I'm a smoker and a proud smoker at that. Recently in Washington State the voters passed an initiative which bans smoking in all restaurants and bars and forbids smoking within 25 feet of businesses and government offices.
Not to get pissy about it, but I'll start caring about the smoking ban when the voters start caring about universal healthcare instead of legislating "protection" for people's health via banning bar smoking.
Really.
I'm not the first person to hit on the discrepancy between a country where smoking is considered a number one issue yet people die every day from having inadequate health care, where people go hungry because of absurdly tiny minimum wage ordinances, and people have to work while they're going to college to be able to afford college.
It seems that there are bigger problems in this country than second hand smoke.
Once people start to address those issues I'll be a little bit more sympathetic to the anti-smoking lobby.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
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3 comments:
I think you should be able to smoke wherever you want to. I also think when the inevitable Universal Health Care system comes, smokers should be exempt. There is absolutely NO reason for the productive, tax-paying public to be finacially responsible for your cancer, heart disease and/or emphysema. Do whatever you want but don't expect me to pay for your poor choices.
I try to avoid restaurants where smoking is allowed, because I have a strong physical aversion to cigarette smoke (the odor is truly nauseating to me).
In Canada, there is public health care and tax on cigarettes pays for a large portion of the health care budget, so smokers actually fund the healthcare of non-smokers. Smokers should be included in the public health care scheme. Especially since the high taxes hit the poorest the hardest, and smoking is more prevalent among lower income segments of the population, to then turn around and say that they can't get free health care would be a further assault on the poor.
There is also there is a trend toward banning cigarette smoking in public places in Canada. I have to say I support the initiative, despite being a further extension of state power over individuals. The reason I support it is because of the workers who are forced to be exposed to second hand smoke everyday at their workplace. It is disproportionately low paid jobs, such as servers and bar tenders, who are subject to the health risk posed by second hand smoke. For them it is an occupational health issue. Therefore banning smoking in bar and restaurants is a victory for working people.
Also, let not forget the money that we all spend on cigarette goes directly into the coffers of large conglomerates to use for whatever purpose they choose.
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