http://cagecanada.blogspot.com/2009/03/gian-turci-champion-and-hero.html
As you all know by now, I am a smoker. For some time now, I have also received "The United Pro Choice Smokers Rights Newsletter" Found here: http://www.smokersclubinc.com/index.php
Taken from the article now:
Gian Turci
1950 - 2009
..."Gian’s specific involvement in smoker’s rights began when he was living in Canada and his children came home complaining that at school, all of the students had been made to line up while a health official proceeded to smell each of them in search of the tell-tale odour of tobacco. Students guilty of having the smell of cigarettes on their clothes were taken aside and interrogated, and notices were eventually sent to the parents. Where most modern parents would have bowed their heads in shame and accepted the dogma that they should feel guilty for smoking around their children, or for having failed to prevent their children from becoming smokers, Gian reacted in righteous outrage over this grossly insulting treatment, and he decided to react rather than allow himself and his family to be walked upon."
CLICK the link at the top to read more...
My apologies in advance, but I will be blogging about this topic soon.
XOXO
Me
PS
Mr. Turci died of a brain hemmorhage-
An aneurysm is an accident of birth. Unrelated to his smoking.
WTF!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE DO BLOG MORE ABOUT THIS!! THIS IS TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY OUTRAGEOUS! OH, I, TOO, AM A SMOKER AND I HAVE RIGHTS, TOO.
ReplyDeleteOk, I just read the article about this man and what an amazing man he was.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of smoking but I still think that pulling the children aside like that was completely out of line.
ReplyDeleteOut of line isn't the word for it. That is just plain harassment and invasion of privacy...it is so wrong on so many levels it's not even funny. What parents do in the privacy of their own home is no one's business but their own.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I am a non-smoker and prefer to try to stay away from it as much as possible, but I would have gone off on the school if my kids came home and told me about this happening in their school. Interogate kids who have no choice if their parents smoke????? I don't think so...
ReplyDeleteI don't smoke. But I don't like the Natzi mentality that goes with the whole smokeing issue. I appreciate smoke-free facilities but what people do in their own home IS THEIR business.
ReplyDeleteI might also add what they do in OPEN AIR SPACES as well. I get so tired of being told where and when I can smoke.
ReplyDeleteSo, I suppose it should be okay to disrespect non smokers by blowing smoke in their face as you walk by them. I think smoking areas are a way to respect the part of the public that choose/can not be around smoke. I think people think it's a joke that others can not tolerate smoke. Some are prone to bronchitis whenever around it, or severe asthma. They should not have to live in a bubble because what others do can harm their health.
ReplyDeleteI'm not telling people not to smoke, smoke all you want, but show respect to those who can't have something/want nothing to do with it. It's your choice to take part in this behavior, but others shouldn't have too.
I agree, what people do in their own home is their buisness.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do respect smoking and non smoking areas, I think it's ludicrous to have non smoking areas OUTSIDE. That is just plain stupid. What's next? Smoking and non-smoking sides of the street. Next thing ya know, I won't be allowed to sit on my own front porch and smoke.
ReplyDeleteOh this hit a nerve.....my kid comes home from school and says kids make fun of her because she smells like smoke. Some kids will not play with her and while others are close friends at school, they are not allowed to visit our home nor even go to a movie with us because her Dad and I smoke. I hate it for my kid, (and she sees the discrimination in it totally), but when did it become illegal to smoke around your own children? and when did it become PC to teach your children blatant rudeness over an issue like this? These kids had to learn this discrimination from their parents right? Neither of my parents smoked, but I never once remember going to school and not playing or being able to visit another kid simply because their parents smoked. Geeeze how times have changed.
ReplyDeleteTo top it off, I do transports for rescued dogs from shelters and puppy mills.....the new rule is....you are not allowed to smoke in your vehicle as long as the pet is with you.....and they now are not adopting out these pets to people who smoke in their home.....apparently lung cancer in dogs is a horrible thing....Gawd.
I respect the rights of others who don't smoke, I honestly do my best not to smoke around them.....but I do think these rules and laws are getting way out of control....the old give them an inch and they take a mile rule works well here I'd say.
