If one wants to be precise, one should measure deadly harm not in deaths (past people were still going to die if lung cancer didn’t get them), but in quality-adjusted life years, pretty much the best unit ever.
And no, I’m not sure assassinating CEOs would help, unless it was public enough and effective enough to actually dissuade people from leading the company in any capacity. Bombing factories would be much more efficient.
Second thought: some might say that people only enjoy smoking because they’re addicted. On the other hand, people enjoy eating when they’re hungry because they need food. Would a serious hedonist want to increase the number and intensity of their desires so as to get more pleasure from fulfilling them?
I think I once heard a story/legend/parable/joke/something about someone who had deliberately bought very tight shoes so that every evening they would enjoy the relief of taking them off.
If one wants to be precise, one should measure deadly harm not in deaths (past people were still going to die if lung cancer didn’t get them), but in quality-adjusted life years, pretty much the best unit ever.
And no, I’m not sure assassinating CEOs would help, unless it was public enough and effective enough to actually dissuade people from leading the company in any capacity. Bombing factories would be much more efficient.
Should the fact that a fair number of people actually enjoy smoking be figured into this?
Second thought: some might say that people only enjoy smoking because they’re addicted. On the other hand, people enjoy eating when they’re hungry because they need food. Would a serious hedonist want to increase the number and intensity of their desires so as to get more pleasure from fulfilling them?
Katja Grace deliberately sought a caffeine addiction for this reason.
I think I once heard a story/legend/parable/joke/something about someone who had deliberately bought very tight shoes so that every evening they would enjoy the relief of taking them off.