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From: simard@loral.UUCP (Ray Simard)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Thank you for your flames
Message-ID: <863@loral.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 30-May-85 22:32:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: loral.863
Posted: Thu May 30 22:32:25 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Jun-85 23:47:51 EDT
References: <101@utastro.UUCP> <735@oddjob.UUCP> <1002@ames.UUCP>
Reply-To: simard@loral.UUCP (Ray Simard)
Distribution: net
Organization: Loral Instrumentation, San Diego, CA
Lines: 39

In article <1002@ames.UUCP> barry@ames.UUCP (Kenn Barry) writes:
>
>	Would you like to see this logic applied to junk food? Overeating?
>Booze? Sunbathing (skin cancer)? Skiing (my knee's getting better, thanks)?
>Promiscuity (health risks)? Need I go on?
>	God help us when we lose our freedom to be wrong, to be stupid,
>and to act against our own best interests. I know no man is an island,
>and that I indirectly pay for the foolishness of others. But I'll pay
>that price willingly in return for the freedom to engage in a little
>foolishness of my own.
>	I sometimes wonder if the really fanatic anti-smokers aren't
>secretly a little sorry that *all* us smokers don't die an early death
>from cancer or heart disease.
>

     There's a bit of an apples/oranges dichotomy here. For the  most  part,
overdoing  it  on  food,  sunbathing, etc. affects only the person doing the
overdoing (the mention of booze is a notable exception, and well  worthy  of
another  discussion).  Smoking,  on the other hand, is damaging to others as
well, not only in the ways listed in the original quote (which I removed  to
avoid  excessive length), but also the secondhand smoke effect (I don't care
whether you say this or that is not yet proven - breathing  someone's  smoke
in  an  area  of  poor ventilation is on a par with wearing his unwashed gym
socks around my nose), and the general disgust I experience from  it,  which
severely  inhibits my ability to function.   Fortunately, everyone with whom
I work who smokes at least tries to keep the plume from the cigarette  some-
where  but upwind of me.  Some of the postings I see here suggest that there
are those who would begrudge me even that basic courtesy.

     "Mind if I smoke?"  "No, go ahead  -  mind  if  I fart?" (Steve Martin)

[     I am not a stranger, but a friend you haven't met yet     ]

Ray Simard
Loral Instrumentation, San Diego
{ucbvax, ittvax!dcdwest}!sdcsvax!sdcc6!loral!simard

...Though we may sometimes disagree,
   You are still a friend to me!