THE DOCTOR IS IN
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LAS VEGAS- Hello America, and how is the world treating you?

The non-smoking nanny states and those special groups that clearly have an agenda to raise money, grants and publicity still is no satisfied that teen smoking is down and adult smoking has dropped by leaps and bounds.

These groups are saying such things as: Without bold action by our elected officials, too many lives, young and old, will suffer needlessly from chronic illness and burdensome health care expenses."

News flash to these groups, According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention smoking rates fell drastically since 1960. I submit that what these nanny states and goodie-two shoe groups are saying like "many lives will suffer and chronic illness and burdensome health expenses will be a result of smoking" can also be applied equally to other things such as: drinking alcohol, eating fast or fat foods like pies, cakes, pasta,etc.--the list could go on and on, just on food.

Heart attack is the number one killer in the U.S., not SMOKING, and what causes heart attacks? You guessed it, a bad diet the person may be eating; those potato chips, that soda, especially the diet sodas, stress from a job, divorce or financial problems just to name a few. Folks, all those things cause heart attack and stroke. Yet, these nonsmoker zealots claim that all of the ills and disease happening in the world is caused by smoking cigarettes. What a joke and lame argument.

The nonsmoker started out with: "All I want is my own nonsmoking section" in the restaurant. But we know where that led us. Don't we? Give someone and inch and they'll take a mile and the nonsmoking public and nanny lawmakers did just that.

Most all of the lawmakers in Washington today grew up around smoking. There was smoking in restaurants, movies, bars, taverns, each and every business establishment, government buildings, doctors offices and in most every household in the country and I submit that these people turned out very well.

Many of these same people are doctors,lawyers and titans of big business. There is the construction workers,plumbers and all the lesser occupations that make this country hum. These same people raised their children in those smokey households and their children turned out to be well organized, productive citizens working in their occupations of choice today.

So, the argument of secondhand smoke wiping out the population is a "red herring " argument. The secondhand smoke argument that has been put forward for decades is controversial and always will be. No pun intended, "it's all smoke and mirrors."

People will fall in the clutches of serious and fatal disease for many reasons and believe me when I say they are not all caused by smoking cigarettes or indulging in tobacco products. Diabetes, Cancer, Heart problems and all other deadly disease are brought about by many things such as the persons bad eating habits, alcohol consumption, bad lifestyle and most of all genetics. If the predisposition of any illness and/or disease is in the genes people are going to acquire those devastating diseases. Example: A person that smokes 2 packs of cigarettes a day for life never contracted cancer but on the other hand a person who has never smoked a day in their life is afflicted with Cancer, Diabetes, or some other dastardly disease.

As a side note: There are many medications that doctors are currently prescribing to patients that cause such things as-Cancer,Blindness, Bone Loss, Kidney and Liver problems and even cause the death of the patient. If you doubt that,just listen very carefully to many of the prescription drug advertisements and the drugs side effects that are flashed across your television screens every day.

Point is: There are many things that may cause health problems so stop blaming cigarettes for the ills of the world. Let people make their own decisions as to what they want to put into their body. As long as it's a legal substance, food, etc.,it is the persons choice. With that in mind I would suggest that there should be places for everybody, in this case, the smoker and nonsmoker. The smoker can patronize the business establishments that advertise "smoker friendly" and the nonsmoker can chose the "nonsmoking establishment."

Liberty and freedom of choice is what this country was basically founded on and the choices should be there for us Americans to make our own decisions. Personally, if I were a smoker, I would not go into a restaurant or bar that was totally nonsmoking and if I were a nonsmoker I clearly would avoid any restaurant or bar that advertised "smoker friendly." I say there is room for everybody in this country and equal treatment is the word of the land.- And, that's my opinion. Make your own decisions. You decide.

Bradley W. Kuhns, Ph.D., O.M.D.
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Dr. Kuhns can be reached by e-mail at:
bradleykuhns@gmail.com