Cigarettes as a controlled substance?
Elk Grove is thinking about going out on a major limb and banning the sale of cigarettes entirely. I don’t know about you, but I find the idea of that really disturbing. I can understand banning smoking in restaurants. And I can understand banning cell phone use while driving. But banning the sale of cigarettes just seems like a really… weird decision. We all know they are bad for us. but there are plenty of legal things that are bad for people. Drinking certainly isn’t healthy, but alcohol is still legal. Fast food is bad for you, and yet there is still a McDonald’s within stone’s throw of everywhere. What do you think?
I think some people need to get a life (ie. the people trying to ban the sale of cigarettes).
I don’t think cigarettes should be made illegal. Then again, I don’t think addictive substances in general should be illegal. (And no, it’s not because I take them.) Tobacco is really not very different from many illegal substances, like marijuana, or khat, for instance.
I guess it’s because I think adults have a right to hurt themselves. It’s also because of the selective way in which the government has made certain substances legal and others illegal. The Europeans who founded this country drank alcohol and smoked tobacco. The Mexican immigrants – the ones that partook- also drank alcohol, but tended to smoke marijuana instead of tobacco. The Asian immigrants looking for a mind altering experience tended to use opiates. Many Middle Eastern immigrants chew – chewed, I guess – khat on a daily basis. I look at this information and wonder if the government didn’t make these things illegal as a deterrent to unwanted immigrants? I know it is generally believed that these drugs are more lethal than alcohol or tobacco, but I don’t really believe that’s the case. (I realize that this is a really broad spectrum overview on the complicated history of immigration and drug law, but it’s the basis for my opinion. I would LOVE to be corrected, by the way, if you’re better informed than I.)
Not to mention . . . has anyone looked recently at the number of Americans in jail or prison? It’s staggering. And a lot of them are there for drug use. Clearly, making these things illegal is not stopping people from using them and developing crippling addictions. Why don’t we take all of the tax payer’s money that is going to incarcerating these people and use it for programs to treat and prevent addiction? Here’s what I don’t get – if law is supposed to be a reflection of the ethical standards of a society – then why are drugs still illegal? There is a huge portion of the population that snorts, smokes, eats, or shoots something illegal semi-regularly. Where would we be if we put all of them in jail? And now cigarette smokers, too?
Ben,
Wanna go have a cigarette?
In Elk Grove Village?
Jason-
I don’t smoke cigarettes, but thanks for the offer.