Trump to ban e-cigs; here’s something else he should ban
I know I’m not the first person to make this connection and yeah, this ain’t an apples-to-apples comparison, but sheesh President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to ban flavored e-cigarettes after six people, as of this writing, have died from lung disease related to vaping.
But uh … you know … the whole gun thing and all. The uh … 58 people who were massacred in Las Vegas and the 49 people murdered in Orlando and then there’s the 32 slaughtered at Virginia Tech and the 27 little kids gunned down in Sandy Hook and …
Well, you get the idea. It’s pretty easy to argue so-called assault weapons, and how easy they can be acquired in many states, is probably a bigger public health hazard than vaping, but again, you know - not apples to apples. Might as well keep these guns on the streets, right?
{Sigh.}
OK fine. Guns are protected by the Second Amendment, and there is - to the best of my knowledge - nothing in the Constitution that states, “... and the right of the people to vape.”
So fine. Let’s not get into this argument. I’ve written plenty about guns. It’s bonkers to me we haven’t tightened up the laws. The fact we didn’t do it after Sandy Hook … it sickens me.
But yeah, sure, let’s ban flavored e-cigarettes. Six people dead, a pox on our house, etc.
For the record: I’m fine with banning flavored e-cigs. All these vaping companies are clearly halflying when they say their product is intended for people who are seeking to quit smoking cigarettes. Sure, it’s a small minority of users, but the vast majority of vaping fools are idiot kids who have no idea what they’re doing, and we’ve all been idiot kids who have no idea what we’re doing, so yeah, sure, absolutely we should dump these cotton candy-flavored nicotine and chemical delivery systems.
Good for Trump, and I mean it. But while we’re here, what about regular old cigarettes? Those little devils are still killing 480,000 Americans each year, according to the CDC. That’s about 20% of all deaths each year. That’s a lot. It’s about one American per minute.
Consider: Vaping has killed six people, and the feds are about to ban it. Cigarettes kill six people every 360 seconds, and I can still run down the WaWa and buy enough Camels to walk a mile. Or a half-mile. Or maybe two steps to my oxygen tank.
Fact is, Trump should take it one step further: He should ban cigarettes.
I’ve written about this idea in the past, saying New Jersey legislators should take up this cause, but screw it: Since Trump cares deeply about the lungs of the vaporous, how about he just goes ahead and gets cigarettes banned?
Now to be clear, my brilliant cigarette ban isn’t a total ban: Adults who want them will still be able to buy them with an easily obtainable prescription from a doctor, and they can pick them up at the pharmacy. But that’s it. Can’t just walk into a convenience store and pick up a pack. (Side note: I’m willing to bet one of the major convenience chains will stop selling cigarettes within the next 10 years.)
Seriously: Virtually everyone who smokes started when they were young and dumb, and I’m willing to bet 98% of current smokers over the age of 35 would choose to go back in time and never pick up that first cigarette if given the choice.
So let’s make it hard for kids to start in the first place. Nothing screams “Look how cool I am!” than going to the doctor for a nicotine prescription and then heading to the pharmacy to pick up your no-name cigarettes, as I’m sure the tobacco companies would get out of the American market should a law like this ever come down the pike.
So. Whaddya say, prez?