I am a non-smoker and never smoked. I might have been influenced in
early adolescence by a Reader's Digest series . One article was titled "
I am Joe's Lungs ". A young athletic guy was foolish to smoke , to be
sure. What's more- it AGED you. But smoking caught up with my older
brother Rick. It was definitely a factor in his death last year at age
68. Rick began smoking at age 12 ! I am sure that those seductive
images in TV cigarette advertising - TAKE A PUFF AND IT'S SPRINGTIME
AGAIN.- seduced millions . Poor addicted Rick never once even tried to
quit. That made him an impossible, miserable hospital patient. And now I
wish his son, Rick Jr, would quit. He has five kids to live for.The
best friend of my younger days never stopped smoking. " Buddy " was
smoking at 17 when I first met him.
So I have a grudge against nasty BIG TOBACCO. But telling kids that they just can't smoke until they are 21-because it is ILLEGAL - is wrongheaded. It will just put millions of kids on the wrong side of the law.
Just the high price of a pack of cigarettes is nothing less than a tax burden on the poorest smokers. A lot of them would rather smoke than eat !
I would rather see the BIG TOBACCO companies nationalized. Then poor working class smokers would not be tempted into petty thievery.
But it would help if marijuana were completely legalized. It would help to end the foolish WAR ON DRUGS.
As long as you don't drive or endanger anybody why should a sane society care if you like to get HIGH -even every day ?
So I have a grudge against nasty BIG TOBACCO. But telling kids that they just can't smoke until they are 21-because it is ILLEGAL - is wrongheaded. It will just put millions of kids on the wrong side of the law.
Just the high price of a pack of cigarettes is nothing less than a tax burden on the poorest smokers. A lot of them would rather smoke than eat !
I would rather see the BIG TOBACCO companies nationalized. Then poor working class smokers would not be tempted into petty thievery.
But it would help if marijuana were completely legalized. It would help to end the foolish WAR ON DRUGS.
As long as you don't drive or endanger anybody why should a sane society care if you like to get HIGH -even every day ?
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Ron