Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ames-lm.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!floyd!cmcl2!seismo!hao!ames-lm!barry From: barry@ames-lm.UUCP (Kenn Barry) Newsgroups: net.misc,net.med Subject: Re: Why Smoke? Message-ID: <332@ames-lm.UUCP> Date: Thu, 14-Jun-84 17:11:04 EDT Article-I.D.: ames-lm.332 Posted: Thu Jun 14 17:11:04 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 16-Jun-84 00:39:21 EDT References: <3045@brl-tgr.ARPA> Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA Lines: 43 [*************=8>:) (snort)] > There is no reason to treat this child abuse any differently than > that involving physical beating or imprisonment or any of the other > forms for which parents/guardians are criminally charged. > A movement to add "smoking while pregnant or in the presence of or in the > same domicile as a child" to the legal definition of child abuse > in the various states may well be the most effective anti-smoking > tactic for the effective reduction of smoking. I wonder why the > Surgeon General has not adopted this tactic instead of emphasizing > the dangers to current adult smokers. Why waste time on them; if > the next generation can be weaned away from smoking, the problem will > vanish as the preceeding one dies off. Did I really read this? C'mon, Will, you're kidding, right? You can tell me, I won't give your secret away. If you're serious, though, congratulations! You have just won the Kenn Barry "Fascist-of-the-Year" Award, 2nd-class (for 1st class you would have had to propose death camps for smokers, not merely prison). But why limit this new law to parents and guardians? Surely anyone at all who smokes around children is likewise abusing them, and should also be punished. With proper enforcement we could soon have every smoker in the country behind bars, thus saving you non-smoking adults as well as your children from damnation (oops, I mean cancer). Enforcement could be a problem, though. Maybe, as a first step, we should repeal a few amendments to the Constitution; might be too hard to get evidence, otherwise. Also, how about a Surgeon-General's Youth Corps? These children could be trained to report anyone they caught smoking (if they saw 'em, it was 'in the presence', right?) to the police. And let's not forget the fringe benefits! Suppose you have a neighbor that you know is nothing but un-American commie filth, and a smoker, besides. No longer would they be able to hide behind the 1st Amendment, for we could turn them in to the Smoke Police. This is almost identical to what we did with some political radicals in the '60's, only it wasn't tobacco they were smoking. It's sure nice to know that there are still people who understand that the best solution for any problem is to throw somebody in jail. Send me flames, I need a light. Kenn Barry NASA-Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Electric Avenue: {dual,hao,menlo70,hplabs}!ames-lm!barry