Forty-four years ago today,the very first Surgeon Generals warning of the dangers of tobacco was issued to the American public.Luther Terry was US Surgeon General from 1961 to 1965 and dedicated most of his career to educating the public about the potential health hazards of smoking.I know personally that smoking is bad for me but I cannot fathom the idea that no one had a clue it could kill you until the Government told them so!I personally believe the additives in cigarettes are more deadly than tobacco itself.While I appreciate Terrys contributions to public health,his early warnings paved the way for the situation we have today,where smokers are taxed to death by states to fund antismoking initiatives.Sure its bad,but what about booze?I do not see a surcharge placed on alcohol to recoup costs of publicly funded programs to "dry' out drunks!
Heres what I find funny...there is a new drug,Chantix,similar to antidepressants in that it works in the brain to counter addiction and it is approved by the FDA to help people stop smoking.If you ever listened to the TV ads,you would think that the possible side effects(seizures,etc) are worse than what cigarettes will do to your body.If you can get beyond the troublesome side effects and want to try it out,guess what?It is a relatively new drug so it is prohibitedly expensive unless you have great RX coverage and if you are like me,you have Rx coverage that will NOT cover most of the newer drugs in any category because of the cost....But theres hope!Somerset County Health Department has flyers and newpaper briefs informing the public that if they wish to participate in smoking cessation support groups,they can receive Chantix,free of charge!However it is NOT "free",nothing is.It is funded by-you guessed it-the ridiculously high cigarette taxes heaped upon us by the liberal Governor and his "tax 'em all to hell" flunkies.I have no problem with these type of public health programs if they are administered fairly,but they are not.Alcohol abuse is a WAY bigger social,legal and medical problem than cigarettes but if one wants to detoxify from booze,they either cannot find a rehab with an empty available bed or they cannot afford the treatment at all.Where is the surcharge and/or tax on every bottle of gin to fund alcoholism treatment for those people?Drunk drivers kill and maim thousands annually-wheres the tax on booze to help Medicaid recoup hospital costs for the uninsured victims of drunk drivers?Furthermore,fast food causes heart attacks-so wheres the Whopper surcharge to fund heart disease prevention?See where I am going with this?It is unfair to single out one vice as the "villain".Its great we have warnings on every pack of cigarettes but who in hell ever thought they WEREN'T bad for us?Last week I bought my very last pack of cigarettes with the Maryland tax stamp.First of all,I might smoke a half pack a day,if that-and my husband is in Delaware daily-so I refuse to give Md anymore money than they are already stealing from me!
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