and you're tailgating, that is an extremely dangerous situation because
at high speeds you just need more room to stop.
The other situation where you have someone just going below
the speed limit or maybe just at the speed limit
in a passing lane, that's creating a you know, that's
creating a nuisance, and that's creating you know, that's also
(04:44):
causing people behind you to get upset and it might
cause them to do an un you know, perform an
unsafe activity to pass you by maybe going to the
right and weaving through traffic to get back around you
on the other side and.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Then get run of you and break check you. That
happens too, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
That's horrible. That's another no no. And that's another thing
that that also made our list of top pet peeves.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Now another one on your list. Thirty six percent of
people say over using their high beams. And one thing
is interesting in this day and age is we have
these super duper crazy high beams now where low beams
even where the low beams look like high beams, and
the high beams are just obnoxious. The cars have brighter
lights than ever before, and people are driving higher and
higher profile vehicles where it puts the headlights already at
(05:29):
a higher point, so it's easy to get blinded by
a car. You have to almost look away sometimes because
their lights are so bright.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
You know, that is a real problem, and it's particularly
dangerous when you talk about with these higher profile cars
with these extra bright normal normal lights, low beams that
are that are particularly bright. So yeah, I mean, you know,
the old fundamentals of driving are looking at the sometimes
(05:57):
they call it the fog line. That's that line alone
on the right side of the road that allows you
to kind of follow the contour of the road. And
sometimes when you have the car coming at you that
has very powerful lights, whether that's their high beams they're
low beings. Then you know you can protect yourself by
looking over to the right, looking at that fogline and
following that fog line, and of course keeping aware of
(06:20):
what's directly in front of you until that opposing vehicle passes,
and then you know you won't necessarily get have that
situation where your pupils are all knocked out of whack
and your vision gets impaired.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
We're talking with Rob Bot. He's an assurance expert with
lendingtree dot com. We're talking about some of the biggest
pet peeves that they found in a recent survey they've done.
One of my personal ones. I don't think this is
on the list, but I've seen this a lot of times.
In Alabama, we have a law that says when it's raining,
you're supposed to turn your lights on. For some reason,
there is and this is not in any driving manual.
(06:54):
There's some people who believe a good idea is, if
it starts to pour down rain while you're driving, to
continue driving but turn on your hand hazard lights. I
find this to be tremendously destructive because when your hazard
lights are flashing, your emergency flashes. You usually on a
lot of cars. You can't see a turn signal, you
can't see brake lights. All you see is flashing lights.
It's at least distracting, but also it makes it less
(07:15):
You're less able to tell what the car in front
of you is doing. You become less safe rather than
more safe when people think they're trying to be more
safe by turning on their pazard lights. And what's even
more interesting about this is it's a it's contagious because
one car does it and then somebody else goes, oh,
I better turn mine on too. So the confusion between
turning on your head lights and turning on your hazard
lights in rainy conditions.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Hazards indicate a hazard. When when you see a hazard light,
that means someone's hazards on. That means something's wrong, and
you want to give them some space and kind of
slow down a little bit because maybe something's up their head.
It's almost like crying wolf where you're you're putting on
your hazard lights, but there isn't really a hazard there.
So that seems like a bad idea. It seems like
(07:55):
it's it's it's almost the lack of it. It's some
thing where maybe you're trying to be courteous, but you're
actually being this courteous by doing that. I would I
would recommend not doing that.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
It's like you're predicting the future. You're going to become
a hazard after somebody rerinds you and then you're on
the side of the road trying to fix your car
in the rain.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
It sounds like a self fulfilling prophecy.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
It is. How about some of the other things you
find in your study, Like fifty seven percent of people
say that they've used their horn to scold other drivers.
And I will tell you that it's an interesting thing,
and this is a dynamic that probably see more here
in the South. What part of the country are you
and Rob?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
I'm up in Seattle, Washington. We're very polite here.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Yeah, it's probably different up and up in Seattle. Here
in the Southeast, we're also very polite, and we have
a very big reticence to use the horn. I've also
been to New York and people just basically they drive
around with their finger on the horn the entire time,
just constantly honking everywhere they go. We don't like to
honk in Alabama. In fact, it's interesting you come to
a red light and light turns green. Somebody's looking at
(08:52):
the phone, they're not paying attention, and you're the driver
behind them. You feel kind of awkward. You don't want
to blow your horn at them because that would be impolite,
But at the same time, it's like they're not moving,
you're gonna miss the light, so you'll try and tap
your horn as gently as dude. You know you don't
want to really, you know, you smile. I'm like, hey,
if it's not too much trouble, maybe check your Instagram
later and go. But on the other hand, you're saying
(09:14):
in this survey, a lot of people have a problem
with people who scold other drivers. I've seen this too,
where somebody cuts you off and you're blowing your horn,
not because you're warning them. I'm part pardon me, I'm
over here, but you're blowing your horn just to say, hey,
I didn't like that, and I'm telling you I didn't
like that, and I'm gonna blow my horn. I'm not
even blow it twice.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah, I mean, some people express themselves differently. The horn
really should be used for those situations to help alert
someone that they're doing something dangerous, and you know, to
prevent an accident or let someone know you're there who
might not see you. Certainly, a horn is a good
attention getting device. If if you overuse it, you know,
(09:54):
it kind of reflects poorly on the driver versus anyone else.
It's it's a nuisance. But but you know, you look
at things like texting while driving. I mean texting while
driving is something that can be fatal. Overusing the horn.
It's a nuisance, it's annoying, it may rub some people
the wrong way, but it's not necessarily gonna create an accident.
(10:14):
Whereas if you cut and from someone without using your
turn signal, or you're texting while you're driving, even your
tailgating at a high speed, these are all things that
could lead to deadly consequences.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Well in Alabama, as I started off, and you could
lead to deadly consequences if somebody takes it the wrong
way and you have a road rate incident because now
you've angered the wrong person and they chase you down,
and then you have a situation where where gunfire is exchanged.
