Keep Wilmington Smokin!
Courtesy of the Wilmington Morning Star (paper only), I see the New Hanover County Health Council is pushing for an indoor restaurant and bar smoking ban. WWAY had the story earlier here .
May I say how much I’ve enjoyed living in one of the last backwards places that actually smokes? It’s a throwback to when people had bad habits other than excessive vanity and compulsive schoolmarm nannyism. Bourbon, Barbecue, Tobacco, Sunshine, Salt Water- none of them are completely good for you. But neither are any of them lethal in small amounts, nor unavoidable. Pick yer poison I say.
I don’t smoke. Most of my friends do. I have a fondness for their secondhand smoke and their company. I have lost friends and relatives “early” to smoking-related illnesses. Is it wrong for me to see their passing as a testament to their free spirits? They pursued their happiness in the way that they saw fit, and I saw fit to let them do it.
Some will accuse me of turning a blind eye to the nightmare of addiction. I say free will is stronger and more important. Smoking catches some, drinking others. Sex, food gambling, danger, exercise, lethargy, religion, video games, fantasy, power... addictions are legion, none improve the quality of life, but what a bland, tasteless life we face when we insulate ourselves from all which might do harm.
But What Of The Children? But you see, say the bluenoses, we’re worried about the health of nonsmokers, blameless souls, for whom the barest whiff of burning tobacco is like a greased chute to the grave? Example:
Should this ban pass, freedoms will suffer. I mentioned the pursuit of happiness earlier. This is also an assault of the freedom of association. Let the smokers and smoker lovers congregate, let the smoke-phobic do the same. Let the merchants serve who they will.
May I say how much I’ve enjoyed living in one of the last backwards places that actually smokes? It’s a throwback to when people had bad habits other than excessive vanity and compulsive schoolmarm nannyism. Bourbon, Barbecue, Tobacco, Sunshine, Salt Water- none of them are completely good for you. But neither are any of them lethal in small amounts, nor unavoidable. Pick yer poison I say.
I don’t smoke. Most of my friends do. I have a fondness for their secondhand smoke and their company. I have lost friends and relatives “early” to smoking-related illnesses. Is it wrong for me to see their passing as a testament to their free spirits? They pursued their happiness in the way that they saw fit, and I saw fit to let them do it.
Some will accuse me of turning a blind eye to the nightmare of addiction. I say free will is stronger and more important. Smoking catches some, drinking others. Sex, food gambling, danger, exercise, lethargy, religion, video games, fantasy, power... addictions are legion, none improve the quality of life, but what a bland, tasteless life we face when we insulate ourselves from all which might do harm.
But What Of The Children? But you see, say the bluenoses, we’re worried about the health of nonsmokers, blameless souls, for whom the barest whiff of burning tobacco is like a greased chute to the grave? Example:
Erin Cummings with the New Hanover County Health Department said, "Don't expose yourself to it there is no safe level."No safe level? Toxins abound. What keeps us all from dying from mercury or lead poisoning is the level of our exposure. So are we supposed to believe that unlike lead, mercury, arsenic, etc., tobacco smoke has no safe level? Have we really done the research on the lowest amount of second hand smoke to which one might be exposed and still live a long healthful life, barring unforeseen circumstances? Are we speaking metaphorically, perhaps? Philosophically? Dogmatically? It doesn’t seem to be rationally.
Should this ban pass, freedoms will suffer. I mentioned the pursuit of happiness earlier. This is also an assault of the freedom of association. Let the smokers and smoker lovers congregate, let the smoke-phobic do the same. Let the merchants serve who they will.
posted by Doug Utton at Thursday, October 19, 2006
1 Comments:
In response to your statements: Yes, the research has been conducted on secondhand smoke. According to the Surgeon General of the United States and his report published in June of 2006, there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. This is not an issue of assaulting freedoms, it is an issue of public health. The health department exists to protect and promote the health of our citizens; this is the only reason for the interest in pursuing legislation reducing exposure to second hand smoke.
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