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Archived Observation

Ever since California passed it's smoking ban this past January, there always seem to be little "updates" on the news from time to time on whether or not the ban is actually working. The most recent news segment basically reported that some bars pay attention to the ban and some don't, but the consensus of the tobacco-haters is that half of the bars being smoke-free is better than none of them being smoke-free. A week ago we voted on whether or not to impose a new state tax on tobacco products, which would raise the prices of things like cigars so high that it will most likely drive the cigar shops out of business as people go the cheaper mail-order route. Not only will it put small businesses under and people out of work, but it will eliminate a gathering place where people with similar interests get together and have a good time. As of today (absentee ballots are still being counted), the people who voted for this tax are outnumbering the people who voted against it by a mere 38,000 or so, which is a teeny tiny margin when you see that the total amount of people who voted numbers well into the millions. These anti-tobacco people are going way too far, in my opinion, with their "it's to protect the children" diatribe. I'll be extra-generous and grant them that whole "kids should be kept away from the dangers of cigarettes" thing (though every single person in my family smoked and I never had the urge to steal a cigarette out of my mother's purse, and didn't even try a cigarette until I was, like, 24 years old), but c'mon, when was the last time you saw a 10-year-old chomping on a stogie?

I don't see anyone banning alcohol, which is also addictive and can cause just as much (if not more) pain as some wafting tobacco smoke. And what about the rest of the country, where you can even smoke in *gasp* restaurants, never mind bars…and what of the rest of the world? Are those children's lungs less important that those of precious Californian children? If the majority of California voters continue down the path they're currently on, I'd better dig out my sewing needle, 'cause the only social activity that'll be left will be the good 'ole-fashioned Quilting Bee. 

Posted in Observations.


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