Assault on Cigars

Third Hand Smoke

Not content on taxing tobacco users into the poorhouse and framing them as a worse threat to human life than terrorism, obesity, and global warming there is a new study out that “finds” that particles clinging to smoker’s hair and clothing will kill non-smokers. The obvious end result of all these “studies” is to ban tobacco products completely (yes, even cigars).

The original story, from The New York Times (shocking), makes it clear that the ones who are most at harm from this newly found health scourge are the children. Yup, those bundles of joy will crawl on the carpeting and suck in the particulate matter from a smoke and ingest it. The point is that when you light up a delicious Padron 1964 Anniversary Monarco you are slowly killing your child, your pet and your neighbor even if they never see nor come in contact with the actual smoke – the smell will do.

Do you all know where this is heading? It’s not too difficult to see the writing on the wall for this one. Second hand smoke has been basically made illegal in most of the country. You can’t light up anywhere but outdoors (sometimes not even there) because the smoke, as we are told, will kill. In some places you can’t even smoke in a car with your children present.

Now they have “proven” that third hand smoke, which is actually not smoke but particulates (smoke smell), will kill non-smokers. So what is a crusading member of your local government or a US Senator up for reelection suppose to do about this top killer of Americans?

Why ban tobacco of course! That’s it, there’s nothing else left for them to do. First the smoke was too bad and now the smell, we are told, is just as bad. Where else could this go?

You can’t just smoke in your house because you will presumably have to leave to get stuff or to work. You could fathomably get a smoke eater that will take the smoke smell away but they are expensive. So what is a politician to do?

We’ve already seen what they will do. They are going to take this setup from The New York Times and spike it in smokers’ faces. There are going to be more draconian laws aiming at “saving the children” or protecting the health of Americans or whatever the cause de jour is that news cycle.

Furthermore, I think it’s going to be sooner rather than later for the total banning of tobacco. President-elect Obama has made it clear that he wants some kind of universal health care solution and what that means is that the government is going to work ever harder to keep you “healthy.” Couple that with the TV-doc, Dr. Oz, being the new Surgeon General and you have the perfect health Nazi in charge of marketing the death of tobacco.

To recap: we are going to get a socialized health system that will work to “save us” from ourselves and those malicious smokers (us), we will have a celebrity Surgeon General who will lead the crusade for “health,” we have found out (a mere couple of weeks before Obama’s inauguration – coincidence?) that “third hand smoke” kills, and we live in a culture that is fine with stomping on the rights of cigar and cigarette smokers. In my opinion this is all heading towards an inevitable banning of tobacco.

Welcome to fascist America!

Related posts:

1. IPCPR Dismisses ‘Third-Hand’ Smoke
2. Anti-Smoking Marketing
3. Does Cigar Aficionado’s Big Smoke New York City Mark the end of an Era?
4. S-CHIP Coming
5. Cigar Smokers Fighting Back?

© 2009 The Perfect Draw.