Montreal
recently passed an anti-smoking law. As of May 31, 2006
, smoking in public places, including bars and
restaurants, is prohibited. Given that the province
of
Quebec
has one of highest
smoking rates in the world, this law is a big fucking deal. In the weeks before
the law came into effect, our major English language newspaper was running a
series of articles written by local celebrities, documenting their efforts to
quit smoking. I came across this
one a few weeks ago, in which a well-known Montreal comedian suggests that
passing an anti-smoking law is, in fact, persecuting the victims of the TOBACCO
companies who have made cigarettes increasingly addictive. He talks about suing
the "ring leaders", because it's their fault people smoke. I, for
one, am thrilled this law was passed, because I was getting so tired of going
to restaurants and requesting a seat in the non-smoking section, only to emerge
a couple of hours later stinking to high hell. And I like to go to bars every
once in a while for a couple of drinks or a game of pool with a few
girlfriends...but I hated that I would come home and reek like a fucker. Of
course it's easy for me to be gleeful about the law because I'm obviously not a
smoker. I was, a long time ago, until the day I chain smoked an entire pack of these unfiltered goodies and
vomited my head off for the next three hours. And it's not like I'm completely
unsympathetic to smokers because I know that shivering outside to satisfy a nic
craving when it's well below zero and the snow is up to their eyeballs is going
to be a humungous pain in their asses. Having said that, though, smoking is a
CHOICE, people. This suing the tobacco companies thing is as ridiculous as the McDonald's
obesity suit. Which is so ridiculous, I can't stand it. Eating a gazillion
Big Macs? It's a choice. Like smoking. Both will likely make you sick. But no
one's holding a gun to your head forcing you to do either. And I HATE that
people think they can completely absolve themselves of responsibility for freely
engaging in a habit that might cause them harm. Maybe I'm a little
sensitive about this whole thing now because my dad's cancer is highly linked
to a history of smoking. My father smoked for 25 years, until I got pregnant
with my twins and he decided that he wanted to hang around for a while and
watch them grow up. It makes me really angry that he smoked around me all the
time when I was little, that he's a prominent OB/GYN and always insisted his
patients stop smoking - while he continued to smoke, and mostly that he
developed bladder cancer, more than likely because all of the carcinogens he
subjected his body to for years. But at least he acknowledges that he smoked of
his own free will, and this cancer episode has so scared the living shit out of
him that I know he'll never pick up a cigarette again. And this whole ordeal
has really made me feel like downing a really dirty martini. Which I can now
sip happily while shooting pool and breathing clean air and come home with my
hair still smelling like Outrageous.
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