Society got smart and ostracized tobacco use because it poses a great health risk. While confronted with a bigger health risk--male homosexuality--society does its damnedest to promote it as a valid lifestyle.
As much as libs frown on smoking for its risk to health and longevity, you'd think they'd pay a little attention to homosexual behavior.
Indeed - it makes no sense to promote, encourage and celebrate any lifestyle that causes such severe health hazards, especially deadly health hazards.
If that was all they did, it would be valid.
Well...that's the sanitized version anyway.
Surely you're not referring to the second-hand smoke myth? That's nothing but socialist propaganda. Firsthand smoke is what smokers should be concerned with.
Private businesses of all types have the right (whether it is honored or not) to determine their own policies with respect to tobacco use.
If any individual doesn't want to work for or patronize an establishment because of its smoking policies, he or she has every right to take their business or their labor elsewhere.
It's this same mamby-pamby collectivist mentality which fuels gun control, the drug war, anti-smoking zealots, etc.
I have never smoked tobacco and think it's worthless, but I firmly support the rights of smokers to light up without big brother telling them where they can and cannot do it.
Arbitrary Law is never the proper role of Minimal Government, and anti-smoking fascists are using blatant propaganda to foment their Authoritarianism on individuals and private business.
Whether the tobacco industry itself is sleazy and corrupt is a separate issue. It appears to be corrupt to a significant degree, given the extra poisonous crap that they add to cigarettes. Maybe there's something legally actionable there.
For instance, here in Florida, Jeb Bush used a settlement with Big Tobacco to fully fund universal health care for chilfren in the state.
Does anyone know where I can get some tobacco seeds?