Smoking Bans-(bmac)

From the New York Sun:

"Smokers have already been banned from New York bars and restaurants, and
soon they could be prohibited from lighting up in cars carrying minors, an idea
giving added fuel to critics who say the city has become a nanny state."

My prediction: Smoking will be completely outlawed within ten years.
Full disclosure, I am a smoker. Wish I never started, but I did, and to be honest, I enjoy it. Smoking has been demonized to such an extent, that I feel like a leper when I smoke in public. Seriously, child molesters get less hateful glares. My wife and I vacation in California sometimes, and when I smoke there, I fully expect to be lynched by an angry mob. With torches and everything. I understand that cigarette smoke is unpleasant to non-smokers, and I make an effort to spare people from that in public, just as I make an effort to not fart directly at people. But the bottom line is, when you leave your house, it's not my job to make your day pleasant, nor is it the job of government to make sure you don't get offended outside of your personal sanctuary. Life is offensive, and it should be. Maybe your cologne is offensive to me, but hey, that's your problem, I'm not gonna let it ruin my day, or try to pass legislation against Old Spice.

That is why this type of legislation is personal. People hate dirty, filthy, low-life smokers. Smoking is a personal choice, just as eating 5 Big Macs, or riding dirt bikes on the weekend is. They all have inherent health risks, known to the person engaging in said activity. You can't pass laws against it all.
Whether or not you smoke, you should be very affraid of these laws being enacted. Today it's smoking and Trans-Fats, tomororrow, it's red meat. The day after that, it's guns.

posted by xgenghisx at 01:29 PM

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