Monday, May 6, 2013

A Mixed Bag





Ninety Smokers

Two months before the smoking ban in Great Britain came into force photographer Dan Donovan was invited by ninety tobacco smokers to take their photo's in places that they would no longer ......



Government should let us eat, drink, smoke and be merry


Longevity is not a friend of Social Security.
For that matter, longevity is not a friend of Medicare. The older we get, the more medical problems we have. There is no way around that. Our bodies wear out. I have some older friends whose hobby is going to specialists.
With that in mind, you’d think the government, at the very least, would take a hands-off approach to longevity. If a citizen wants to live a long life, fine. If not, that should be fine, too.
Instead, the government has become a scold.
Tobacco bans have been enforced across nearly 40 states for the health benefits of prisoners. But some are defying the ban and are paying on average of $200 for a packet of cigarettes.


Inmates are shelling out a staggering $300 to $500 for a tin of tobacco in states including Florida and Ohio, according to local reports.



Hospital alarm system will sound when people light up

The alarm, which is followed by a presumably shaming loudspeaker message to stop breaking the rules, is sensitive enough to be triggered by a single smoker lighting up. A representative of the company that installed the machine said in a hospital statement that its purpose is twofold: to encourage better health and to keep the hospital grounds tidier.

Smoking ban bills projected to fail


For Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, a non-smoker, the apparent defeat of the Crownover-Ellis bills, session after session, is not surprising.
“I have great respect for Representative Crownover, she is my friend and we agree on just about everything, but on this bill we differ (because) it is about personal liberty and about private property,” Hughes said.
Hughes spoke against Crownover’s bill in the 2011 session when it passed in the House but was ultimately killed in the Senate.
“If you have a business, a restaurant and you want to allow smoking in your business, I don’t have to go there if I don’t want to,” Hughes said. “It is not the government’s job to tell you what you have to do with your property.”
His Republican colleagues John Frullo of Lubbock and Four Price and John Smithee of Amarillo, see it the same way.
“I don’t advocate smoking in any way, shape or form, but I just don’t think it’s the state’s business to tell you where you can or cannot smoke,” Price said.