SMOKERS -- UNITE!!!

In response to a reply regarding the Article Richmond Hill condemns Vaughan's smoking ban, (The Liberal, Feb.7/96), I wish to thank L. Schimmel of Richmond Hill, non-smoker, for stating that Vaughan councillors have gone too far with the smoking ban. The writer's recommendation for smokers to initiate a boycott and complain to their politicians is a wonderful idea and I encourage all smokers and even non-smokers to finally unite and fight for their rights. Even criminals have rights, probably more than smokers do right now. As far as I know, you can still smoke in prison -- isn't that ironic? Prisoners have the right to smoke but law-abiding citizens do not!!

As a smoker, voter and lately dubious member of the human race, I despise being treated like a criminal by the increasingly obnoxious hordes of non-smokers who believe they have a right to take away my rights. Furthermore I find it amusing that within the past ten years, more people have developed allergies to smoke (since smoking has become, like scurvy, very unsociable). There was a time when I did not know anyone who was allergic to smoke and few who had asthma, but that was before the rate of smoking decreased!! Ironically, more have developed asthma and smoking allergies since the habit has decreased.

Many may not be aware of a recent study indicating that Japan, having the highest number of smokers per capita, also has the lowest rate of lung cancer. Of course, non-smokers will respond to this by saying, "Well, it's their diet". My response to them is, "Hogwash"! As the government has so vividly warned us on its cigarette package labels (in print so large you can't even read the package for the label), "Cigarettes CAUSE cancer". My emphasis on the word 'cause' is deliberate. If in fact cigarettes do cause cancer, it wouldn't matter whether one's diet consisted of lychee nuts and spring water -- the direct result of cigarette smoking would still be cancer -- by the government's own definition. I am not by any means suggesting that smoking is a good, healthy habit. Quite the contrary. However, I do believe the rights taken away from smokers lately constitute a punishment not equal to the crime of smoking. Why not put a ban on drinkers who are known to kill more people in drunk driving accidents than smokers who are (allegedly) killing off children and the general population by second hand smoke?

Moreover, having been a member of the 'smoking' minority for the last number of years, I find it interesting to learn that despite all the people who have now claimed to quit the habit, thereby reducing the number of smokers and logically the rate of lung cancer, the lung cancer rate has in fact escalated. How do you explain that one? You don't! It's a darn conspiracy.

My personal feeling is that since the government can do little or nothing about the true contributors to cancer (namely the huge plants who refuse to adequately control their polluting emissions, the increasing number of automobiles (despite their pollution devices) that routinely spew poisonous gases into our environment (not to mention the pollution resulting from the rubber on their tires (if you want some startling numbers, calculate the number of cars on and off the road times at least four for automobiles and eight to sixteen for trucks), and most insidiously, the effects of such nuclear catastrophes as Chernoble, the staggering cancerous effects of which most people are not even aware of because the government is afraid to scare them, it (the government) has decided to use smokers as the ultimate scapegoat for all the environmental problems of the world. Well, I refuse to take the blame for all of this. Another complaint I have is that, where the 'bad guys' of decades ago were usually depicted in black cowboy hats or black attire of some sort, now the cigarette has taken the place of that attire. Lately in movies, television shows, etc. you can almost certainly identify the villain immediately -- he or she is the one smoking. The hero/heroine wouldn't dare!

I invite all people who share my feelings to mail in their respond to this commentary. Perhaps together we can start to put an end to this ridiculous prohibition of cigarettes and cigarette smokers. Those people who agree that the government is a hypocrite in that they don't mind making lots of money selling the 'deadly', genocidal product, yet refuse to take it off the market.