That is my favorite House avatar I've seen so far.
House, sitting directly under a No Smoking sign, puffing on a cigar.
Yes indeed, we need more Houses and less nannies.
Technically it's Hugh, not House. It's a screencap I did from the pre-final-episode special.
And, to get back on target, here's my letter:
Dear Senator (fill in the blank):
Before I tell you my story, I want to make it clear that I oppose the sale to minors of
any product that delivers nicotine. For that reason, I support Bill S02926B. As an adult who has been addicted to nicotine for decades, however, I strongly oppose Bill S07635, which would deprive me of a product that saved my life.
When I say that PVs (personal vaporizers aka electronic cigarettes) saved my life, I am not using hyperbole. During the 40 years I smoked I tried everything from A to Z (acupuncture to Zyban) to quit smoking, with stops along the way for hypnosis and professional programs. I’ve donated hundreds of dollars to GlaxoSmithKline for gum that didn’t work for me.
In the autumn of 2009 I decided that I was tired of feeling like a failure and was going to “quit trying to quit.” I smoked over three packs a day at the time. Then I came across a picture of someone using a PV and something clicked. After a little research, I ordered one. Five days after it arrived, I had my last cigarette. That was two and a half years ago. Along the way I’ve lowered the nicotine content I “vape” to less than one-quarter what it was when I started.
Most vapers I know use them the way I do — as a vastly safer alternative to cigarettes. In 2010, after a short hospitalization, I decided to go nicotine-free. That was the only time I was almost started smoking again. At the end of a month I knew my alternatives were adding a
little nicotine to my e-liquid or buying a pack of cigarettes. Being a rational person, I chose the former. Bill S07635 would take that option away from me and from hundreds of thousands of fellow New York vapers.
As I don’t possess a time machine that would enable me to prevent my teenage self from having that first cigarette, I must opt for the solution that will do me the least harm. E-liquid has a similar level of carcinogens as the patch or nicotine gum and it
eliminates most of the other harmful chemicals in cigarettes such as carbon monoxide, arsenic, formaldehyde…
As with any technology, there is a risk of people misusing it. Lighters explode (causing over 1,000 injuries a year according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission) and cigarettes can cause fires. The solution to problems with lithium-ion batteries is to require protection circuitry and to teach the public the difference between rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries rather than to ban products that use them (such as PVs, flashlights, cell phones, and laptop computers.)
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I urge you to visit The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association website (CASAA.org) for more information on the benefits of electronic cigarettes.
Sincerely,