Like I said, it happens a lot. And that's the
reason why you want to kind of be mindful of
these things that bother other drivers and do your best
(10:44):
to be a courteous driver. I think one of the things, yeah,
you have to think about is like when you walk
around the supermarket. You're pushing a shopping cart around the store,
and you get in a situation because there's no real
you know, real rules. You're supposed to be on the
right hand side of the aisle, but even that, there's no
real rules about it. But you almost bump into something
and oh, I'm sorry, Oh that's okay. We're so much
more polite, it seems, when we're out and our bodies
are fully exposed. Something about being inside of a car.
(11:06):
It makes it feel like you're inside of this indestructible
tank and you're in the other people are too, and
so you don't look at the other people as humans.
You almost just look at them as irritating cars. My
car is mad at your car, and that jerk driving
that other car. You don't. You kind of dehumanize the
other drivers, and in doing so, we become less polite,
and you know, less like the otherwise very polite Alabamians
(11:27):
that we all should be.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I've seen it, heard people say things, you know, do
things in their cars that they would never never consider doing,
you know, in front of their parents or just in
a public setting. So yeah, I know there's something too
that people, for whatever reason, there's some venues where people
just feel like the normal rules don't apply. Unfortunately, some
people act that way during their car while they're driving
(11:49):
in their cars, and that could that could create horrible consequences.
And you know, there's so how do you how do
you fix that? I mean, people tend to follow the
golden rule? Do you want to others who have a
go on to you? And maybe this is something we
should remember, you know, when we get in the car.
(12:10):
And also the other thing we can probably remember is
to be courteous so that we're not creating a situation
that's angering people. Unfortunately, for some reason, people forget that.
I don't know why. I think maybe a psychiatrist or
a psychologists can answer that better, but maybe they would
be scratching their heads too.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Another thing I'd like to mention is I've got a daughter.
She's fifteen. She's just now starting to drive. About six
months ago she started driving, and I remember, ever since
she's been very little that she's watching. She's always watching
everything that you do, especially when you're driving a car
and you might not think she is, but she is.
And so because of that, I try and keep it
(12:47):
in mind that she will one day model my behavior.
And that's the reason why I never want to lose
my cool behind the wheel and demonstrate behavior that I
would see her copying. I never want to get angry
at another driver and yell and screen, because then she's
gonna be model out behavior. I also never want her
to see me using my cell phone, checking my cell phone,
(13:10):
because again, behavior that I don't want her to see.
Remember that your children are going to model you. They
are watching you, and they will mimic what it is
they've seen you do. So always set a good example
behind the wheel for the kids in the car, because
one day they will be behind that wheel and they
will do what they were taught, good or bad.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
You know, that's becoming especially more important because a lot
of schools have scaled back or eliminated the driver education
driver training programs they have, and so it's become in
most parts or many parts of the country, it's been
more difficult for people, younger people to get to get
driver education and driver training programs where professionals show them
(13:49):
good driving habits as an alternative. You know, now you
have more and more young people learning to drive almost
exclusively from their parents, and so it's it's more important,
it's as important as our for parents to really set
to set good examples.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Robbot He is an insurance expert at lendingtree dot com.
Rob If people want to see the complete survey that
we've been discussing today, is there a place people can
go online to find the results of the survey.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Yeah, it's available on our website, lendingtree dot com and
you can just search for the driving pet peeve survey
and it shows answers a lot of questions that that,
you know, are that people talk about. You know, we
all think we all think we're alone in our pet peeves,
but you'd be surprised that other people feel the same way.
And then the other flip side of that is, you know,
(14:35):
one in several people also admit that they committed one
of these things that that makes them upset. So we're
all human, we all make mistakes. It's good for us
to cut other drivers some slack and not not get
too aggressive or upset at anyone else and just kind of.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Be courteous offer a little bit of grace. You know.
That's something I think we always reminded on church on
Sunday mornings. Grace is should be bestowed onto either even
the other drivers, in addition to just your fellow human beings, which,
by the way, the other drivers are actually fellow human beings,
not just cars. Rob, Thank you so much for joining
me this morning on Viewpoint Alabama. I hope you have
(15:11):
a great day.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
The pleasures mine and you're listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a
public affairs program from the Alabama Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
We all know smoking and now vaping is bad for you,
but how much intervention do you want from the government
on this? Hello, I'm John Mount and this is Viewpoint
Alabama on the Alabama Radio Network. And Massachusetts lawmakers are
pushing for a radical nicotine free generation bill that's going
to outlaw tobacco and nicotine sales to anybody born after
(15:39):
January first, twenty oh six. Forever will this be coming
to Alabama? Joining us to talk about this and how
this could affect you is Sophia Hamilton. She is a
harm reduction fellow and contributor with Young Voices, policy analyst
with Americans for prosperity. Sophia, welcome to Viewpoint.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Thank you so much for having me today. John excited
to talk to you about all things tobacco policy. We've
been seeing a lot of movement at the state level
over the past couple of years, and even more worryingly,
at the federal level. So I'm excited to kind of
posit about whether or not this this overbearing band that
we were seeing well come about in Alabama in future years.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
And Sophia, just for full disclosure, I'm not a smoker
and I've never smoked. Are you a smoker?
Speaker 4 (16:30):
I am not a smoker. I have used nicotine products
like sapes and nicotine pouches before, just trying them from
friends and those I've never smoked a cigarette, promised my
grandma number one, so I haven't. But even though I
don't use those products, I still think that adults, consenting adults,
should be able to make the decision to use those
(16:52):
products if they so desire to.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
And because it is a generational thing, the older generate,
my grandparents they all smoked like chimneys, and I have
to say they all died in the early seventies probably
because of that. But like you said, we ought to
in a society where we are, you know, we have
the liberty to make our liberty comes with responsibility, and
part of that responsibility is understanding that I might do
(17:17):
something that's not good for you know, I like Oreo cookies.
I know those aren't good for me. I still eat
Oreo cookies, you know. I think we still should be
able to do things that are unhealthy for us. And
there seems to be this growing I refer to as
the nanny state, where our government says, what we know
what's good for you, will tell you if you should
have this product or not. And I guess in Massachusetts.
