Don’t Smoke and Drive

Right next to banning smoking in private residences, we have banning smoking in private vehicles:

An anti-tobacco coalition of 37 health and welfare groups is calling on the NSW [New South Wales] Government to ban smoking in cars carrying children… Anti-smoking coalition spokeswoman Anne Jones said independent research showed smoking in cars not only placed children at risk of secondhand smoke but increased the risk of accident and fire.

Thank the heavens for these dogooders. Let’s all give them a hand, or maybe just a finger. More of the same nanny state bullshit that seeks to guide you through life from cradle to grave all couched in the illogical, emotional pablum that is “for the children.”

Well, in the immortal words of George Carlin: “Fuck the children.”

Not be outdone by their Kiwi cousins, the Canucks are the first to ban smoking in cars:

Starting next June, if you’re in a car in Wolfville with a child and you light up, you’re in trouble. This small Nova Scotia town of 3,600 made history Monday night when it became the first in the country to ban smoking in vehicles if there’s a child on board.

The New Gateway Drug

I’ve always wondered when tobacco would take the place of marijuana as the “gateway drug,” and apparently it’s finally happened, but in Pakistan, not in the U.S. (yet):

Smoking leads to drug addiction: LGES chairman

Smoking is considered the root cause of drug usage, as cigarettes tend to tempt youngsters towards trying out drugs, said Lahore Garrison Educational System (LGES) chairman Major General (r) Nazakat Ali Khan on Tuesday.

This is indeed intriguing. Tobacco and alcohol are obviously the more logical gateway drugs, even though marijuana has been the labeled culprit for years. However, with the increasingly social intolerance of smoking - such as in places like Belmont, CA – tobacco has/will become the next victim of the war on drug mentality.

Belmont, CA has a new ordinance which would outlaw smoking not only in ostensably “public” places, such as restaurants and bars, but in private residences as well. Smoke travel in multi-unit apartments is something that could be handled through two avenues: 1) the market – complaints will lead property owners to install ventilation systems which remove the smoke or they will rent to people who do not smoke; 2) the city could require the installation of such ventilation systems in new apartment buildings or when renovations are done on existing apartment buildings. Both of these options address the issue without invading the privacy of the renter.

Regulating the life of the individual can only go so far, and should only go so far as he interacts with the public and other individuals. It should not extend to his private behaviour within his personal space.

“Light” Smokers Need to Shut Up

A 2004 case filed by light smokers is coming up for a ruling soon:

The lawsuit filed in May 2004 argued that tobacco companies defrauded smokers into thinking “light” cigarettes were safer than regular ones.

They were defrauded?! Give me a freaking break. Did they miss the labels that are all over the packs of cigarettes telling you they are not safe:

I’m sorry, but if you’re saying you were defrauded, you are either the biggest idiot in the world, or you are the biggest liar in the world.