Smoking - a successful prohibition

nospam@example.com (Old Longhair) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:32:00 -0700

I am a smoker. As a newspaper once described a local judge, an "unrepentant" one. I have quit a few times (for a few months each time) but my heart was never really there - I quit out of fear, or because I felt I needed to.

Us smokers are a rare bunch now. We are being ostracized, denied accommodation, required to go through immigration procedures when we do not want to immigrate (Heathrow has no smoking areas now and you need a visa to have a smoke after a transatlantic flight), all in the name of our health and the health of others.

Not that it is truly working to accomplish the stated goal of having a healthier population - as the smoking rates continue to go down, cancer rates continue to go up (http://www.lcolby.com/b-chap4.htm is a good summary of official data). But in a way, it is very effective - as a functional prohibition. After all, smokers are now in a small minority and getting smaller.

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Old Longhair's Musings - Smoking

Smoking - a successful prohibition