(17:37):
I imagine that it's in Massachusetts. They've decided that the
government knows best and they're going to tell people, essentially
that after you're born after a certain date, that then
you just can't smoke. Is that how I'm understanding this law,
That it doesn't matter if you become in Alabama's nineteen
in some states is twenty one. It doesn't matter how
old you are. As you get older, you just can't smoke.
So if you're born before that date, you can still smoke,
(18:00):
But after that date, no matter how old you get,
you can never smoke exactly.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
So any adult born after two thousand and five would
forever be banned from purchasing tobacco and nicotine products. So
not only would they not be able to purchase cigarettes,
which are not safe. Combustible cigarettes are not safe, and
they are not good for your health. I still don't
(18:25):
think that means that they should be banned. I think
consenting adults should be able to make the decision to
purchase and use those products if they so want to
and they know the risks associated. But you would also
be banned from buying regulated vapes, which are much safer
than combustible cigarettes, and nicotine pouch products like zin, which
(18:46):
are way safer than cigarettes and vapes because it's just
pure nicotine that's going straight into your bloodstream, and so
really the only negative effects you're having there are some
gotten irritation and stomach upset, which it's very similar to
the same negatives that we have with caffeine, which is
so normalized in our society.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
It is funny. I think you know it's funny you
mentioned caffeine. I just think about how people where that
almost is like a thing of pride that yes, I
drink nine cups of coffee, I go to Star But
you know, people talk about caffeine consumption almost pridefully, how
much caffeine they can consume. But yet cigarette consumption is
a shameful thing. You know. The smokers now they have
to go out behind the building, off the property, you know,
(19:29):
to stand there in the rain. Is I kind of
feel bad for the smokers because of the way that
they're almost treated like you know, lepers. They have to
be shoved way out there in this day and age.
But but you know, like you said, the caffeine consumption,
that's almost to be celebrated exactly.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
And it's funny because Massachusetts is the home of dunkin Donuts,
a huge national coffee chain, and they've also their legislators
have been pushing cannabis legalization. So smoking cannabis is completely fine,
but smoking and the cigarette is not. That to me
is the biggest contradiction. And I think it's a very
(20:07):
worrying and that they're not understanding this because the arguments
that they are making against cigarettes and tobacco and nicotine
can then be used against other substances like cannabis that
they are in support of, So they're really not following
any principles here, and they're just trying to go into
(20:27):
this whole Nani state. It's the age of paternalism and
not allowing adults to make adult decisions for their own health.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Well, Sophia, one of the things you mentioned is you
say they're not following logic, but one of the things
that usually do follow is money. And I think a
lot of times lawmakers make laws because there's money to
be had in the way of campaign donations, whatever it is.
And I'm guessing that the tobacco manufacturers probably give a
lot of money, because I'm thinking, probably this legislation is
(20:56):
coming from only one size party, if I had to guess,
and probably that's the same party that does not get
a lot of uh political money in from the tobacco lobby,
but they might get a lot of political money in
from the cannabis lobby, and perhaps that's the reason why
they're making laws that are very anti tobacco and very
(21:18):
pro cannabis, much like I think the same in the
same way that there's one party that is very pro
gun control, and it's the same party that does not
get a lot of donations from the n RA and
from gun owners of America and the and the and
the manufacturers of the of the firearms. So it's less
about what's right for the citizens and more what's right
about what's right for them in terms of the money
(21:41):
they're able to get in from the the the lobbies.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
Well money, money is really a huge factor that makes
a lot of decisions for legislators. But it's even it's
funnier because tobacco products, nicotine products, they have all of
these excise taxes that are placed on the products that
make a lot of money for the state, and that
money from the taxes on these products goes to really
(22:07):
important issues like tobacco education and treating the health issues
associated with that. So they're getting rid of the state's
revenue if they were to ban these products, and people
aren't going to stop buying these products. They're just going
to go to the other states nearby in the Northeast
because they're so packed in there, and go across state
(22:27):
lines and spend their money in those other states and
give that revenue to other states outside of Massachusetts. So
they're really shooting themselves in their own flight here and
not understanding the downstream effects of this proposed ban and Sophia.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
The interesting thing about that, I'm going to play devil's
advocate for just a second, because the situation they would say,
the reason we have to do this is because of
the burden on the healthcare system by the consumption of
tobacco products, and it's causing a lot of health issues.
And our state we provide a lot of services for people,
(23:05):
especially Medicaid Medicare, and those services are more expensive because
of the consumption of these products. If people didn't consume
these products, then there would not be the cost on
the state. However, is kind of it's a secuitest argument
because the whole reason they have to have all of
that that they're making those payments is because they have
decided to interject themselves into the medical industry to the
(23:27):
point of we're going to socialize medicine in such a
way to where the state provides all that stuff for you.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
Exactly, you're right on the nose here. I hear the
argument a lot that.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
They want to ban.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
Cigarettes because it's causing all of these healthcare costs for
the state. Well, the state government put themselves in that
position by taking over the healthcare industry. We wouldn't have
that in the free market, and I think get behind
that argument here a little bit more if they were
only banning combustible cigarettes, but they're trying to ban all
(24:01):
tobacco and nicotine products, So the nicotine pouch products that
really have no negative health effects, they don't cause cancer.
People aren't going to the hospital and having all of
these incredibly expensive healthcare problems later in life because of
these products. They're also banning that they're a harm production tool,
and so I think the logic just doesn't track. I
(24:23):
think going against these safer products is really the silliest
thing that the government could be doing here. And I
don't think that there's really any possibility ever that Alabama
would pass a ban, a generational nicotine tobacco ban like
Massachusetts is proposing. But a lot of the tobacco laws
(24:46):
that Massachusetts passed in their own state have been gone
and proliferated to the federal level. That's why we now
have a federal twenty one age to purchase level. That's
why we have flavor bands and all of these other rights.
