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Tuesday, February 28, 2006

The persecution continues

Posted by on February 28 at 10:07 AM

BBC News reports that Australia’s New South Wales might soon ban smokers from lighting up in cars. Authorities are set to conduct a study of the detrimental effects of second hand smoke on passengers in vehicles (especially children).

Smokers in Australia have already been squeezed out of bars and restaurants, as well as some beaches and most other public places.

A spokesman said that tough action should be implemented to stop the small number of irresponsible people who smoked around youngsters in their cars.

I think it’s a stupid idea. Some of my fondest memories from childhood involve being hot boxed by my father while road tripping around Idaho.

And if kids are complaining about the smoke, they shouldn’t be frequenting Seatt—uh, they shouldn’t be climbing into cars with their puffing parents. Or they could take a little personal responsibility and invest their allowances in military grade gas masks from a local Army Navy surplus store. Whiners.


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i don't believe smokers should be allowed to check materials out of the library. they come back revolting and even months later when someone else tries to read the book, cd insert, or dvd cover, the stench is still at gag level.

Also smokers should not be allowed around me.

And smokers shouldn't be allowed in public places or to have jobs or to rent or buy houses..in fact, would it be possible to just kill them? Or is sterilization and internment in, say, camps of some kind enough?

Addiction is a disease. Yes, smokers make choices that others do not. However, the chemicals and obsessive behaviours effect people differently. Being a cigarette addict is similar to being an alcoholic - though it is more socially enjoyable to discriminate publicly against one than the other.

I smoke in a car almost every day of my life, but I wouldn't be against a law criminalizing smoking in a car with kids in there. Banning smoking in a car alone would be stupid, though. You might as well just make cigarettes illegal, which I would probably support.

Why isn't anyone pushing the ban-cigarettes bandwagon? Or is that controlled by the federal government (aka, Kraft Foods)?

So ban cigarettes.

... oh wait. The precedent would kill the movement to legalize marijuana dead, and you Seattlites wouldn't want that. Nevermind.

Ban Breathing

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