You have got to be kidding me

After you read this article you might not need to read what I have to say but feel free to do so. Here is my favorite quote from the article:
"This new report confirms that weak government tobacco policies fail to support smokers' efforts to quit, and fail to discourage teens from smoking."
May I comment on it. Thank you... Let's break it down. "Weak government tobacco policies". What does that mean? I will tell you what it means. This guy wants the government to control private tobacco industries. He wants the government to tax tobacco so heavily that most people can't afford it. He wants Big Brother (1984 by George Orwell... Read it!). Always watching, holding your hand as you cross the road, shaking his finger when you are about to do something naughty. So what happens when someone can't afford a drug they are addicted to? They steal from others to support their habit... Well cigarettes are different you say, who would steal for cigarettes you ask? When you are addicted to something it takes over your brain. You will do whatever it takes to satisfy that addiction. People steal, hurt and kill every day to satisfy their addictions. And if you don't think that tobacco is as addictive as illegal drugs then Check this out. Although in this test cigarettes are not the most addictive they rank right up there with alcohol and heroin and cocaine. (On a side note, look at the high ratings for alcohol... A very, very dangerous but legal drug... Why not read up on Prohibition and see what happens when a free society is denied their right to alcohol).
Do you know how many people are employed by the tobacco industry? How many convenience stores make their money from people coming in to buy cigarettes and they pick up something extra? What would happen to the tobacco industry and the tens of thousands of people employed by them? What about the small tobacco farmer? We might have an economy worse than it was under Jimmy Carter!
The report says that "Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in America." And how is this prevented? Well, it's prevented by people not smoking. How do you prevent people from smoking? Well, we can't ban cigarettes, refer again to Prohibition! We can't force people not to smoke although the government is doing their best. We can however teach kids at an early age about the dangers of tobacco but that sure didn't keep me from using tobacco. How about some incentives!
For one, those people who use tobacco must expect to pay higher premiums for their health insurance. It just makes sense. They are taking an unnecessary risk and no company should be forced to insure them without the proper premium. (Another side note, if we decide to socialize medicine, those folks who smoke will be getting the most out of the system. Think about that!)
We could also say that those folks who don't smoke, when they die they will get 72 virgins. That seems to be an incentive for suicide bombers.
I can't come up with other incentives, sorry.
Anyways, I'm not against helping people quit tobacco. I have, more than once wished that they would just ban tobacco but I know that would not do any good. I'm just against too much government interference. I mean the government (not just Bush but all of the idiots in Congress) has given us a trillion dollar deficit, high unemployment, a war that might never end, failed school systems, an unregulated border, more laws, more taxes, more red tape, unwarranted income taxes, a federal reserve system that rips us off and of course Ted Kennedy. Unfortunately we the people keep voting the same idiots to office. Why in hell would anyone trust them with more responsibilities?
Look, people need a vice. When things are getting them down they need something to let them escape for awhile. For some people it's sex. It could be food or swimming or screaming or blasting Metallica. For others it might be marijuana or alcohol or simply a ride on their motorcycle. And for many it's a cigarette. I for one don't want a million angry smokers running around without a cigarette. Live and let live, or as New Hampshire says, "Live Free or Die!"

P.S. Obama is a smoker! If we banned cigarettes he would probably nuke half the globe!