Just the facts, maam....

From one opposed to smoking, here are the facts that speak to the addictive appeal of tobacco over the years. The mean number of cigarettes smoked per day per person in 1965 ( a very good nicotine-free year in my life) was 18.3. In 2008, it was 13.3. A reduction of five ciggies at the cost of billions of dollars in litigation, regulation and taxation. Has it been worth it? If a pack costs $5 to $10 today as opposed to a few cents in the past, and appreciateurs are willing to pay the price? ... draw you own conclusion. Also, if 42% of the adult population smoked in 1965 and only 22% in 2008, does a reduction of 20% really mean a whole lot in terms of success if it is obvious that alternative addictions ( you use your imagination) have not improved the moral underpinnings of our culture? I now justify the descriptions of the so-called types of ‘new smokers’ or ‘part-time’ smokers in 2010, which I claim are not ‘new’ or ‘part-time,’ just smokers, who world over, are ubiquitous in their need for beneficent nicotine.

Social smokers choose to smoke to share good times in pursuit of happiness.
Secret smokers choose to smoke because others (called busybodies) disapprove of their passion.
Stress smokers choose to smoke to cope with problems and avoid some ugly alternatives.
Emotional smokers choose to smoke to manage anger or depression, a cheaper answer than a shrink.
Smokers choose smoking for relaxation so why should suffer discrimination?
Smoking choose to smoke to control their weight. The secret that Hollywood, the porn and fashion industries cannot be let out of the bag, can it?

My conclusion? Butt out. Most smokers do not ask fellow citizens and taxpayers to pay for the possible consequences of their choices - even though they know cigarettes are hazardous to health. But mountain climbers often do. Welfare clients often do. Politicians usually do. Criminals usually do. Most smokers do not pursue a life of crime as a consequence of their nicotine habit. Yet, agenda-driven do-gooders have made smokers pay for their habit through the nose over the last hundred years here in America, claiming the habit bankrupts our health care system. Sadly, only one bad law of government bureaucracy, prohibition, has ever been repealed. History is not on the side of common sense, freedom and personal responsibility.