You will recall our discussion about Wolfville being the first in town in Canada to pass such a by-law. Well, now apparently everyone wants to play copy cat. Ontario and BC are both debating legislation similar to that passed by Nova Scotia.
Like I said before, I don't smoke. Nobody is allowed to smoke in our home. And, personally, I think those that smoke around kids are nuts, as in seriously need to have their head examined. Let's just say that I never ever thought that I would agree with anything a group like MyChoice.ca had to say.
A spokeswoman for MyChoice.ca, a group funded by the Canadian TobaccoManufacturers’ Council, said the ban is a slippery slope to making it illegal to smoke anywhere.I guess none of us should ever say never.
Because, really, next step has to be to ban smoking in people's own homes. And as dangerous as smoking is for your health and that of your own and other people's children, as long as tobacco is a legal substance ... what the hell are we doing? I said it before:
What's this world coming to? Indeed.But its one thing to have rules in government buildings, even in 'public places', its another to take that very intrusive step into a person's private vehicle. If you can go into their vehicle, what's to stop you from going into their home?
But neither do I think that the government (at any level) should be able to intrude this far into people's personal lives ... or should I say 'personal spaces'. Unless the act of smoking itself is to be prohibited under the criminal law, the furthest I can justify is awarding custody to a non-smoking parent if the other refuses to stop smoking in the presence of an asthmatic child. Beyond that ...
Quote of the day:
"It’s about making Nova Scotia healthier and safer. We don’t want to make criminals out of mothers and fathers, but we want to make sure that children are healthy and safe."You might want to work on a better way of accomplishing that. I'm just saying...
9 comments:
So--what are you saying, here? That we (you) (darn it, I hate laptops! can't spell or nething!)
That tobacco should be outlawed before we start telling people they can't use it?
Because there's all kinds of things we tell people they can't do in their own homes...or cars...or in front of their kids. Criminal, actionable things....
It's odd to see you come out defending personal freedoms over the gov't's right to rule...but then, it's odd to have me on the other side! (-*
d
I agree, especially when your side isn't making much sense. :D
You're right, there's all kinds of things we tell people they can't do ... namely criminal things. So if something ain't criminal ...why can't they do it?
Since it is a known fact that tobacco kills people, even 2nd hand tobacco - then isn't it a criminal offense to smoke in front of people who don't smoke, especially children?
Not saying I agree with that, but it really is the slippery slope the reporter mentioned.
Hey, Kris, I kind of like that ...
Are you sure you weren't a lawyer in another lifetime? :D
Seriously, that's almost not half bad. Would have to be a private prosectuion I'm afraid, the Crown would never go for it. Still, I like your thinking ... I think!
I just don't understand why governments want to ban smoking while continue to allow cigarettes to be produced. If smoking is unhealthy, we should just ban the production and selling of cigarettes all together -- I guarantee the problem will go away quick.
neoauteur, I tend to agree, although I think it'll be far more complex than that. Look at Prohibition...
d
So you three brave souls ... would you outlaw tobacco? Or should I say would you have the government outlaw tobacco??
Along with anything that else that would harm us?
My take on this is that it is absolutely ridiculous. I agree that before you can start telling people that they are breaking the law by smoking in the car or around children or whatever - smoking has to be made illegal -which of course I quite frankly oppose. Nobody has the guts to anyway -too much money being made by all - tobacco companies pay taxes, give jobs, etc. So many things are bad for us.How about sunbathing? (skin cancer) eating saturated fats? sigh ... living is a risky thing :)
eb
Kris said:
Since it is a known fact that tobacco kills people, even 2nd hand tobacco - then isn't it a criminal offense to smoke in front of people who don't smoke, especially children?
You've sort of hit my point, Kris, albeit with a bit of a sideswipe. Nothing is a criminal offence until the state says it is. You may well wish to argue that it should be a criminal offence but our indiviudal thoughts on that are rather irrelevant, except at the voting booth and to the extent that we choose to engage in political lobbbying. So unless and until the state decides to criminally sanction the act of smoking, there's no supporting argument that I can see.
And although I suppose they could conceivably criminalize smoking only when its done in front of of people who don't smoke (and remember many children do smoke), from a logical point of view I don't think that makes too much sense. Because second hand smoke isn't just harming non-smokers, its harming everyone, whether or not they too are smoking at the same time.
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