The Ten Biggest Lies about Smoke & Smoking

[Larry Gude]

Well...

I just want the government to be honest about their approach.

...that's the end of this conversation. No one said anything about honesty.
All I was doing was illustrating how the argument CAN be made. The way government, both state and federal, have handled smoking is simply one thing; a revenue stream.

 

[Steve]

Being an active smoker for 22 years, I went and checked out "The Truth.com" to see what they were all about. They had lots of statistics, lots of analyses to support their claim that cigarettes were bad for you. Hell, by their estimate, all smokers and people around them were destined to die at any moment!

I opened a second IE window and went to the EPA's website that had statictics on the Clean Air Act, basically the EPA's determination of what particulate matter in the air can cause harm. (Sharon started this thread from that perspective...)

Turned out that everything "The Truth.com" touted on it's web site - the arsenic levels, the asbestos, the nicotine, the phosphorous, and the rest of the 4,000 chemicals in a cigarette - were well within the EPA's guidelines for healthy air.

So...do we believe our Government? "The Truth.com"? Our neighbor?

I will say, though, that since I quit smoking cigarettes, I notice the smell all the time. So I do support the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces for esthetic reasons. But I DO NOT support bans in bars or in any outdoor, public arena-type event. That becomes SOCIALISM as 2A already mentioned.

 

[Tonio]

But I DO NOT support bans in bars or in any outdoor, public arena-type event. That becomes SOCIALISM as 2A already mentioned.

As I said before, I support the principle of keeping government out of people's lives. I woud much rather see businesses set their own smoking policies voluntarily.

But I don't understand why government interefence in people's lives constitutes socialism. I see this as simply autocratic or dictatorial government without any economic theory behind it. Wouldn't it be socialism if, say, the government owned the cigarette factories and stores along with all the other stores?