cigarettes
cigarettes
01:59, 2007-Sep-15
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Illegal activities take place all the time in this country. And not sort-of crimes but real, violent crimes. One would think that we as a society would focus our efforts at preventing these crimes. Still, every day there are millions of law abiding Americans who are persecuted and pushed farther and farther to the fringes of society: smokers. Now, I don't smoke. I think the tobacco companies have misled people. I think second hand smoke may be a health issue. In spite of all this, smoking is legal, and whether or not a person smokes is a decision they are free to make. To many, cigarettes are the great evil to be purged. In the X-Files, the mysterious, sinister nemesis is referred to simply as "the smoking man," as if this trait alone were enough to assure us of his evilness. To these people, around every corner is another subliminal message placed by big tobacco to get four year olds to smoke. Most recently, health advocates in Sacramento pushed for smoking to be a criteria in movie ratings. A movie character enjoying a cigarette is lumped in with the murderer, topless actress and foul language. Surely no second hand smoke can pass from George Clooney's Marlboro's to the unsuspecting movie viewer. This is not an issue of health, it is an issue of vilification. Smokers are the modern day lepers, pushed to back sections of restaurants and dingy designated areas of office buildings. Right here in Maryland the most egregious example of smokers' rights violations almost came to be. The law passed, but vetoed by the county executive in Montgomery County, outlawed smoking, even in your own home, if the smoke bothers a neighbor. The implications of this law are far over reaching. If you live in an apartment and passersby in the hallway merely notice the presence of cigarettes or other tobacco, there would be legal penalties. Again, there is no health issue involved. An accuser only has to demonstrate annoyance at the presence of cigarettes. A tenant of a legally-owned dwelling attempting to use a completely legal substance could be committing a crime.
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