|
|
xlldo
Antiprohibitionist
Joined: 31 Mar 2008
Posts: 33
|
 Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 12:14 pm Post subject: BC citizen poking fun at smoking prohibition laws. |
 |
|
|
"Second hand overeating just as big a problem"
The Chilliwack Times
Published: Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Editor:
The smoking ban seems to me like a knockout punch to our civil liberties.
Yes, we all can agree smoking is dangerous to everyone exposed to it, like all other dangerous activities if people are worried they will keep themselves out of harm's way; if they know it's dangerous then allow individuals to deal with it how they see fit.
My question is which civil liberty is next: what we eat? For the past couple of years there has been attention paid to obesity being an epidemic. Obesity arguably is similar if not worse than smoking for causing health problems and shortening life.
Overweight people who are so due to laziness and over-eating are detrimental to the society they belong too, much like smokers were before they were ostracized.
There are several ways in which over-eaters damage their society. First, they not only strain our over taxed healthcare systems (much like smokers) with their plethora of obesity-related health issues, diabetes, heart diseases, etc., but they also psychologically damage those around them. The main concern is "children see children do." The number of obese people a child will see in their adolescent lives may very well make them accept obesity as normal and thus more inclined to join their ranks or at least worry less about their body weight.
Obese people over-eating and eating junk food in public is detrimental to those trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle by making the dangerous foods visible to the public eye; one only has to remember the old adage "out of sight out of mind."
In almost every way smoking was a problem, obesity and over-eating fills the void. Anyone who has watched TV knows the dangers of smoking; think of those issues and apply them to obesity and over-eating. Secondhand over-eating even comes into play; those who over-eat have an impact on the globe, especially when the over-eaters come from countries the size of the U.S. First, there is the energy used in growing, processing and packaging the foods the obese eat. With the staggering amount of people engaging in over-eating there is little doubt that over a period of time their habit will affect the environment or at least the air quality for non over-eaters.
Do not forget the implications of the waste created by these over-eaters, both biological and manufactured. The breakdown of this waste will affect the air quality in surrounding areas while possibly contributing to the degradation of ecosystems and watersheds.
Forget the health implications over-eating poses on the obese; look to the health implications secondhand over-eating poses on non-over-eaters. Secondhand over-eating is playing a huge role in shaping the economy, the environment and our children's psyches.
Over-eaters need to be stopped. The government needs to act on this epidemic before it is too late, before the damage is irreparable. I, for one, want the government to regulate what I eat, where I eat and when I eat. If it's for the benefit of the greater good, I feel this is a liberty worth surrendering. The government needs to take responsibility for this deep-seated social issue and impose new laws prohibiting such actions responsible for so much damage already.
Lorn Kennedy
Chilliwack |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
xlldo
Antiprohibitionist
Joined: 31 Mar 2008
Posts: 33
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 1:31 pm Post subject: |
|
|
|
I think this letter humorously helps me understand how legal (and moral) prohibitions start sounding pretty odd when we apply the same rationale to analogous situations. Does anybody know if similar stuff is posted around here?
Toking is like smoking, over-eating, maybe even careless body-building or excessive chess-playing: it is something that might hurt the person doing it but otherwise it is essentially a victimless crime (which, philosophically, is oxymoronic). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
progrocker
Antiprohibitionist
Joined: 13 Jan 2008
Posts: 96
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 5:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
|
eh, you can't compare second hand smoke to eating.
One physically harms you, the other makes you want to harm yourself more. The difference is willpower. How much willpower does one have to have before they don't suffer physically from being around a smoker? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Mr.C
Moderator
Joined: 15 Jan 2008
Posts: 785
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 5:46 pm Post subject: |
|
|
|
ok so the GOVT comes to you and says we are going to cut obesity in half,,,we will control WHEN you eat and WHAT you eat but we wont let you starve and you can have all the water you want. But they DONT tell you exactly WHAT you will be eating.
and in return you get legalized marijuana and you can smoke all you want with no worries...
WHAT DO YOU DO? lol
YIKES!!
I would do it I believe.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
xlldo
Antiprohibitionist
Joined: 31 Mar 2008
Posts: 33
|
| Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:42 am Post subject: |
|
|
|
Yes, we need to be protected from second-hand smoke. I just think our government here in BC is going to far by practically demonizing tobacco!
Food control acts will come (especially if world food supplies ever go downhill).
I would give up Doritos for dope. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
socrateez
Moderator
Joined: 01 Feb 2008
Posts: 1372
Location: I'm your next door neighbor
|
| Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:06 am Post subject: |
|
|
|
| xlldo wrote: |
I would give up Doritos for dope. |
  Thats funny I would too! You know, it made me think of something...New thread! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
progrocker
Antiprohibitionist
Joined: 13 Jan 2008
Posts: 96
|
| Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:27 am Post subject: |
|
|
|
| Mr.C wrote: | ok so the GOVT comes to you and says we are going to cut obesity in half,,,we will control WHEN you eat and WHAT you eat but we wont let you starve and you can have all the water you want. But they DONT tell you exactly WHAT you will be eating.
and in return you get legalized marijuana and you can smoke all you want with no worries...
WHAT DO YOU DO? lol
YIKES!!
I would do it I believe. |
I would do it. In fact, I kind of wish the gov. would do this anyway. Being forced to eat healthy would be a good thing in my life.
(although I would miss junk food) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group |
|
|
|
