Light My Fire

Smoking is a stupid nicotine drug addiction, and it makes a far worse fool of many smoker's than they realize. A good example came Sunday when Israeli Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was answering questions about a decision to replace the nation of Israel's head military chief. Mr. Netanyahu, while answering reporter questions about this controversial shifting of this important security position for this tiny security concious nation, managed to put a fully lit cigar into his suit jacket and set his suit jacket on fire. Mr. Netanyahu was not injured, but it is an example how this nicotine drug addiction habit often results in silly accidents and mishaps.

Every year forests are needlessly burned down by careless smokers. And firefighters who fight these fires lose their lives sometimes fighting these fast shifting fires which absolutely ruin the environment and the animal population is destroyed. And every year housefires are needlessly caused by smoker's carelessness. One landlord I know with 50 properties has lost or had 4 damaged by fire, all by smoker's carelessness.

I had a friend who loved to constantly smoke and drink way too much. I warned him of such a lifestyle as being very deadly. He ignored my warnings. At about 50 years of age, he found himself with deadly cancer racing through his body, in a wheelchair no longer able to walk hooked to a constant pain and cancer therapy IV drip. There is no freedom or hope in that condition, and he died a very bitter and depresed person. It was very sad.

Besides the 50,000 killed by secondhand cigarette smoke each year, and the additional 300,000 smokers who kill themself with cancer, stroke or heart disease, needless house fires are another way in which cigarettes kill. In Oregon, the state legislature is debating a bill for all cigarettes sold in the state to be fire safe. And as usual, big tobacco is fighting this life saving safety measure to save lives. It would raise cigarette costs a mere 5cents, yet the industry weighs the cheaper cost of deadly cigarettes higher than human life. A fine business.

Cigarettes: you can live without them.