Besides, they keep raising taxes on cigs to raise funds for stuff that has nothing to do with smoking issues....now they gunna keep raising them till people quit....OK so where do you think they will go next to raise those funds....you better start thinking about that candy bar or coke you enjoy, cuz those are just around the tax corner.
Stepping off the proverbial soapbox now **grins**
Well said!
ReplyDeleteIve recently quit smoking this year, however when I did smoke I felt the same, I agree with designated smoking areas, second hand smoke kills, I feel smokers do have a right to smoke but not at the risk of other peoples lives. Smokers are so addicted they rationalize it by making it a government running our lives issue, deep down dont you pray your children and their children do not take up smoking? its a proven fact and we all know it, smoking is bad for us, and those around us.
ReplyDeleteThis is well said.
ReplyDeleteThere is no rationilization---it is the government dictating what I can and cannot do. I don't see them going after alcoholics or drunks and taxing the heck outta them. I will always say it is my right to smoke whenever and wherever i choose. This is a free country after all. If someone don't like it, they can go someplace else. We had some people sitting in the smoking area one afternoon at work and they complained that it to smoky. Well we told them they chose to sit in the smoking area therefore they couldn't tell us what to do...and it was outside besides.
ReplyDeleteI am a non-smoker. My husband, father-in-law AND mother-in-law ALL smoke. I grew up in a household of smokers. I am NOT a cigarette Nazi. I do not go around telling smokers to put their cigarette out because they are killing me. Even though it is proven that second hand smoke is more harmful than the smoke a smoker draws into their lungs... I do have enough sense to remove myself from the situation. My biggest pet peeve is when a smoker is smoking in a NON-SMOKING area and refuses to move or put their cigarette out. Why should I be the one who moves in that situation?
ReplyDeleteI do not think that all of these crazy laws that go against the smokers are right, nor fair. Here in the state of Washington, if you go through a fast-food drive thru, by LAW, you HAVE to put your cigarette out. They have signs posted in the windows. That is crazy.
I believe the government taxes cigarettes so highly because they know that most smokers will pay whatever price to get their cigarettes. Smoking is an addiction. The government knows this and also knows that once you're addicted, it's hard as all hell to get rid of that addiction.
I shouldn't have to go somewhere else to get in and out of grocery stores and hospitals. All I ask is that smokers keep it away from where heavy traffic areas of people are. Free country doesn't mean that others should have to inhale second hand smoke.
ReplyDeleteThey may not attack alcohol in the same way they attack tobacco, but there are many laws out there that go against those that choose to drink.
Boils down too, if what you do is dangerous to others, than you should refrain from doing around/to others. Whether blowing second hand smoke, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, driving recklessly (even if you aren't UI), working unsafely. People should be more concerned about the saftey of others when doing unsafe/unhealthy acts and not how to make themselves happy.
I think you better stop and think about all the OTHER pollutants that are in the air. Don't sit there and blame the smokers for EVERYTHING. Stop and think about that. What do ya want everyone to do? Stop driving?????
ReplyDeletePlease explain to me where "Free country doesn't mean that others should have to inhale second hand smoke" says Smokers are at fault for "Everything"??? I have never blamed smokers for "Everything". I do think many (not every) smokers are inconsiderate of non-smokers. Just because they can justify smoking in their head, everyone else should except it/deal with it/ get over it. I disagree with that line of thought.
ReplyDeleteI didn't ask you to stop smoking. I am asking smokers not to smoke where it effects many people.
And excuse me, wasn't this discussion based on smoking and smokers rights? I didn't know we were covering other pollutants. I am more than willing to take part in other discussions, including other pollutants.
Me no smokey no more (mostly). I find it abhorrable that children are punished for their parents mistakes, but it is a sad fact it happends, and a sadder fact we allow it. How many of you would rather the 8 infants suffer than contribute to the ASTOUNDINGLY STUPID MOTHER. Those babies had no say. Or the fact that it is legal to get an abortion if you've been raped. Same diff.
ReplyDeleteRationalization?... You're silly. We are, after all, human.