Article in the American Spectator

[strayling]

Dragging Us Down.

A couple of snippets to give you the feel:

Perhaps most amazingly, the HHS Secretary's decision whether or not to ban the "modified risk" product from the marketplace is not to be based on whether or not the product actually provides a reduced risk or other benefit to the individual smoker. Individual well-being is not important to the ninnying nannies on Capitol Hill. The decision must be made to "benefit the health of the population as a whole, taking into account the impact on both users and nonusers of tobacco products."

...

And the FDA is at it again with news last month the agency will seek to regulate or ban "electronic cigarettes." These are tobacco-free devices that allow for the inhalation of a nicotine vapor.

...

It seems much of the impetus behind this and similar legislation is not individual or public health per se, but rather a postmodern puritanism ...

​

(I hope that falls under fair use. Mods, feel free to edit if you think I've quoted too much.)

A quotation which seems relevant:

Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.- H. L. Mencken

 

[Caesarea]

<<It seems much of the impetus behind this and similar legislation is not individual or public health per se, but rather a postmodern puritanism ...>>


Got it in one!!!

I'll settle down now and read the rest.

Thanks, Strayling!!

 

[Caesarea]

Great article by Zachary S.
Best thing I've read for ages.

 

[strayling]

Great article by Zachary S.
Best thing I've read for ages.

Representative of most of the coverage we're getting at the moment, too

 

[Caesarea]

Representative of most of the coverage we're getting at the moment, too

Do so hope the rational argument willl prevail. It's alarming being governed by such deeply irrational forces.

 

[Vicks Vap-oh-Yeah]

Just my initial thoughts on the article - feel free to disagree at any time.

If the FDA decides the product might be so popular that some nonsmokers become smokers, it could then be banned to protect "the population as a whole," even though the product itself is healthier than existing cigarettes on the market.

There's the nanny effect.....we couldn't possibly let people make decisions for themselves...

The "findings" section of Waxman-Kennedy admits, however, that smoking among young people seems to have risen recently despite the billions poured into anti-smoking propaganda campaigns over the last decade.

This is the one I started yelling at the computer when I read.....don't these congressmen remember what it was like to be a teenager? You don't discourage something by drawing big spotlights on it and saying "bad, bad, bad....." Teens are DRAWN to that because at their hearts, every teenager is rebellious. That's part of the psycology behind humans, we're striking out on our own, so we fight everything the adults tell us to do!

Forbidden fruit 101.

 

[Caesarea]

There's the nanny effect.....we couldn't possibly let people make decisions for themselves...





This is the one I started yelling at the computer when I read.....don't these congressmen remember what it was like to be a teenager? You don't discourage something by drawing big spotlights on it and saying "bad, bad, bad....." Teens are DRAWN to that because at their hearts, every teenager is rebellious. That's part of the psycology behind humans, we're striking out on our own, so we fight everything the adults tell us to do!
Forbidden fruit 101.

Yes, so kudos to Zachary S for letting the truth out!!

 

[strayling]

Forbidden fruit 101.

Haha! You nailed it.

 

[Kendra]

Dragging Us Down.



Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.- H. L. Mencken

thanks for posting the article. this is one of my husband's favorite quotes!

 

[kinabaloo]

Agree with all the above. We're here to enjoy the journey, not to be robotic corporate slaves.

 

[SpaceCadet]

This is the one I started yelling at the computer when I read.....don't these congressmen remember what it was like to be a teenager? You don't discourage something by drawing big spotlights on it and saying "bad, bad, bad....." Teens are DRAWN to that because at their hearts, every teenager is rebellious. That's part of the psycology behind humans, we're striking out on our own, so we fight everything the adults tell us to do!

Take away nicotine and kids will still find something everyday to abuse that's potentially far more dangerous. Heard about the craze for snorting crushed up fizzy candy in the UK? Snorting craze could be fatal | The Sun |News

I was truly speechless after reading about this.

Then when I got to work I told my colleagues and we had a good old laugh about it

 

[Vicks Vap-oh-Yeah]

Take away nicotine and kids will still find something everyday to abuse that's potentially far more dangerous. Heard about the craze for snorting crushed up fizzy candy in the UK? Snorting craze could be fatal | The Sun |News

I was truly speechless after reading about this.

Then when I got to work I told my colleagues and we had a good old laugh about it

Sadly, this is true - kids will manage to find something - everyday and ordinary, that they will use to prove they're not indistructible.