Thursday, April 2, 1998
Government must butt out of smoking, drinking habits
Cigarettes and booze are a staple for characters in movies, yet they cause controversy in the real world.
Laurian R. Bowles (lrb122@psu.edu) is a junior majoring in journalism and African American studies and a Collegian columnist.
Right now, there are negotiations for a proposed tobacco control
policy that is the first of its kind. In this agreement, the price
of cigarettes would become $1.10 more expensive and tobacco companies
would have to pay more than half a trillion dollars to settle
health claims by consumers.
Whoa, a dollar more would sure make the typical smoker quit. I
doubt it. If you have seen a cancer stick addict, you also would
know this. In the freezing cold, with snow pelting on their bare
legs, you see people huddling outside at 2 a.m., getting that
last cigarette before bed. Then, there is the social cigarette
smoker, who suddenly finds himself wanting a cigarette when he
is alone.
The addiction sneaks up on you and you are hooked. If the "brains"
in the government think a price hike would curb the nicotine fiend,
they are wrong.
The smarts in the government continue with the new laws about the legal limit for alcohol consumption. Thirty-four states have yet to accept the lower limit, and those who do not change their laws soon will lose federal funding for state highways. What a choice.
Students come to this University, and one of the first things
they learn about is alcohol. By the first day of classes, most
students have consumed alcohol, and some have already experienced
their first hangover.
According to the Center for Disease Control, in 1994, 44 percent
of all fatal crashes involving 18- to 20-year-olds and 29 percent
of accidents involving 15- to 17-year-olds were alcohol-related.
The fact that it was illegal for them to drink did not keep them
from falling under the deadly spell of alcohol.
If we survive our first two years at Happy Valley, then we are
faced with more statistics to conquer. The highest intoxication
rate in fatal crashes is for drivers 21 to 24 years old.
The legal limit is lower, but this will not deter people from
drinking. Researchers in California and North Carolina have found
no benefits to this measure. This law is not a solution that will
take away alcohol abuse and related problems. Oregon has had this
lower limit since 1984, yet their cases of alcohol-related deaths
are still above the national average. What does this prove? This
law is not the answer.
These goals take the wrong direction. The government is attempting
to cut a problem at the branches, instead of the roots. I am skeptical
about how this new tobacco law is for the benefit of U.S. citizens.
The government is out to put the screws to the tobacco industry.
I am not saying they don't deserve it, but this bill would require
the tobacco companies to pay more than $500 billion to the government
during the next 25 years. Where is this money going? Not to our
non-existent social security or healthcare benefits I bet.
If Big Brother really cared about alcohol and cigarettes, there
would be stricter laws about advertising to minors and more focus
on preventing them from becoming lifelong consumers. I do not
have the answer, but I do know that if things are to turn around,
prevention is the key.
No one can force you to take a drag or a sip, but someone can show you how this affects your life. Instead of passing stricter laws and making money from those people who feed their nasty habits, offer an alternative. Cigarette smoking is an addiction like any other. Drinking is also an addiction in some cases. In every situation, there is a special circumstance and a certain choice. Let us choose, not Capitol Hill.
