I would like to respond to Drew Harmon column’s “Smokers know it’s bad, leave me in peace” (SN 7/18).

While I definitely agree with the whole concept that consistency is needed in our social policies (unhealthy food, unsafe sex or drinking), if it affects other people in a public sense, it is our business.

Living in a free society that is confined by laws and politics, we do have the right to take risks without asking other people’s permission, but only if it does not involve having others pay for your actions. The statistics given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were in the range of $50 billion paid in health care annually for cases that were caused by smokers. While that figure is flawed (not accountable for second hand smoking effects), nevertheless there is a great amount of money each taxpayer (including myself) has to pay for smokers.

Compare this to bungee jumping - it is definitely a person’s right to exercise the freedom to bungee jump, but do people have to pay the (partial) cost of it? If somehow the cord broke and a person died a devastating death, do taxpayers have to pay for the cleanup of the remaining body parts and blood?

It is true that society has a long way to go to solve all the issues, and often the attention shifts toward drugs, marijuana and cigarettes (while ignoring others) - but that can be changed.

Yes, smokers do contribute to our economy by means of money flow. The fewer smokers there are, the less revenue there will be. But there is a chain reaction of costs figured in what taxpayers pay. Besides health care, second hand smoke effects environmental issues; there also are miscarriages and other procedures (for pregnant women who smoke). In the end, it is not worth the “extra” revenue, if any is left. Note that ever since Canada doubled its cigarette tax to $6 per pack back in the ’90s, consumption has decreased to an estimate of 40 percent. I choose to use older data to support my notion only to further the credibility of its long-term research, as opposed to newer data, which may not produce an accurate percentage.

In the meantime, as long as I am still paying for smokers’ health care and other costs, I am very happy to convince any smoker to quit, because I’m a poor student who is trying to cut down expenses, especially those that pay for a bad cause.

Sam Lin
telecommunication senior