Pick your side...

These are truly grim times… and since I’ve covered drugs, the cult-blog, and college parties, I feel it’s time to get down to the political side of this blog (I am, after all, a political science major). Now, there are several different life-philosophies when it comes to government. Some of them I respect, one of them at least, I do not understand.

Recently, Congress passed legislation that if signed into law, will give the FDA the power to regulate nicotine yield in cigarettes, flavoring additives in cigarettes, and cigarette advertising. I am aghast.

Whatever your position on smoking, and I very much respect the opinions of non-smokers, this is clearly a level of government involvement that is heinous, and against every principle I hold dear.

Are we going to give them the power to regulate the alcohol content of Jack Daniel’s next? Or limit the amount of saturated fat in my burgers? They’ve already begun the processes of forcing me to buy cars that fit Big Brother’s definition of a utopia.

I am all for laws against public smoking, a listing of a cigarettes content, and what-not. The first is based on speculations (although after reading many medical reports, I believe false) of health hazards to non-smokers… and the other is giving power to the consumer. This is taking power away from the consumer.

It is shameful, and no different than the moralizing legislation the Left used to condemn. But then, no politician has ever shied away from hypocrisy. Either ban cigarettes flat out. Or let us pick our poison. Some of us like to experience our vices, and don’t give a damn about those who want to protect us from ourselves. I’ve had a close friend who came down with throat cancer, just one year into college… I still choose to smoke unfiltered.

Fix your own life, don’t legislate mine… and remember, the oldest woman who ever lived smoked until she reached 114... don't buy into all the fiction.