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Originally posted by duplicity
Originally posted by Ahabstar
And to establish basic laws and collect taxes for the funding of these basic services. Everything else should be held and maintained on the local level such as social services, law enforcement, prisons and such.
If that is the only role of a federal government, doesn't that imply that any human rights are a local matter? If so, then it would be legally "justified" to allow inhumane acts of torture in one area of the country while the population of another has freedom from such acts. If not, then two things have happened: one is that your idea of a federal government is incomplete, the other is the consequence of freedom being national that people have a right to not have harm inflicted on them even by something as "trivial" as second-hand smoke.
[edit on 30/6/2007 by duplicity]
Please don't hesitate. Drifting tobacco smoke already kills more people than motor vehicle accidents, all crimes, AIDS, illegal drugs, etc. In other words, you are statistically more likely to be killed by your neighbor's tobacco smoke than by his car, his gun, or his AIDS virus.
Originally posted by not_fazed
Sorry but I have little sympathy.
Originally posted by Knights
1. all fat people banned from buying/ walking into fast food shops.
2. a scheme to stop binge drinking, limiting people to 2 units a day (and probably lead to clubs/ bars and pubs closing)
Originally posted by not_fazed
Binge drinking should be stopped, it should be illegal to consume dangerous levels of alcohol. I would gladly support drunk yobs being breathalysed and fined for endangering themselves and others.
Originally posted by not_fazed
When a person smokes, it affects everyone around them and sometimes non smokers have no choice but to endure second hand smoke. I respect smokers who take their habit away from me because they are showing me respect even if they don't show it for themselves.
Originally posted by not_fazed
A burger every now and then is hardly a health hazard despite being unhealthy the choice should be left open to everyone. If an overweight individual still decides to stuff his face against better advice then the only people who are harmed are themselves and their families when they croak it.
But thats not solving the problem.. the problem is that alcohol is widely available in many different shops, its usually brightly coloured, advertising is glossed up with lots of clevage and bums/all things sex, and most crucially, that drinking is seen as the British culture, that it somehow makes you more of a "man" than those who don't drink... who can take the most poison before they are sick/pass out! Yay! What fun..
There is still no concrete evidence to show that smoking causes lung cancer
And im hearing that there will be fines for cig butts dropped... fines for that, but no fines for dropping other litter, chewing gum, or worst of all, broken beer bottles and cans..
Originally posted by Knights
It still costs the NHS money treating people with obesity related diseases. I DO NOT want to pay taxes for fat people who bring it on themselves. Why should I?
Originally posted by not_fazed
The weight issues they experience may not even be their own fault.
It's a hell of a lot easier to identify and ban a smoker.
Originally posted by mr-lizard
What I'm not happy with is the FACT that we smokers have been paying out of noses on taxed cigarettes, yet the non smokers have been paid a penny towards our habits and have been getting FREE nicotine from our smoke clouds for years and years.
Originally posted by Ahabstar
But to equate the dangers (that are not fully understood or proven) of passive second hand smoke with torture, habias corpus, slavery, women's sufferage or even the right to trial by jury is just about the most self-centered thought that I think I have read in some time. And if you think a cigarette is dangerous I hope you don't live near a railroad, highway or college chemistry lab. There are chemicals in those places everyday that make mustard gas look like perfume in comparison. I personally have driven loads that could wipeout 10K-20K people in less than 10 minutes if I wrecked in a populated area.