On Tuesday the Canadian Press reported that federal Health Minister Alan Rock will help craft legislation banning tobacco companies from marketing “light” or “mild” cigarettes in Canada.
“Labeling cigarettes as light and mild offers smokers a false sense of security based on slick marketing and the misuse of words,” Rock said in a speech at the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association in Quebec. “Make no mistake: there is nothing light or mild about the lies of big tobacco.”
Does this elitist buffoon really think his fellow Canadians believe “light” cigarettes are not harmful to them? It sounds like he does, but in reality, he probably does not.
Rather, his “plan” is most likely just another chicken-scratch way to move his country closer to a total tobacco ban. And why? Because he and a few of his elitist ruling class buds don’t like tobacco. Worse, they couldn’t care less that Canadian smokers – all of whom are taxpayers and help pay Rock’s salary – may disagree with them.
I quit smoking three months ago. I smoked for 23 years. It was tough, but I did it (thank you, my sweet wife!). But I made the decision to quit smoking – just like I made the decision to start smoking. In both instances, it was up to me to decide what to do.
And in a free society, isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?
Real freedom and liberty cannot survive in Canada or the United States or anywhere else it is trying to bloom as long as anal-retentive Huns are in charge. Today’s postmodern “western” politician talks a good “democracy and freedom” game, but anymore he or she plays the game as though there is no choice for the common man but that which is ceded him by the ruling elite.
This phenomenon is called rising authoritarianism and it’s moving free people closer to slavery each day.
Consider Canada’s “smoking dilemma,” because it’s the product of authoritarianism.
Canada has socialized medicine, which means whatever medicine there is available is “free,” because Canadians are having their assets taxed off to pay for it. As long as the “government” is providing the health care, the government controls the direction of health care issues in the country.
Government “masters” have determined that smoking is a “national health care issue,” because, via citizen taxes, the national government picks up the health care costs of the country. Consequently, smoking must be curbed or banned, gee whiz, the country’s taxpayers are having to pay so much more in overall health care costs to treat sick smokers. The same kind of baloney has been attempted in America – with some success.
In the end, government bureaucrats end up making this personal decision for you. It isn’t about whether smoking is bad or good (it’s bad); rather, it should be about answering this question: “What do you want to do?”
Even being able to ask yourself what you want to do or how you want to behave means freedom exists. It’s when you don’t even have the option of asking yourself anymore what you’d like to do that freedom no longer exists.
What common folk fail to realize, until it is too late, is that each erosion of personal freedom means that someday there will be virtually no personal freedom. The “state” will run everything, including your mind and your life.
Should you be “allowed” to smoke, drive a fast car, cheat on your wife, marry the girl of your dreams, have many children or no children, drink a drink, smoke a joint, bet on a football game, eat steak, drive an SUV, or run naked on your own land?
Authoritarians would like to decide these things for you. But free people shouldn’t let them.
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Mike Pottage