The Molecule of More

THE MOLECULE OF MORE

and alcohol are a larger public health problem because they are so easy
to  obtain. In  fact,  the  most effective way  to  reduce the  problems caused 
by these substances is to make it more difficult to get them.
We’ve all seen “quit smoking” advertisements on buses and sub-
ways. They don’t work. We’ve heard about school programs that teach
kids to say no to drugs and alcohol. In many cases drug and alcohol use
go up after these programs because they pique the curiosity of the ado-
lescent students. The only thing that has been shown to work consis-
tently is raising taxes on these products and placing limits on where and
when they can be sold. When these measures are taken, use goes down.^4
As barriers to the use of tobacco have gone up, barriers to pornog-
raphy have gone down. In the past, getting sexually explicit pictures
was something of an ordeal. People had to muster the courage to walk
into  a  drugstore, pick  up  a  magazine, and  then hope the  cashier wasn’t 
a member of the opposite sex. Today, pornographic pictures and videos
can be had in seconds and in complete privacy. There are no barriers
of embarrassment or shame.
We don’t yet know if compulsive viewing of pornography is
exactly the same as drug addiction, but they have things in common.
As with drug addiction, people who become trapped in a cycle of
excessive pornography use spend more and more time pursuing this
activity—sometimes many hours every day. They abandon other activ-
ities so they can focus on adult internet sites. Sexual relations with their
partners tend to become less frequent and less satisfying. One young
man gave up dating completely. He said that he’d rather look at por-
nography than go out with a real woman because the women in the
pictures never demanded anything of him, and never said no.

4 Raising the price of cigarettes and alcohol is controversial, though, especially with

regard to cigarettes. Fewer and fewer people smoke. Those who persist tend to be

poor and less educated. As a result, increases in cigarette taxes hit them the hard-

est. This is the opposite of a tax system that shifts more of the burden onto those

who are better able to afford it. Advocates who defend this strategy argue that the

pain caused by raising taxes on the poor is counterbalanced by reducing their risk

of getting cancer, emphysema, and heart disease.