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Thursday, September 03, 2009
Maclean's mentions the cover up
Although I hate beating a dead horse, the latest issue of Maclean's magazine happens to mention the very issue I have been discussing the last few days. Below is a scan from the "Mail Bag" section:
And a nice little photo with caption to go with it:
As well, there is some great discussion going on here and here, so come join in!
[Cross-posted at The Right Coast]
Posted by Dane Richard on September 3, 2009 in Canadian Politics | Permalink
Comments
What should be remembered is that this whole thing actually has very little to do with smoking itself. This is a pissing contest between government that is learning how to manipulate the populace, and the people who are raising the middle finger at the intrusion in their lives by funded activists and do=gooders.
Posted by: peterj | 2009-09-03 10:18:36 PM
I pity those who smoke. Regardless, it's their choice. They know the consequences. I smoked for twenty seven years and was up to two packs a day. I was hooked, really hooked. I couldn't think of quitting without breaking into a sweat. After two years of trying different methods to stop with no success, I somehow stumbled upon a method which enabled me to stop cold-turkey with no sweat, no pain and no difficulty. I haven't smoked for twenty three years. Information on how to stop should be freely available.
Posted by: dewp | 2009-09-03 11:28:22 PM
I love smoking but restrain myself to a pack a month because I don't want to die from something so stupid. It's about self control. And the fact is too many people are idiots and cannot control themselves. I hate that the state has to intervene in this but yes, they must for the sake of these morons.
Beachgirl
PS; I grow and cure my own tobacco for fun. All you smokers that don't want to pay tax should try it!
Posted by: Beachgirl | 2009-09-03 11:46:34 PM
Beachgirl
"I hate that the state has to intervene in this but yes, they must for the sake of these morons."
Why ???. These people are adults, they know the risks, most probably enjoy smoking. Those that want to quit probably can and will. The lifespan of smokers is shorter, thereby saving untold thousands in pension payments while contributing thousands in taxes on tobacco products. The health care costs are mostly activist driven nonsense as lung cancer is short terminal and oxygen is cheap. If you want expensive health care then look at altzheimers, obesity and old age in general. Very few people are fortunate enough to die peacefully in bed, and as a rule the last year in anyones life is the most expensive from a medical standpoint.
Life should be about quality, not quantity, so if a adult enjoys smoking, then why should any level of government interfere.
Two of the biggest killers today are stress and obesity. Smoking helps eliminate both.
This was fun...and I should add I quit smoking 28 years ago. I just get tired of the activist driven bullshit.
Smoke em if you got em.
Posted by: peterj | 2009-09-04 12:39:03 AM
"I hate that the state has to intervene in this but yes, they must for the sake of these morons."
I see, so only those either you or the state considers "intelligent" have rights.
Posted by: Charles | 2009-09-04 5:24:10 AM
And beachgirl takes it on the chin. Knock out!
Posted by: Steve Bottrell | 2009-09-04 2:56:20 PM
The article stated that kids from non smoking households knew the name of up to seven brands of cigarettes. I'm sure kids from whole food families know the names of 10 or more brands of processed foods. This is classic protectionism.
It would also be interesting to find the stats on people choosing not to smoke based on education compared to people choosing not to smoke because they are shielded from it.
Posted by: krista zoobkoff | 2009-09-04 3:50:04 PM
Hey guys,
I get your point that people should be free to behave like idiots and so there is no need to make steotypical assumptions about other people's beliefs. This is a serious fault among those that debate the left-rigth divide is that they make assumptions about a person's whole belief system based on their opinion on only one issue.
LoL! Here I am a smoker, who grows her own tobacco to avoid paying taxes being criticised for supporting some state sponsored effort to get people on to healthier lifestyles. Do you not see the irony here people? Don't try to categorize me then! LoL!
Part of me wants to help these people and lower health care costs since we all have to pay this bill unfortunately.
So what about compassion and the idea that we can lower costs?
Beachgirl
Posted by: beachgirl | 2009-09-06 3:09:21 PM
beachgirl
"Part of me wants to help these people and lower health care costs since we all have to pay this bill unfortunately."
What in the world makes you think these people want your help ?. We can lower costs on the health care system, but smoking has very little, if any impact. Big Pharma alone chews up about 28 billion a year and a good portion of that is a total waste of money. We could probably cut several billion a year with a minimum charge to visit emergency rooms because some kid has the sniffles or a scratched hand. There are billions more wasted on booze and drug related incidents and billions more wasted on "educating the public", which is largely ignored. Aids and abortions could be eliminated just by having protected sex , again saving hundreds of millions.
Trans gender operations, liposuction,fertility treatments, annual flu shots (which may do nothing) and government grants to stupid things like "Body break" all cost hundreds of millions when added up.
If you, and all activists want to help people , then find people that want help. Most smokers I know just want to be left alone. The ones that want help can get it on their own.
Posted by: peterj | 2009-09-07 1:30:29 PM
Peterj, there you go again, lumping me in with "activists". I am not an activist as this was one of the main points in my last post.
Learn to stop stereotyping and generalizing and see the world around you without prejudice. I notice this to be a huge fault among people who claim to be freedom loving. Instead they come across as angry old men who make generalizations about the whole world. I fear that people like you do great harm to the cause of freedom.
Beachgirl
Posted by: beachgirl | 2009-09-07 10:34:56 PM
Dearest beachgirl.
"I fear that people like you do great harm to the cause of freedom."
Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
Posted by: peterj | 2009-09-08 10:46:24 AM
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