Monday, July 6, 2026

The Obtain: a smoking “endgame” and a brand new Elizabeth Bear story


Because the mum or dad of two little ladies, I typically take into consideration how their childhood is completely different from mine. The seven-year-old is studying about AI in school. The five-year-old is given internet-based homework each week. And they’re each completely repulsed by the concept of smoking.

That was not the prevailing sentiment after I was younger. Smoking was a central a part of our tradition. Which is why the UK’s latest passing of a generational gross sales ban on tobacco merchandise seems like such an enormous deal.

That is what’s described as an “endgame” strategy. Whereas many tobacco management methods—akin to taxation or gory imagery—goal to cut back consumption, insurance policies just like the UK’s are designed to remove it fully. It’s a brand new strategy, and nobody is aware of whether or not it is going to work. However it’s an attractive prospect—and it’s beginning to look so much much less radical.

Discover out why generational tobacco bans are gaining assist.

This story is from The Checkup, our weekly biotech e-newsletter. Join to obtain it in your inbox each Thursday.

You do your personal time

—You do your personal time is a brief story by Elizabeth Bear, an award-winning speculative fiction creator.

There we have been, a daily murderers’ row of librarians. Turning round within the nave of our library to greet the sound of footsteps, pistols leveled in case whoever was coming in did not respect sanctuary.

I pulled down a solid-state drive filled with biographies and case research of people that had frolicked—and typically their complete lives—in labor camps or chattelhood. It was unlawful to own, and the feds used sensible brokers to trace down and obliterate any copies. Which was why we have been sending one to the celebrities.

Related Articles

Latest Articles