Is because Massachusetts is at the forefront of this awful
legislation and regulation.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
So, in other words, what you're saying a common phrase
you always hear is, you know, as goes California, so
goes the nation. But in this case, as goes Massachusetts,
so goes the rest of the nation, because it will
make its way down here. I remember when legalization of
marijuana was with almost something you'd laugh at. It was
something that the Green Party talked to the or the
Libertarian Party would talk about, but they would never they
would never think it would come to a place like here.
(25:28):
And then Colorado did. Well, that's those crazy folks out
in Colorado, and then California and lo and behold now
here in even Alabama they're working on legalizing it. So
it does trickle down eventually, even to the South, even
more conservative states, to where these policies from other states
works its way in here. And like you said, on
a federal level, they work their way into here, and
it's just a matter of time before the policy becomes
(25:50):
law here. And it all speaks back to like I
began with the issue of liberty, people being able to
do what they want to do so long you know,
the old was that Patrick Henry said, I you'd have
the right to swing my fist so long as it
doesn't contact. My neighbors knows that concept exactly.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
And it's funny because this is the party in Massachusetts
that's fighting for the legalization of cannabis and fighting for
all these other treatments for opioids, and yet they're going
against tobacco. I could not hold my tongue when the
Biden Harris administration was saying that they were going to
(26:25):
end the war on drugs, which they did nothing to stop.
They did nothing, and yet they were also proposing all
of these federal bands and over regulations on tobacco, as
if that's not also a drug that's going that its
band is going to lead to incarcerations and violence and
bad health effects from people going in to the black market,
(26:48):
the illicit market to still buy these products because people
don't listen to the government. They don't Americans don't like
to be told what to do. I'm sure even more
so in Alabama. They don't want to have their state
or their federal government telling them that they can't use
a product that is much safer like nicotine pouches, just
because they said no.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
And we saw what happened with prohibition back in the
thirties when they tried to make alcohol illegal. What happened
was people found a way around it. They were making
less safe alcohol and consuming more of it, and then
all this crime came up and all of these in
we had, you know, these mafias, all of a sudden,
they're trying to control the product. The same thing is
going to happen with something like this, although to a
(27:31):
lesser extent, because I feel like, for the most part,
the tobacco problem is kind of taking care of itself.
Like we talked about, the younger generations are not really smoking.
Those I see people who are still buying and consuming cigarettes,
they're usually thirty forty, fifty plus sixty plus because the
younger generation just didn't really develop the habit that essentially
(27:52):
society kind of took care of the problem by itself.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Exactly. We have the lowest rates of youth in adult
smoking on historical record, and that's what the proponents of
these bands will never acknowledge. It's insane to me. And
you see in states that have had bands, like California
is one of the states, like Massachusetts where they've been
at the forefront of these regulations. You're starting to see
(28:18):
the cartel business in Mexico come into California with their
unregulated illicit cigarettes in selling those to people because they
people some people older generations especially, still want to buy cigarettes.
You can't buy them on the legal market there, and
so the cartel has taken over this business. So the
(28:40):
state government is no longer getting that revenue, and consumers
have less safe, unred unregulated products, and they typically don't
even know that the products are less safe because they're
getting sold in their gas stations and corner stores. So
consumers are really just getting royally screwed over here, and
so is the state government, but at the hand of
(29:02):
the state government itself.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Well, the only good thing about all of the SOFIA
is right now is just in Massachusetts. We hope that
it stays there. And I guess anytime legislation that sounds
like this pops up, you should probably be on the
lookout that I'm talking to those of us here in
Alabama on the lookout to contact your state and for
that matter, your congressman and say, hey, we don't want
this for Alabama. It's not right for our people for
(29:26):
the following reasons that we talked about today here on
Viewpoint Sophia Hamilton again, a harm Reduction fellow and contributor
with the Young Voices. Thank you so much for joining
me today on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Of course, thank you, John.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
You've been listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program
from the Alabama Radio Network. The opinions expressed on Viewpoint
Alabama are not necessarily those of the staff, management, or
advertisers of this station.
As the summer driving season reaches a close, we wanted
to talk about some driving pet peeves that are not
just a nuisance, they can make our roads more dangerous. Hello,
I'm John Mounce and this week on Viewpoint, Alabama, I'm
speaking with insurance expert Rob Bott. We're talking about dangerous driving. Rob.
Welcome to Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Here in Alabama, we've got a bad history of road
rage incidents, some of which have ended in tragedies. Recently
is last month in Alabaster, two people shot each other
on I sixty five at almost the same spot where
twenty five years ago Shirley Henson shot Gena Foster following
a road rage altercation that same exit on sixty five southbound.
Rob in Lending Trees Annual twenty twenty five Driving Pet
(00:39):
Peeves Survey, we see some activities that can trigger these
road rage incidents. What are some of those behaviors and
are we getting better or worse?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Well, I'm not sure if we're getting better. These things
seem to be a perpetual, a perpetual situation where you're
seeing these things reported across the country, and I'm not
sure if we've seen it slow down in our survey,
we did a survey and a nationwide survey, and we
found that, you know, ninety two percent of drivers have
at least one pet peeve. The biggest pet peeve people
(01:09):
had was other people not using the turn signal. And
then the next is something that also gets most drivers upset,
along with tailgating.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
And when we talk about not using a turn single,
I can tell you here in Alabama, I rarely see
people use turn singles. In fact, I see police officers
even not use turn signals. Although you can't trust the
turn signal, I you know, because you see somebody say, uh,
approaching you and you think they're going to turn in
one lane and maybe they turn, you know, just past
the place you thought they're gonna turn. You can't trust
(01:38):
a turn single. But it is a good habit to,
you know, at least kind of let people know what
your plans are.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
You know, it's a great habit letting people know your intent.
You know where you're going, but other people can't read
your mind. It's it's a common courtesy really more than anything.
