Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/04/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Tue, 6 Apr 2004, B. D. Colen wrote: > God or Brian will strike me down for falling for this...but I really > can't help myself: > > The only reason that the sale and distribution of tobacco products - the > carrier of a drug as addictive as heroin - is legal in this country is > that the tobacco companies have spent literally billions on totally > false advertising and on buying politicians. I'll grant you, that's a big reason. Another reason might be that the stuff was being used before there was an awareness of the damage drugs can do, any drug. So it was already established on the market when modern science and medicine caught up with it. Then came the advertising. I used to smoke 40 a day (about 25 years ago). I've gone over to "smokeless" tobacco. But I wouldn't be sad to see all of it banned everywhere in the world. Hand out pistols to those who insist on committing suicide. Our health insurance costs will fall dramatically since we won't have to pay for their slow death. Seriously, ... it's nasty stuff. Costs society huge amounts in medical costs (which we all, individually, end up paying for in one way or another). If they ban the stuff, I'll go cold-turkey. Probably not before ... but I'm working on it. > Sooner or later we will come to our senses, pay every tobacco farmer > precisely what he or she is now making from growing tobacco to grow > alternative crops or grow nothing, we will pay all tobacco company > workers - not executives - their current weekly pay until they retire - > and we will outlaw the, import, export, sale and distribution of tobacco > products. It would certainly be a win/win solution. We'd save a bundle with your proposal. Daniel