November 9, 2014 AP reports on Westminister, Mass.:
WESTMINSTER, Mass. (AP) -- The cartons of Marlboros, cans of Skoal and packs of Swisher Sweets are hard to miss stacked near the entrance of Vincent's Country Store, but maybe not for much longer: All tobacco products could become contraband if local health officials get their way.
This sleepy central Massachusetts town of 7,700 has become an improbable battleground in America's tobacco wars. On Wednesday, the Board of Health will hear public comment on a proposed regulation that could make Westminster the first municipality in the United States to ban sales of all tobacco products within town lines.
"To my knowledge, it would be the first in the nation to enact a total ban," said Thomas Carr, director of national policy at the American Lung Association. "We commend the town for doing it.The own's health director is justifying it "for the kids". The fact is that any argument for banning tobacco applies to marijuana as well, but liberals will never use the same reasoning to ban the drug thatis now the common cultural glue for three generations of Americans.
Personally, I think that tobacco should be 'un-demonized' so that kids can again get it somewhat illicitly and sneak out back to smoke it. I suspect that tobacco use is less harmful than most of the other drugs that kids try. Of course, as they get older, people should be encouraged to give it up, as it definitely IS harmful if used long-term.
ReplyDeleteI'm opining as a reformed smoker, of course.
I've started to think that the reason liberals are so anti-tobacco has nothing to do with the health impact but rather that tobacco is/was a big business with plenty of revenue. This is especially true when you read some of the wacky 1960s flowerchild commune ideas of how marijuana sales will differ from tabacco sales.
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