I mean, as a driver, you should just You're right,
you can't always trust turn signals. Sometimes people leave them
on inadvertently or sometimes people don't do what they think
(02:05):
that you're going to do. I mean, you have to
take them with a grain of salt. But you as
a driver could be very considerate and courteous to your
fellow drivers by always using your turn signals so you
know other people have an idea of what they have
a general sense of what you're going to do.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Another one that you have on your list is tailgating,
and one of the causes of tailgating is usually people
driving to slowly, which irritates somebody so they get up
right on their tail and you know, get in close
to tell them to move over. In fact, in Alabama,
we recently passed a lag which says you cannot travel
in the left lane on a controlled access highway from
more than I believe it's a mile unless you're passing somebody.
(02:42):
But if you can't overtake them in a mile, you're
supposed to get back over. You're not supposed to travel
that lane. They can write you a ticket, but if
they don't write you a ticket, you could possibly irritate
somebody to the point of their tailgating, which is unsafe
on multiple levels.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Tailgating is extremely unsafe because it doesn't give you enough
time to stop. And you're right, there are a lot
of people who are inattentive when they drive, and they
don't or maybe just unaware that the passing lane is
for faster moving traffic. It is for passing. So anything
that raises awareness of it, including these move overlaws, is
(03:16):
generally a good thing, just because it allows people to
travel a little more safely. And also it stops this
number one for this not number one, but this high
cause of consternation among drivers.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
And I see also on your list that drivers going
slow in the passing lane. Thirty six percent of people
say that's the biggest pet peeve, which ties back into
the previous thing we mentioned. So that's another one when
you're not going because we have speed limits on roads,
and then that's more of it seemed like almost like
a lower limit for a lot of people, especially around
the Birmingham era four to fifty nine. People don't go
(03:51):
slower than seventy on that where that's the minimum speed
they're going to go on four to fifty nine, and
you get passed out towards bestmer people are flying. I mean,
look at eighty ninety miles an hour into you're not
you're getting it ran over.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
You know, these things like going too slow in lanes
and tailgating, they are intertwined, but there are also different
shades of them. I mean, if you're talking about going
seventy or even higher than that in an area where
maybe the speed limit's only sixty. You know, if you're
speeding and you're tailgating, that's an extremely I'm sorry. If
you're already going over the speed limit and the person
(04:22):
in front of you is going over the speed limit
and you're tailgating, that is an extremely dangerous situation because
at high speeds you just need more room to stop.
The other situation where you have someone just going below
the speed limit or maybe just at the speed limit
in a passing lane, that's creating a you know, that's
creating a nuisance, and that's creating you know, that's also
(04:44):
causing people behind you to get upset and it might
cause them to do an un you know, perform an
unsafe activity to pass you by maybe going to the
right and weaving through traffic to get back around you
on the other side and.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Then get run of you and break check you. That
happens too, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
That's horrible. That's another no no. And that's another thing
that that also made our list of top pet peeves.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Now another one on your list. Thirty six percent of
people say over using their high beams. And one thing
is interesting in this day and age is we have
these super duper crazy high beams now where low beams
even where the low beams look like high beams, and
the high beams are just obnoxious. The cars have brighter
lights than ever before, and people are driving higher and
higher profile vehicles where it puts the headlights already at
(05:29):
a higher point, so it's easy to get blinded by
a car. You have to almost look away sometimes because
their lights are so bright.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
You know, that is a real problem, and it's particularly
dangerous when you talk about with these higher profile cars
with these extra bright normal normal lights, low beams that
are that are particularly bright. So yeah, I mean, you know,
the old fundamentals of driving are looking at the sometimes
(05:57):
they call it the fog line. That's that line alone
on the right side of the road that allows you
to kind of follow the contour of the road. And
sometimes when you have the car coming at you that
has very powerful lights, whether that's their high beams they're
low beings. Then you know you can protect yourself by
looking over to the right, looking at that fogline and
following that fog line, and of course keeping aware of
(06:20):
what's directly in front of you until that opposing vehicle passes,
and then you know you won't necessarily get have that
situation where your pupils are all knocked out of whack
and your vision gets impaired.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
We're talking with Rob Bot. He's an assurance expert with
lendingtree dot com. We're talking about some of the biggest
pet peeves that they found in a recent survey they've done.
One of my personal ones. I don't think this is
on the list, but I've seen this a lot of times.
In Alabama, we have a law that says when it's raining,
you're supposed to turn your lights on. For some reason,
there is and this is not in any driving manual.
(06:54):
There's some people who believe a good idea is, if
it starts to pour down rain while you're driving, to
continue driving but turn on your hand hazard lights. I
find this to be tremendously destructive because when your hazard
lights are flashing, your emergency flashes. You usually on a
lot of cars. You can't see a turn signal, you
can't see brake lights. All you see is flashing lights.
It's at least distracting, but also it makes it less
(07:15):
You're less able to tell what the car in front
of you is doing. You become less safe rather than
more safe when people think they're trying to be more
safe by turning on their pazard lights. And what's even
more interesting about this is it's a it's contagious because
one car does it and then somebody else goes, oh,
I better turn mine on too. So the confusion between
turning on your head lights and turning on your hazard
lights in rainy conditions.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Hazards indicate a hazard. When when you see a hazard light,
that means someone's hazards on. That means something's wrong, and
you want to give them some space and kind of
slow down a little bit because maybe something's up their head.
It's almost like crying wolf where you're you're putting on
your hazard lights, but there isn't really a hazard there.
So that seems like a bad idea. It seems like
(07:55):
it's it's it's almost the lack of it. It's some
thing where maybe you're trying to be courteous, but you're
actually being this courteous by doing that. I would I
would recommend not doing that.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
It's like you're predicting the future. You're going to become
a hazard after somebody rerinds you and then you're on
the side of the road trying to fix your car
in the rain.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
It sounds like a self fulfilling prophecy.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
It is. How about some of the other things you
find in your study, Like fifty seven percent of people
say that they've used their horn to scold other drivers.
