Do we really need to legislate that??

How come cigarettes get picked on by the Canadian government?  It's their "glamour" indulgence if you will, that legislates tobacco manufacturers to post those nasty images on a package of smokes to "deter" a person from having a puff. 

First off I would like to say that I call myself a non-smoker but do enjoy a cigarette now and then, especially in the summer months.  I do not struggle with addiction in this area.  Food is my indulgence.  The photos on the package do not deter me.....nor my husband who is a hard core smoker.  Nor does the price, or even the social stigma attached to it.  Pass by someone enjoying a pipe or cigar and people will smile.  Pass by a smoker....disgust!

Now, what I am trying to get at is this......why do they pick on cigarettes, when it's clearly a persons choice that dictates their decision to smoke?  There are a plethora of items that are unhealthy.....why no disgusting photos on them???

Indulge me on this........

-All junk food should have pictures of obese people, enlarged hearts, mounds of fat......any number of things.....plastered on the bags. I mean, if they think it will work for cigarettes.....just saying.

-Alcohol....how about photos of car wrecks, torn limbs, wheelchairs, etc.

-Condoms should have photos of children weeping when families are torn apart from adultery, pictures of gonorrhea, syphilis or a person with aids. Or pregnant people...THAT"S a deterrent!

This list could go on and on.  My point is this.  We all have something called free will.  We can choose to do something, or choose not to do it.  And many who are addicted to cigarettes will not quit no matter how much we nag or legislate them to do so. 

Unless......you would make them pay for their own medical bills.  I know it would work for me.  If I got heart disease due to me constantly shoveling food in when I am not hungry, I just might re-think my motives.  Hit me in the pocket book and perhaps...just perhaps....I might not eat so much.

But we all know that will never happen.  Just as making manufacturers of cigarettes plaster nasty photos on a package of smokes shouldn't happen either.  Don't single them out unless you are going to target every other indulgence that will lead to health issues.

In my opinion.....that is discrimination!

GermanG