Eliminating 10-packs hasn't reduced smoking

The elimination of ten-cigarette packs, part of a series of measures to discourage smoking, has proven to be a terrible idea. It doesn't discourage smokers, it doesn't help them quit, and it penalizes those young people who, if only to save money, had developed the habit of limiting themselves to ten cigarettes.

Eliminating packs of 10 has proven to be a double mistake. It's not true, and the facts have proven it, that increasing the number of cigarettes purchased with a pack, and therefore the cost, makes you smoke less. Or even puts you on the path of those who have successfully quit. I say this as a smoker who has tried, unsuccessfully, to quit. I chose to buy packs of 10 cigarettes precisely to smoke less, and I must admit that the system works: when they run out, I stop smoking, and I don't feel like constantly asking anyone who passes by for a cigarette. Furthermore, the young people who buy cigarettes are either minors, and here we are in the realm of illegality that should be punished with a specific law, or they are adults, and then the rules apply to everyone. I'm not convinced by the restrictive and bureaucratic nature of e-cigarettes, which, according to what several scientists say, are a way to quit smoking and reduce risks. Burdening the sale of these products with regulations simply means giving a gift to the big cigarette lobbies.