Freedom-loving citizens should defend civil liberties by confronting anti-smoking fascists

In the 1970's advertisement below the Marlboro Man told us: "Smoking cigarettes makes a man look cool and hard in front of the girls. Yessiree! Yee-Ha!" http://www.debate.org... He didn't really, of course: I just mocked that up; but anti-smoking fascists from organisations such as Action on Smoking and Health in the US [1] and the UK [2], Smokefree Action [3] and The Women's Christian Temperance Union [4] have not only had tobacco advertising banned but they have also used their influence to get smoking itself restricted to the point now where it is hard to find a place where it is legal for smokers to exercise their civil right to enjoy a cigarette in public. http://news.bbc.co.uk... Worryingly, today's anti-civil liberties, anti-tobacco campaign is the direct political descendant of the spiteful and viscous anti-smoking campaign of the Nazi Party in 1930's Germany - Adolf Hitler didn't smoke himself and he led a crusade against smoking, denouncing the practice as anti-fascist. As one contemporary Nazi magazine preached: "Brother national socialist, do you know that our Fï¿½hrer is against smoking and thinks that every German is responsible to the whole people for all his deeds and emissions, and he does not have the right to damage his body with drugs." http://www.prisonplanet.com... We in the West are heading at breakneck speed, as Germany did in the 1930's, towards a society governed by leaders who dictate how the citizens live their daily lives and prescribe exactly what they may or may not do with their own bodies. How long will it be before the first Western country bans smoking altogether as they have done in Bhutan? No doubt Hitler would have approved of today's Bhutan – not only have they completely banned smoking but they are guilty of numerous human rights abuses including widespread ethnic cleansing – something that was very close to the hearts of the Nazis, as we all know. http://www.hrw.org... Of course, we all know smoking is bad for your health but so is drinking too much alcohol and eating in excess. Once the puritanical anti-smoking fascists have got their way and banned the sale of tobacco altogether what will be next? For example, The Women's Christian Temperance Union is not only opposed to smoking, but also drinking alcohol, gambling and pornography and they will not rest until they are all outlawed. http://www.wctu.org... And if the politicians are willing to take on the might of the tobacco industry at the behest of puritanical fascists, they won't flinch at confronting the drinks industry either – indeed, there are already numerous ‘dry counties' in the US where the sale of alcohol is banned. http://en.wikipedia.org... And once the crackdowns on alcohol and tobacco are complete, the ultra-conservative, anti-smoking, anti-drinking, anti-pleasure groups may well turn their attention to junk food – we should ask ourselves how long it will be before fast food chains such as McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut and Dunkin Donuts are required to refuse service to obese customers. Just to illustrate how spiteful and vindictive these anti-civil liberties fascists are, not content with getting smoking tobacco banned in public places, they are now lobbying to outlaw e-cigarettes - from which the only emission is water vapour! Indeed, they have already been successful in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Finland, Malaysia and Singapore, and restrictions are pending in the UK and e-cigarettes are the subject of law suits by attorneys general in several American states. http://ash.org... Of course, smokers understand that smoking tobacco harms others around them and that they need to be considerate of that, but the tiny amounts of water vapour released from e-cigarettes do absolutely no harm to anyone. http://www.ecigaretteschoice.com... So why have them banned? It's just pure jealousy and spite, that's all. These anti-smoking fascists may choose not to smoke and not to visit those last few places where smoking in public is still permitted – that is their right, but they have no right to impose their puritanical lifestyles on citizens who choose to smoke and to deny them their civil liberties by having the use of tobacco products restricted and banned. That today's politicians pander to the fascist anti-smoking groups' draconian demands is not only to be lamented, but also feared – after all, if the freedom-loving citizens of pre-war Germany (of which there were many) had defended their civil liberties and confronted Hitler and his fascist boot boys, the Nazi Party may never have risen to power. So, even if you don't smoke, drink alcohol or eat junk food yourself, you should defend the rights of your fellow citizens to do so and, for that reason, I urge you to vote Pro. Thank you. [1] http://ash.org... [2] http://www.ash.org.uk... [3] http://www.smokefreeaction.org.uk... [4] http://www.wctu.org...