And I will tell you that it's an interesting thing,
and this is a dynamic that probably see more here
in the South. What part of the country are you
and Rob?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
I'm up in Seattle, Washington. We're very polite here.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Yeah, it's probably different up and up in Seattle. Here
in the Southeast, we're also very polite, and we have
a very big reticence to use the horn. I've also
been to New York and people just basically they drive
around with their finger on the horn the entire time,
just constantly honking everywhere they go. We don't like to
honk in Alabama. In fact, it's interesting you come to
a red light and light turns green. Somebody's looking at
(08:52):
the phone, they're not paying attention, and you're the driver
behind them. You feel kind of awkward. You don't want
to blow your horn at them because that would be impolite,
But at the same time, it's like they're not moving,
you're gonna miss the light, so you'll try and tap
your horn as gently as dude. You know you don't
want to really, you know, you smile. I'm like, hey,
if it's not too much trouble, maybe check your Instagram
later and go. But on the other hand, you're saying
(09:14):
in this survey, a lot of people have a problem
with people who scold other drivers. I've seen this too,
where somebody cuts you off and you're blowing your horn,
not because you're warning them. I'm part pardon me, I'm
over here, but you're blowing your horn just to say, hey,
I didn't like that, and I'm telling you I didn't
like that, and I'm gonna blow my horn. I'm not
even blow it twice.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah, I mean, some people express themselves differently. The horn
really should be used for those situations to help alert
someone that they're doing something dangerous, and you know, to
prevent an accident or let someone know you're there who
might not see you. Certainly, a horn is a good
attention getting device. If if you overuse it, you know,
(09:54):
it kind of reflects poorly on the driver versus anyone else.
It's it's a nuisance. But but you know, you look
at things like texting while driving. I mean texting while
driving is something that can be fatal. Overusing the horn.
It's a nuisance, it's annoying, it may rub some people
the wrong way, but it's not necessarily gonna create an accident.
(10:14):
Whereas if you cut and from someone without using your
turn signal, or you're texting while you're driving, even your
tailgating at a high speed, these are all things that
could lead to deadly consequences.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Well in Alabama, as I started off, and you could
lead to deadly consequences if somebody takes it the wrong
way and you have a road rate incident because now
you've angered the wrong person and they chase you down,
and then you have a situation where where gunfire is exchanged.
Like I said, it happens a lot. And that's the
reason why you want to kind of be mindful of
these things that bother other drivers and do your best
(10:44):
to be a courteous driver. I think one of the things, yeah,
you have to think about is like when you walk
around the supermarket. You're pushing a shopping cart around the store,
and you get in a situation because there's no real
you know, real rules. You're supposed to be on the
right hand side of the aisle, but even that, there's no
real rules about it. But you almost bump into something
and oh, I'm sorry, Oh that's okay. We're so much
more polite, it seems, when we're out and our bodies
are fully exposed. Something about being inside of a car.
(11:06):
It makes it feel like you're inside of this indestructible
tank and you're in the other people are too, and
so you don't look at the other people as humans.
You almost just look at them as irritating cars. My
car is mad at your car, and that jerk driving
that other car. You don't. You kind of dehumanize the
other drivers, and in doing so, we become less polite,
and you know, less like the otherwise very polite Alabamians
(11:27):
that we all should be.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I've seen it, heard people say things, you know, do
things in their cars that they would never never consider doing,
you know, in front of their parents or just in
a public setting. So yeah, I know there's something too
that people, for whatever reason, there's some venues where people
just feel like the normal rules don't apply. Unfortunately, some
people act that way during their car while they're driving
(11:49):
in their cars, and that could that could create horrible consequences.
And you know, there's so how do you how do
you fix that? I mean, people tend to follow the
golden rule? Do you want to others who have a
go on to you? And maybe this is something we
should remember, you know, when we get in the car.
(12:10):
And also the other thing we can probably remember is
to be courteous so that we're not creating a situation
that's angering people. Unfortunately, for some reason, people forget that.
I don't know why. I think maybe a psychiatrist or
a psychologists can answer that better, but maybe they would
be scratching their heads too.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Another thing I'd like to mention is I've got a daughter.
She's fifteen. She's just now starting to drive. About six
months ago she started driving, and I remember, ever since
she's been very little that she's watching. She's always watching
everything that you do, especially when you're driving a car
and you might not think she is, but she is.
And so because of that, I try and keep it
(12:47):
in mind that she will one day model my behavior.
And that's the reason why I never want to lose
my cool behind the wheel and demonstrate behavior that I
would see her copying. I never want to get angry
at another driver and yell and screen, because then she's
gonna be model out behavior. I also never want her
to see me using my cell phone, checking my cell phone,
(13:10):
because again, behavior that I don't want her to see.
Remember that your children are going to model you. They
are watching you, and they will mimic what it is
they've seen you do. So always set a good example
behind the wheel for the kids in the car, because
one day they will be behind that wheel and they
will do what they were taught, good or bad.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
You know, that's becoming especially more important because a lot
of schools have scaled back or eliminated the driver education
driver training programs they have, and so it's become in
most parts or many parts of the country, it's been
more difficult for people, younger people to get to get
driver education and driver training programs where professionals show them
(13:49):
good driving habits as an alternative. You know, now you
have more and more young people learning to drive almost
exclusively from their parents, and so it's it's more important,
it's as important as our for parents to really set
to set good examples.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Robbot He is an insurance expert at lendingtree dot com.
Rob If people want to see the complete survey that
we've been discussing today, is there a place people can
go online to find the results of the survey.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Yeah, it's available on our website, lendingtree dot com and
you can just search for the driving pet peeve survey
and it shows answers a lot of questions that that,
you know, are that people talk about. You know, we
all think we all think we're alone in our pet peeves,
but you'd be surprised that other people feel the same way.
And then the other flip side of that is, you know,
(14:35):
one in several people also admit that they committed one
of these things that that makes them upset. So we're
all human, we all make mistakes. It's good for us
to cut other drivers some slack and not not get
too aggressive or upset at anyone else and just kind of.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Be courteous offer a little bit of grace. You know.
