Aug 31, 2013 3 min read

I am not a smoker and I agree that it is unhealthy for you. I don’t want to smell cigarette smoke or have my clothing or hair smell like smoke. Having said that, I am in total agreement with the editorial in the Aug. 22 edition of the Observer-Reporter, “The Slippery Slope of Punishing Behavior.”

I am sympathetic to the obstacles smokers face today with the low tolerance for smoking and the extortionate – ?I mean exorbitant – price tag for a pack of cigarettes. I feel for them when I see them shivering in a January wind, ostracized to the outermost perimeters of the workplace. I may not like smoking, but I will defend any smoker’s right to take a drag if they want.

The intention of insurance companies to charge higher health care premiums to smokers will set a dangerous precedent leading to government-controlled eating habits. What’s next? Who’s next? Coffee drinkers? Someone will come up with a study that says that drinking coffee is bad for you (this happens routinely, usually on a yearly basis, followed by another study saying it’s good for you). The insurance companies raise the premiums for coffee-drinkers. Soon we are lying about our coffee consumption, spraying lavender air freshener to mask the aroma of freshly brewing coffee, sneaking a cup in the workplace bathroom. Coffee prices will skyrocket to some insane price, say $12 a pound.

Oh, wait a minute, it is $12 a pound.

Soon I will join smokers to a remote outpost in the Antarctic. They will be puffing, I will be sipping.

Despite some misguided efforts – remember Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s insane attempt to outlaw large drinks in New York City last year? – government cannot mandate good health. The individual is responsible for the care and feeding of their body, regardless of the potential pitfalls. People do not respond to words like ?”penalize”? and ?”restrict”? and ?”prohibit?.” We like words such as ?”promote?,” ?”encourage?,” “suggest?,” ?”choice”? and ?”options?.”

Granted, these bad habits may be a slow form of suicide which is frowned upon by most states, if not illegal in some (funny, you can get an abortion, but you’re not allowed to kill yourself). However, we reserve the right to manage our health as the free, intelligent adults that we are. The government and the insurance companies need to stay out of our face and our kitchens.

Pamela Olson

Charleroi