Date: Saturday April 11th 2015
Participants (from 13 countries):
China: Miranda, Yi Chen, Judie, Qiuqiu | Algeria: Saada | Tunisia: Amine, Marwa | USA: Rebecca, Rick | Pakistan: Turab Ali, Tufail | Morocco: Anas | Egypt: Mohamed, Ashrakat | Argentina: Johny | Japan: Yoko | Colombia: Sandra | Saudi Arabia: Fahad | France: Andre | Spain: Rafael
Team A: (Yes) Miranda, Yi Chen, Saada, Amine
Team B: (No) Rebecca, Rick, Turab Ali, Judie, Anas
Team C: (On the fence) Mohamed, QiuQiu, Marwa, Johny, Tufail, Yoko
Others that briefly joined: Ashrakat, Sandra, Fahad, Andre, Rafael
Moderator: Masato
Team A Summary:
- Smoking is bad for the health, creates medical problems. Every 6 seconds, someone dies. Can cause lung cancer. Alcohol can cause liver disease (too much) and upper gastro intestinal bleeding.
- Some people said in their countries, about 80% of the car accidents are caused by people drinking too much alcohol.
- It can be an addiction, and has a large social impact as well.
Team B Summary:
- People have the freedom to choose, the government should not control this. In the USA, during prohibition alcohol was made illegal, which created a underground/black market, crime increased and people still could find alcohol.
- There are limits already set, for both smoking and drinking in most countries. Enforcement may be an issue, but that is separate from whether or not it should be made illegal.
- Many other things, if taken in excess i.e. food, can lead to diseases (obesity). It’s about moderation.
- There are options for people that have addiction problems, treatment centers etc.
- If people are thrown into jail for these types of violations, how will the court and legal system handle it, when they are already overcrowded? What is the impact on police force etc., to enforce these things?
Some summary points:
o Where do you draw the line on what is good for you, and what is not
o How much control do you want to give to the government to make those decisions for you
o In some cases, these problems can affect not just one person, but many people (such as in accidents etc.)
o The owner of Marlborough Cigarettes died of lung cancer
o Special interest groups and governments will not outlaw it, because they make too much money from taxes placed on these things
Team C Summary:
- Quite a good debate, and Masato did an excellent job of moderating it.
o Mohamed= Team A
o Qiuqiu= N/A
o Marwa= Team B
o Johny= Team B
o Tufail= N/A
o Yoko= Team B
- Team B won this debate. Thanks to everyone for participating.
Below is the link to listen to our chat
For people who did not join the live discussion, feel free to contribute the ideas in comment blanks below.