Saturday, May 31, 2008

Lighting Up, Dumming Down.

May 31, 2008 - Smokers, those people for whom sucking in tar and carcinogens seems a good idea, are losing ground. At one time, you could smoke anywhere - airplanes, restaurants, hospital beds. Soon, smoking was limited to one section of a room, and now, finally, in most of Canada smoking is banned almost completely from public places.

Now, there are all kinds of arguments as to why those who smoke should be allowed to do so where they want. Cigarettes are legal. Cigarettes are a taxable item. Adults should have the right to do what they want. Of course you must be an adult to purchase cigarettes legally.That same argument can be said of alcohol. Why can't we drink anywhere we want? Alcohol is legal. There are taxes on vodka too. But alas, we control where alcohol can and can not be consumed, and so we do the same for cigarettes. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared May 31st as World No Tobacco Day many years ago. This year, the focus is on youth smoking. Youth are so much smarter with access to more information that we could only dream of decades ago. Why start when you know what the end can look like? Not to mention the wrinkles. It seems the smarter we get, the more invincible we get - and we don't even need to add tequila.

Today is also National Macaroon Day. Put down the cigarettes and dive in to a box of macaroons. That has got to be healthier than lighting up.

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