smoking: an R rated activity?
*sigh*
my background is in public health. academically, socially, upbringingly, you name it. i was brought up with discussions of contraceptive technology and statistical models at the dinner table. i’m the only kid i know who got the broad street pump as a bedtime mystery story. i gave my first sex ed talk in the fifth grade. and for the last seven years, i’ve been working for what is increasingly being known as the “anti-smoking industry.”
last fall i started law school. and now i increasingly find my fairly totalitarian public health views at odds with my legal and political notions of individual liberty and the proper role of government and regulations in our lives.
not to mention the part of me that’s always felt, “if they’re stupid enough to start smoking….”
March 9th, 2004 at 8:51 pm
My first thought when hearing this proposal is that if this becomes reality, what next? Will drinking a cocktail earn a movie an R rating? What about eating fatty foods, or over indulging in anything? What then, running with scissors and riding a bike without knee pads?
With the current regulatory environment (see the outrageous one-sided debate in both houses regarding extending the FCC authority and ability to fine broadcasters), I am very touchy about things that could lead to me loosing even more of the liberties I used to take for granted.
Now THAT is a good run-on
March 10th, 2004 at 8:25 am
Just yesterday, I was listening to a co-worker decry the “War on Drugs.” The gist of his spiel was that it hasn’t worked, it’s not working, and drugs will possibly be legalized within two decades.
Thankfully, I know that’ll never happen. With a government ready to regulate smoking as a R-rated activity, I wonder how long it’ll be before drinking is deemed immoral. Then I think back on how steeped in vodka the Bush daughters are and smile knowing that drinking will be sacrosanct for the next four years.