That's something I think we always reminded on church on
Sunday mornings. Grace is should be bestowed onto either even
the other drivers, in addition to just your fellow human beings, which,
by the way, the other drivers are actually fellow human beings,
not just cars. Rob, Thank you so much for joining
me this morning on Viewpoint Alabama. I hope you have
(15:11):
a great day.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
The pleasures mine and you're listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a
public affairs program from the Alabama Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
We all know smoking and now vaping is bad for you,
but how much intervention do you want from the government
on this? Hello, I'm John Mount and this is Viewpoint
Alabama on the Alabama Radio Network. And Massachusetts lawmakers are
pushing for a radical nicotine free generation bill that's going
to outlaw tobacco and nicotine sales to anybody born after
(15:39):
January first, twenty oh six. Forever will this be coming
to Alabama? Joining us to talk about this and how
this could affect you is Sophia Hamilton. She is a
harm reduction fellow and contributor with Young Voices, policy analyst
with Americans for prosperity. Sophia, welcome to Viewpoint.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Thank you so much for having me today. John excited
to talk to you about all things tobacco policy. We've
been seeing a lot of movement at the state level
over the past couple of years, and even more worryingly,
at the federal level. So I'm excited to kind of
posit about whether or not this this overbearing band that
we were seeing well come about in Alabama in future years.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
And Sophia, just for full disclosure, I'm not a smoker
and I've never smoked. Are you a smoker?
Speaker 4 (16:30):
I am not a smoker. I have used nicotine products
like sapes and nicotine pouches before, just trying them from
friends and those I've never smoked a cigarette, promised my
grandma number one, so I haven't. But even though I
don't use those products, I still think that adults, consenting adults,
should be able to make the decision to use those
(16:52):
products if they so desire to.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
And because it is a generational thing, the older generate,
my grandparents they all smoked like chimneys, and I have
to say they all died in the early seventies probably
because of that. But like you said, we ought to
in a society where we are, you know, we have
the liberty to make our liberty comes with responsibility, and
part of that responsibility is understanding that I might do
(17:17):
something that's not good for you know, I like Oreo cookies.
I know those aren't good for me. I still eat
Oreo cookies, you know. I think we still should be
able to do things that are unhealthy for us. And
there seems to be this growing I refer to as
the nanny state, where our government says, what we know
what's good for you, will tell you if you should
have this product or not. And I guess in Massachusetts.
(17:37):
I imagine that it's in Massachusetts. They've decided that the
government knows best and they're going to tell people, essentially
that after you're born after a certain date, that then
you just can't smoke. Is that how I'm understanding this law,
That it doesn't matter if you become in Alabama's nineteen
in some states is twenty one. It doesn't matter how
old you are. As you get older, you just can't smoke.
So if you're born before that date, you can still smoke,
(18:00):
But after that date, no matter how old you get,
you can never smoke exactly.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
So any adult born after two thousand and five would
forever be banned from purchasing tobacco and nicotine products. So
not only would they not be able to purchase cigarettes,
which are not safe. Combustible cigarettes are not safe, and
they are not good for your health. I still don't
(18:25):
think that means that they should be banned. I think
consenting adults should be able to make the decision to
purchase and use those products if they so want to
and they know the risks associated. But you would also
be banned from buying regulated vapes, which are much safer
than combustible cigarettes, and nicotine pouch products like zin, which
(18:46):
are way safer than cigarettes and vapes because it's just
pure nicotine that's going straight into your bloodstream, and so
really the only negative effects you're having there are some
gotten irritation and stomach upset, which it's very similar to
the same negatives that we have with caffeine, which is
so normalized in our society.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
It is funny. I think you know it's funny you
mentioned caffeine. I just think about how people where that
almost is like a thing of pride that yes, I
drink nine cups of coffee, I go to Star But
you know, people talk about caffeine consumption almost pridefully, how
much caffeine they can consume. But yet cigarette consumption is
a shameful thing. You know. The smokers now they have
to go out behind the building, off the property, you know,
(19:29):
to stand there in the rain. Is I kind of
feel bad for the smokers because of the way that
they're almost treated like you know, lepers. They have to
be shoved way out there in this day and age.
But but you know, like you said, the caffeine consumption,
that's almost to be celebrated exactly.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
And it's funny because Massachusetts is the home of dunkin Donuts,
a huge national coffee chain, and they've also their legislators
have been pushing cannabis legalization. So smoking cannabis is completely fine,
but smoking and the cigarette is not. That to me
is the biggest contradiction. And I think it's a very
(20:07):
worrying and that they're not understanding this because the arguments
that they are making against cigarettes and tobacco and nicotine
can then be used against other substances like cannabis that
they are in support of, So they're really not following
any principles here, and they're just trying to go into
(20:27):
this whole Nani state. It's the age of paternalism and
not allowing adults to make adult decisions for their own health.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Well, Sophia, one of the things you mentioned is you
say they're not following logic, but one of the things
that usually do follow is money. And I think a
lot of times lawmakers make laws because there's money to
be had in the way of campaign donations, whatever it is.
And I'm guessing that the tobacco manufacturers probably give a
lot of money, because I'm thinking, probably this legislation is
(20:56):
coming from only one size party, if I had to guess,
and probably that's the same party that does not get
a lot of uh political money in from the tobacco lobby,
but they might get a lot of political money in
from the cannabis lobby, and perhaps that's the reason why
they're making laws that are very anti tobacco and very
(21:18):
pro cannabis, much like I think the same in the
same way that there's one party that is very pro
gun control, and it's the same party that does not
get a lot of donations from the n RA and
from gun owners of America and the and the and
the manufacturers of the of the firearms. So it's less
about what's right for the citizens and more what's right
about what's right for them in terms of the money
(21:41):
they're able to get in from the the the lobbies.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
Well money, money is really a huge factor that makes
a lot of decisions for legislators. But it's even it's
funnier because tobacco products, nicotine products, they have all of
these excise taxes that are placed on the products that
make a lot of money for the state, and that
money from the taxes on these products goes to really
(22:07):
important issues like tobacco education and treating the health issues
associated with that. So they're getting rid of the state's
revenue if they were to ban these products, and people
aren't going to stop buying these products. They're just going
to go to the other states nearby in the Northeast
because they're so packed in there, and go across state
(22:27):
lines and spend their money in those other states and
give that revenue to other states outside of Massachusetts. So
they're really shooting themselves in their own flight here and
not understanding the downstream effects of this proposed ban and Sophia.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
The interesting thing about that, I'm going to play devil's
advocate for just a second, because the situation they would say,
the reason we have to do this is because of
the burden on the healthcare system by the consumption of
tobacco products, and it's causing a lot of health issues.
