My father had a laryngectomy due to smoking – all my memories of him are with a hole in his throat. He could only speak by burping – I never heard his true voice. My stepfather died from complications of COPD from long term smoking.
We’ve known for decades that many smokers will contract lung cancer. Others suffer from lesser effects of smoking – increased incident / intensity of diseases, hacking coughs, and nicotine addiction. In many locales, it is illegal to smoke indoors, outdoors near certain buildings, and in a few places, disallowed even in your condo. Add in the expense – taxes on tobacco products continually rise and at $4/pack at 2 packs/day, the yearly cost is $2,290. Warnings have appeared for years in the media of the dangers of smoking as well as on the packs and cartoons themselves. Anti-smoking advocates never cease to figure out new ways to keep people from smoking.
The smoke lingers in the air, spoils the taste of food, and I hate the smell of cigarettes in my clothes when around those that use them.
I heeded the message: I’ve never smoked nor ever intend to. No one is allowed to smoke in my car or around my home (ask my adult son what the penalty is if I ever catch him smoking on my property, even in the driveway!).
Given all that, I can’t figure out why anyone would start or continue to smoke given all that.
With all this as background, our NH Senate recently voted down HB 1177 that bans smoking in all restaurants by a vote of 12-11.
Good for them!
My father had a laryngectomy due to smoking – all my memories of him are with a hole in his throat. He could only speak by burping – I never heard his true voice. My stepfather died from complications of COPD from long term smoking.
We’ve known for decades that many smokers will contract lung cancer. Others suffer from lesser effects of smoking – increased incident / intensity of diseases, hacking coughs, and nicotine addiction. In many locales, it is illegal to smoke indoors, outdoors near certain buildings, and in a few places, disallowed even in your condo. Add in the expense – taxes on tobacco products continually rise and at $4/pack at 2 packs/day, the yearly cost is $2,290. Warnings have appeared for years in the media of the dangers of smoking as well as on the packs and cartoons themselves. Anti-smoking advocates never cease to figure out new ways to keep people from smoking.
The smoke lingers in the air, spoils the taste of food, and I hate the smell of cigarettes in my clothes when around those that use them.
I heeded the message: I’ve never smoked nor ever intend to. No one is allowed to smoke in my car or around my home (ask my adult son what the penalty is if I ever catch him smoking on my property, even in the driveway!).
Given all that, I can’t figure out why anyone would start or continue to smoke given all that.
With all this as background, our NH Senate recently voted down HB 1177 that bans smoking in all restaurants by a vote of 12-11.
Good for them!
In my humble opinion, they have made the right decision for the proper reason. They have seen past what seems to be obvious subject, banning the foul habit of smoking, and instead zeroed in on a more fundamental one: choice.
Tobacco usage is legal by adults. It is their choice to use or quit. And choice is the operative word as it is the fullest expression of freedom. And lately, choice has been getting rather short shrift. What seems to be the logical choice (ban smoking) is really a loss of choice. Thus, another freedom disappears under the guise of “it’s good for you and society”.
In the land where the motto is proudly “Live free or die”, it is time to start taking a stand to keep from loosing our ability to make choices, one at a time.
In this case, self-styled crusaders believe that everyone should stop smoking. My word for them is a less high sounding one: Busybodies. They are the shock troops of the Nanny State; the folks that believe that they know best. They will do whatever it takes and use government to regulate anything they deem is wrong to protect you from yourself. Underlying their arguments is the basic thought of "it’s for their own good!" Frankly, I translate it as "listen moron, if you can’t take care of yourself, we’ll do it for you”. While their issues may be good (smoking ISN’T a good thing!), the results are the same – tactics that take away choices. Seatbelts, smoking, snack foods, soda – the list goes on and on.
This attitude, unfortunately, also gives rise to a society that sheds responsibility and just puts up with it.
Remember the story about the frog? Put into a pot of boiling water, it will struggle mightily to get out. Starting out with cool water that is then heated to boiling, however, the frog will just sit there. But no matter which way it gets into hot water, the outcome is the same. The loss of something priceless (certainly to the frog)
The moral? Question anyone that tries to limit something. No matter how good it may seem, examine it well. If it requires a loss of choice, you may be trading freedom for a pittance.
Hot water indeed.
Copyright David “Skip” Murphy, 2006
