Posted by
Andrews on Monday, April 13, 2009 9:32:41 AM
I started smoking about two and a half decades ago. Long enough ago that I recall cigarettes under $1 a pack. I am well aware there is a health risk to cigarettes, and well aware I smoke far too much. However, thanks to the health nazis, I am not even going to moderate my intake. If anything, it will make me smoke more.
Let me explain. I am stubborn. It is a mixed bag being so stubborn. Sometimes it serves me well, such as giving me the fortitude to do what's right even when the world is against me. Other times, such as the current situation, it can be a bit self-defeating.
How so? Well, if someone tries to force me to do something, I simply cannot do it. I would feel like I am giving in to illicit pressure. So, whenever I have considered cutting down on my smoking, or quitting, I simply can't, as too many people are engaging in coercive measures to force me to do just that. From taxing cigarettes, to banning smoking in any building, even bars and restaurants, even banning smoking on the sidewalks of certain towns, it is enough to keep me smoking.
So, for all those health nazis out there who claim they are saving lives through their relentless nagging, let me point out that, in at least a few cases, you are taking lives as well, as I can't be the only hard-headed individual out there who refuses to give in to the incessant nanny state nagging. Can I?
POSTSCRIPT
And, judging
from this article, it appears my soda intake is about to take a huge leap as well.
POSTSCRIPT II
While I admit there is a health risk to smoking, that does not mean I agree with all the hype over that risk. As we have seen with second hand smoke and transfats, it is quite easy for studies to be distorted, and the smoking studies I have seen do not control well for correlations between smoking and socioeconomic class, which can mean things like environmental risks from work, diet differences, alcohol consumption, poor preventative care, and so on are not taken into account. There may be better studies I have not seen, but the ones I saw did not control well for confounding factors, so I am uncertain the degree of risk. I agree there is risk, I just do not know if the current risk estimates are accurate or not.
POSTSCRIPT III
I also need to write another post about the fact that "health" is not an absolute good, but must be valued relative to other goals, a fact these health nazis often forget. Making of "health" an absolute value, as environmentalists do with "nature", they refuse to allow people to judge their own relative valuations. However, if someone gets more joy from smoking, drinking or transfats than they would from the added health, then it is reasonable for them to continue their consumption. That is a fact the health nazis forget.