Smoking Mad
Published in the Algonquin Times September 21, 2005
I am a pariah. I'm almost a criminal in Ontario now. My name is Robert and I am a smoker.
In July, the Ontario government passed what is described as "the most aggressive anti-tobacco legislation in North America."
As of June 2006, smoking will be banned in all public places except for hotel rooms and nursing homes.
Now, I fully understand that people have a right to enjoy a meal without smoke filling the room.
But the legislation goes further.
By 2008, all stores must remove their "power walls" (the displays of cigarettes behind the cash register) to keep them out view from minors.
Brilliant. I remember being five years old and going to the corner store and seeing those shiny red packs of du Maurier behind the cash register and thinking to myself, "Wow, I can't wait until I'm old enough to smoke so that shiny red pack will be mine!"
Though, according to the anti-tobacco activists, this is still not enough. There's talk of banning smoking in cars and in homes. There's talk of banning covered patios outside restaurants where people now smoke.
Soon enough the only place to smoke will be in the middle of the road. No wait, that's jaywalking.
However, while this going on, there's all kinds of talk about either decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana.
In fact, it was while I was working on an article about the acceptance of marijuana in society last semester that police foundations professor Brian Duffy pointed out the contradiction to me.
He said he found it odd that while there's a big push for more tolerance of marijuana, smoking cigarettes is becoming more and more unacceptable.
Smoke is smoke. Smoking one joint has the same tar content as seven to twelve cigarettes, depending on which side of the debate the person you ask is on.
The government needs to make up its mind. It ridiculous for them to suggest that one kind of smoke is okay and another is not.
Besides, even if marijuana was legalized, just where would we smoke it?
And Algonquin College is right on the anti-smoking bandwagon. The renovated Observatory is supposed to have the smoking patio removed so as not to encourage smoking. Just drinking.
So I can pickle my liver on campus all I want, but I can't inhale smoke at the same time.
Never mind the fact that I can probably breathe in more carbon monoxide by taking in a deep breath while standing at Woodroffe and Baseline than an entire journalism class gives off in one day of smoking.
But going back to anti-tobacco activists who won't be happy until smoking is illegal. It won't happen. There's too much tax revenue to be lost, especially after all the increases in recent years. It does leave me to wonder, however, how many of these activists would be willing to make up the lost funds with higher taxes on everything else.
In the meantime, the government needs to back off and let those of who do smoke enjoy our admittedly unhealthy and disgusting, but legal habit.
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