quittin' smoking

[Deeann M.M. Mikula]

On Tue, 14 Mar 2006, Jeremy David wrote:

> cigarettes when we start start to treat cigarettes as what they are, a
> dangerous addictive drug which is dangerous not only to the user, but
> anyone in the general vicinity.

You know, I've yet to read a scientific study that I thought was
reasonable that proved the dangers of second hand smoke in short term,
infrequent proximity, such that an average person gets when going to a
club once or twice a week.  I'd especially like to see that contrasted
with the effects of other air pollutants, such as sitting in traffic 3
hours a day, or walking around in busy thoroughfare streets such as
5th & Forbes in Oakland at rush hour.

Also, any time you start wanting to ban smoking because it's "a
dangerous addictive drug", I want to see you apply the same argument
to alcohol, which is not only a dangerous addictive drug, but is
strongly associated with violence against others (and self,
actually). You don't see nic-fit driving deaths, nic-fit domestic
abuse, nic-fit suicides, nic-fit brawls at parties, etc...  If any
legal drug needs to be restricted for public saftey, it's alchohol,
NOT nicotine.


Deeann M.M Mikula

"Well behaved women rarely make history."
                 -Laurel Thatcher Ulrich