lmm comments on What legal ways do people make a profit that produce the largest net loss in utility? - Less Wrong

2 Post author: Punoxysm 25 March 2014 01:53AM

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Comment author: satt 25 March 2014 03:51:48AM 20 points [-]

Obvious example: selling cigarettes.

The cigarette is the deadliest artefact in the history of human civilisation. [...] Cigarettes cause about one death per million smoked³⁵ with a latency of about 25 years, which is why the 6 trillion smoked in 1990 will cause about 6 million deaths in 2015. [...] One-third or one-quarter of those deaths will be from lung cancer; about one every 15 or 20 s. [...] Cigarette companies make about a penny in profit for every cigarette sold, or about US$10 000 for every million cigarettes purchased. Since there is one death for every million cigarettes sold (or smoked), a tobacco manufacturer will make about US$10 000 for every death caused by their products.

Presumably there are even worse legal ways to make a profit, but this sets a nicely unambiguous lower bound, I think.

Comment author: Jack 25 March 2014 06:46:28AM 5 points [-]

A lot of industries are going to look really bad if you only score one side of the ledger. Given that a huge number of people continue to smoke and enjoy it, despite knowing the negative implications for their health it seems reasonable to assume that tobacco companies supply the world with a great deal of utility, in addition to the lung cancer.

Comment author: lmm 25 March 2014 08:34:28PM 7 points [-]

Enjoy it? Or want it because they're addicted? What we want and what we enjoy are not guaranteed to be aligned.

Comment author: Jack 27 March 2014 06:09:30AM 3 points [-]

As someone who occasionally smokes while not being addicted to it: it is definitely enjoyable for people.

Comment author: Alsadius 31 March 2014 06:47:54AM 1 point [-]

I smoke cigars once every couple years, and they're genuinely nice. Never tried cigarettes, but I'd imagine they're possible to enjoy. I know a couple folks who are not addicted and smoke recreationally once in a while.

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