smoker choker

July 1st marked an increase in the cost of cigarettes here in Florida. I understand the cost of a pack is now over $5 a pack. I don't smoke so it doesn't really effect me all that much but I was living here in Florida when restaurants were forced to start supplying non-smoking sections and they had to be separate from the smokers. In the restaurant I worked in the old ladies with walkers and oxygen bottles would complained that they had to walk further to the smoking section than the nonsmokers. One even yelled through the hole in her throat "you're just doing this to make me quit smoking but I'm not going to". I wasn't trying to make her quit smoking.. smoking was going to make her quit smoking.

The shop keepers are complaining "now more people will quit and that will really hurt us". Maybe they should switch to something else addictive.... like crack or heroin. The smokers are complaining about losing their rights. I'm not sure what rights they're talking about except maybe the right to annoy others with their second hand smoke.

All the complaining aside you can still see the die hards (no pun intended) huddled outside braving the weather to get their nicotine fix. Seeing this got me thinking that besides diseases directly related to smoking there's going to be a new outbreak of diseases indirectly connected to smoking. Pneumonia, exposure and malnutrition from choosing to pay for cigarettes over food.