And our state we provide a lot of services for people,
(23:05):
especially Medicaid Medicare, and those services are more expensive because
of the consumption of these products. If people didn't consume
these products, then there would not be the cost on
the state. However, is kind of it's a secuitest argument
because the whole reason they have to have all of
that that they're making those payments is because they have
decided to interject themselves into the medical industry to the
(23:27):
point of we're going to socialize medicine in such a
way to where the state provides all that stuff for you.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
Exactly, you're right on the nose here. I hear the
argument a lot that.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
They want to ban.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
Cigarettes because it's causing all of these healthcare costs for
the state. Well, the state government put themselves in that
position by taking over the healthcare industry. We wouldn't have
that in the free market, and I think get behind
that argument here a little bit more if they were
only banning combustible cigarettes, but they're trying to ban all
(24:01):
tobacco and nicotine products, So the nicotine pouch products that
really have no negative health effects, they don't cause cancer.
People aren't going to the hospital and having all of
these incredibly expensive healthcare problems later in life because of
these products. They're also banning that they're a harm production tool,
and so I think the logic just doesn't track. I
(24:23):
think going against these safer products is really the silliest
thing that the government could be doing here. And I
don't think that there's really any possibility ever that Alabama
would pass a ban, a generational nicotine tobacco ban like
Massachusetts is proposing. But a lot of the tobacco laws
(24:46):
that Massachusetts passed in their own state have been gone
and proliferated to the federal level. That's why we now
have a federal twenty one age to purchase level. That's
why we have flavor bands and all of these other rights.
Is because Massachusetts is at the forefront of this awful
legislation and regulation.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
So, in other words, what you're saying a common phrase
you always hear is, you know, as goes California, so
goes the nation. But in this case, as goes Massachusetts,
so goes the rest of the nation, because it will
make its way down here. I remember when legalization of
marijuana was with almost something you'd laugh at. It was
something that the Green Party talked to the or the
Libertarian Party would talk about, but they would never they
would never think it would come to a place like here.
(25:28):
And then Colorado did. Well, that's those crazy folks out
in Colorado, and then California and lo and behold now
here in even Alabama they're working on legalizing it. So
it does trickle down eventually, even to the South, even
more conservative states, to where these policies from other states
works its way in here. And like you said, on
a federal level, they work their way into here, and
it's just a matter of time before the policy becomes
(25:50):
law here. And it all speaks back to like I
began with the issue of liberty, people being able to
do what they want to do so long you know,
the old was that Patrick Henry said, I you'd have
the right to swing my fist so long as it
doesn't contact. My neighbors knows that concept exactly.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
And it's funny because this is the party in Massachusetts
that's fighting for the legalization of cannabis and fighting for
all these other treatments for opioids, and yet they're going
against tobacco. I could not hold my tongue when the
Biden Harris administration was saying that they were going to
(26:25):
end the war on drugs, which they did nothing to stop.
They did nothing, and yet they were also proposing all
of these federal bands and over regulations on tobacco, as
if that's not also a drug that's going that its
band is going to lead to incarcerations and violence and
bad health effects from people going in to the black market,
(26:48):
the illicit market to still buy these products because people
don't listen to the government. They don't Americans don't like
to be told what to do. I'm sure even more
so in Alabama. They don't want to have their state
or their federal government telling them that they can't use
a product that is much safer like nicotine pouches, just
because they said no.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
And we saw what happened with prohibition back in the
thirties when they tried to make alcohol illegal. What happened
was people found a way around it. They were making
less safe alcohol and consuming more of it, and then
all this crime came up and all of these in
we had, you know, these mafias, all of a sudden,
they're trying to control the product. The same thing is
going to happen with something like this, although to a
(27:31):
lesser extent, because I feel like, for the most part,
the tobacco problem is kind of taking care of itself.
Like we talked about, the younger generations are not really smoking.
Those I see people who are still buying and consuming cigarettes,
they're usually thirty forty, fifty plus sixty plus because the
younger generation just didn't really develop the habit that essentially
(27:52):
society kind of took care of the problem by itself.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Exactly. We have the lowest rates of youth in adult
smoking on historical record, and that's what the proponents of
these bands will never acknowledge. It's insane to me. And
you see in states that have had bands, like California
is one of the states, like Massachusetts where they've been
at the forefront of these regulations. You're starting to see
(28:18):
the cartel business in Mexico come into California with their
unregulated illicit cigarettes in selling those to people because they
people some people older generations especially, still want to buy cigarettes.
You can't buy them on the legal market there, and
so the cartel has taken over this business. So the
(28:40):
state government is no longer getting that revenue, and consumers
have less safe, unred unregulated products, and they typically don't
even know that the products are less safe because they're
getting sold in their gas stations and corner stores. So
consumers are really just getting royally screwed over here, and
so is the state government, but at the hand of
(29:02):
the state government itself.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Well, the only good thing about all of the SOFIA
is right now is just in Massachusetts. We hope that
it stays there. And I guess anytime legislation that sounds
like this pops up, you should probably be on the
lookout that I'm talking to those of us here in
Alabama on the lookout to contact your state and for
that matter, your congressman and say, hey, we don't want
this for Alabama. It's not right for our people for
(29:26):
the following reasons that we talked about today here on
Viewpoint Sophia Hamilton again, a harm Reduction fellow and contributor
with the Young Voices. Thank you so much for joining
me today on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Of course, thank you, John.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
You've been listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program
from the Alabama Radio Network. The opinions expressed on Viewpoint
Alabama are not necessarily those of the staff, management, or
advertisers of this station.
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