With all that.s going on around us both locally and nationally, we sometimes miss some important happenings that affect each of us in profound ways. Take Cigarette smoking for example.Did everyone hear that President Obama signed legislation that places the control of tobacco (primarily nicotine) in the hands of the FDA. This is a big deal.
The bill, for the first time gives the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products. That means it can decide what's in them and what has to come out of them and rule on the introduction of new products. The industry has fought this for decades.
What many people in several everywhere ask is whether the FDA will enforce what it dictates. To me, I'd be happy if they took small steps tomorrow. Really, I have my reservations that this could change all smoking habits overnight. It wont, but it will chip away at the number of new smokers annually.The legislation forces all cigarette packs to have "warning" notices on the front and back. Not just on the package, but over 50% of the space. That's terrific! The ability to sponsor sporting events is history and the sale of tobacco will be limited to "adult" only facilities. So the CITGO on Broadway will no longer be the "Blunt" capital of the city of Kingston.
Now if we could only stop subsidizing tobacco farmers who refuse to switch to other crops. Can you believe the US government bails out tobacco farmers? Just like what happened in the banking and auto industry, only these guys had the option to stop raising this killer crop and didnt do so.
More than 3,000 young people smoke their first cigarette each day, even though the cost has skyrocketed and the anti-smoking campaigns rage on. Sure the numbers have decreased, but not fast enough. Those of you who are currently adicted may feel like the victim here, but you can identify why we want kids to NEVER start smoking.
5 comments:
Mike, I don't know the degree of truth in this, but I've heard, over and over again, that it isn't so much the tobacco that is harmful in cigarettes, as it is the additives.
Whatever the case, I was aware of that Obama signed this legislation - and on behalf of our youth I am grateful for that...
However, as a "mature" smoker that was sucked in by an industry that knew it was selling a highly addictive drug - and has been doing so for decades - I think that the folks that are "hooked" (I've also heard that a nicotine habit is as hard or harder to "kick" than a heroin habit) should get a little (ahem) more (overall; this isn't directed at you) respect - and that the companies that have consciously and knowingly sold smokers (at a very high price in all regards) these toxic cancer and heart desease make-you-sick-stick-fixes aught to be the focus / object of class action lawsuits filed by smokers all over the country!
It is also a shame - and I want you to hear me on this - that just when the stigma around being an agnostic, atheist, huminist and/or minority (be it by gender, sexual orientation, race or whatever) has been lifted (opening up possibilities for some folks like never before...) ---
Smoking has become the new "taboo" - and I fear that discrimination against folks that smoke (What about those that drink heavily? I saw one of our major local polititians pretty bombed out in public pretty recently....) are being - and will continue to be - the unfair subjects of increased discrimination in the workplace, in politics, pretty much (This is already happening, big time!) everywhere...
I have mixed emotions about all of this. I surely do. But I do hope [considering how the "war on drugs" (ahem) has worked out, I wonder...] that - via this venue and others - fewer of our youth will pick up nicotine habits to begin with.
NS
My initial thought was "Doesn't affect me" because neither my wife nor I smoke. Then I began to wonder who is going to replace the tax revenue all different levels of government have grown accustommed to, if the FDA essentially regulates cigarettes out of existence.
NS; The stigma has been there. It is true. I cannot change the way people think about any other group. I can only suggest tolerance for those who are addicted.
Where does my push to rid the world of cigarettes come from? My Mom has smoked since before I was born. She is down to quarter capacity in one lung. Smoking affects the whole family.
My hope, and yours is that kids stop or never start smoking. The reports coming from all over the internet indicate that the FDA intends to clean up the contents of cigarettes to address what you asked about. What the industry mixes with tobacco is a crime.
My Mom was incapable of quiting even in the face of raising kids and subjecting us to the toxins smoking produced in our home. The FDA control of this substance may be too late for the millions who have suffered already, but at least there's a chance to reduce the number of new smokers through this legislation.
Mike, I'm sorry to hear the news about your Mom... It must have been really hard on everyone. My Mom, ironically, was diagnosed with Asthma, COPD and Emphusima (sp?) after she had stopped smoking for just a short time.
But Mike, this sort of thing speaks to the power of this addiction that was sold to your Mom, my Mom and other folks that we love...
And who among us lives without one addiction (Is there any truly healthy addiction?) or another?
Nicotine addiction can kill. Alcohol addiction can and does kill. Workaholism (the stress implied / Type A personalities) can kill. Other addictions - gambling, sex, whatever... can lead to serious crimes, prison, death...
And now we seem to have internet and cell phone addictions, etc. - the true effects of which are not known yet...
Along with hundreds of thousands (or millions?) of children that have been raised on Ritalin (or something of that nature)...
Along with folks - in and out of institutions - that are sometimes being given megadoses of drugs (antidepressants, antipsychotics, meds to address the side effects of same, etc. etc.) - a lot of which (these drugs) we truly don't know the long-term effects of either...
I could go on and on with this topic, which has been a personal bugaboo for me (personally and research wise) along all of these lines...
And I hope all of these issues will be addressed - not just the smoking issue - as time goes by.
Sorry if that sounds "kooky..." I am a little :)
NS
Is that an ash tray on Obama's desk? Remember, he is a smoker himself. Probably the only thing I like about him, the only thing he is not caving into.
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