Jan 10 2009
Smoking….An American Right?
California is jokingly called the “Nanny State,” because it has so many laws that impinge on your freedom to use your own common sense. Instead, the laws regulate what you can and cannot do, kind of like a nanny watches over very young children.
One of the things that California heavily regulates is smoking. It isn’t regulated like this in other countries, or even other states. In California you cannot smoke within 20 feet of an entrance of a building, anywhere children have a “tendancy” to be, in a car with a child etc……
But what does this tell us? It tells us that people are afraid of the dangers of second hand smoke.
But evidently, only here.
It appears that second hand smoke isn’t as toxic in Europe, where people smoke like chimnies. It also isn’t as toxic in Las Vegas, New Jersey or Texas. But it is that toxic here in California.
Americans have the right to smoke. I said it - yes - smoking is a right. It is a personal choice. I choose not to, and to stay away from people who do. But you are a different person than I am, and so you should make the decision that is best for you.
Someone I know put it best: People who smoke know the risks and the dangers. They just want to be the one who lives and does not die.
That’s your own personal choice. I am glad that people cannot smoke in resturaunts, bars and stores where I go. But people should be allowed to smoke outside. It’s their choice to kill themselves.
In fact, smokers die younger than others, which means they die before they reach the 70-80 years old (where costs of medical care and assisted living come in). So in one way, they are saving the state the money the state would spend on keeping them as healthy as they could (picture the image of the smoker walking around with an oxygen tank).
So go ahead, choose to smoke. I dare you to. You are going to kill yourself. And then you are going to try and sue the cigarette companies for your “damages” claiming that you didn’t know about the danger. That’s ridiculous. You know the dangers. It is on infomercials, in ads, and on every pack of the cigarettes you buy. So show some backbone and personal responsibility.
If you choose to smoke, you are choosing to die. Don’t try and blame someone else for your actions.
