This will most likely be my only "rant" I ever post on this blog site. I'm not some hippie activist, nor am I a political revolutionary trying to take a big stand against something. However, I am a guy who feels like taking a moment to address something.
I'm sure you have seen the truth about smoking commercials. Usually it involves some hugely overblown public display of death and or destruction which represents the wages of smoking tobacco. From a street littered with body bags to the more recent animated musicals. These commercials are informing the world of the dangers and risks of smoking.
News Flash: Everyone already knows about the dangers and risks of smoking. Running a commercial that lists an astronomical number of deaths caused by smoking tobacco seems like the biggest waste of time an money. People who smoke and people who don't smoke know that tobacco is the leading cause of lung cancer. I understand that these commercials are ran by "big tobacco" as a way of saying "look, we're doing our best to inform people of the dangers of smoking", but couldn't that money and energy be used in a better way?
How about rather than spending millions of dollars on an ad campaign that informs us of the obvious, we take that money and spend it on addiction research and quitting assistance. Use that money to create support centers and institutions that help people quit smoking. Or, spend the money to feed people who are starving in 3rd world countries, provide water for people who have none, pay to clothe those who who sit shirtless in the middle of winter. Unlike people who know the consequences of smoking and still continue to do it, help people who are dying due to reasons outside of their own control.
In no way am I saying that people who smoke deserve what they get. My grandpa Bud died from complications that ultimately came from smoking. I have all the compassion in the world for people who are suffering sickness from smoking. But these people are addicted to a substance just like a heroin addict or a coffee addict and they need help to break the addiction. All I'm saying is rather than spending tons of money and energy on a campaign that informs people of the obvious, direct the funds elsewhere to something that could be more useful in saving lives.
Here we stand at the end of my rant. I promise to never get too opinionated again. =)
