On Thu, 22 Sep 2005, Phillip
It's interesting to see how even some staunch libertarians who oppose smoking bans on principle come to enjoy the results of such bans and find their principles...shifting.
Yeah, the air inside is just as filthy as the air outside. Las Vegas makes me ashamed to be a human being.
Yeah, better make sure not to use the (wrong) "G"-word.
Well, be realistic: Nicotine (or caffeine, for that matter) doesn't interfere with the safe operation of a motor vehicle to *anywhere near* the degree of e.g. alcohol, THC, and other licit and illicit psychoactive substances. Of course, it's possible to get in a dangerous situation by being sidetracked or distracted in the process of lighting or smoking a cigarette (remember the old Shelley Berman "the flame drops off the end and lands in your lap...somewhere..." routine?). But, it's also possible to get equally distracted and sidetracked by messing with the radio, climate control, kids arguing, adults arguing, etc.
It's because they are voluntarily continuing an addiction. Some of them recognize this, but many of them spew poetic nonsense about how they "enjoy" smoking (or it "helps them concentrate", etc. BS). In actual fact, what they claim is "enjoyment" is nothing more than temporary relief of withdrawal pangs.
The cigarette is the marketeer's wet dream: A product perfectly engineered to do nothing but cause its user to want another.
