Dennis Michael Busch - Official Website
Letter to the Editor of The Salt Lake Tribune
June 10, 2009
Oreos Next?
Recently, Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma stated that he thinks the United States should ban the use of tobacco products. Coburn is a doctor, and I understand where he gets his opinion. Smoking cigarettes is a filthy habit, and they cause countless health problems, the most problematic being death. I don't smoke. It actually repulses me, and I avoid people who smoke. That said, a ban on tobacco would be a colossal infringement on the rights of Americans.
So tobacco is not healthy; a lot of other products are also unhealthy. Alcohol can be terrible for a person. Is that the item we decide to ban next? Millions of Americans drink responsibly. Will trans fats be made illegal after that? Some days I just need an Oreo to function.
To protect children from tobacco, there should be restrictions on advertising, age, selling locations, etc. However, a ban on the product for adults makes absolutely no sense. In a free society, people must be allowed to make choices about what is right for them and accept responsibility for their actions.
Dennis Busch
Cedar City
So tobacco is not healthy; a lot of other products are also unhealthy. Alcohol can be terrible for a person. Is that the item we decide to ban next? Millions of Americans drink responsibly. Will trans fats be made illegal after that? Some days I just need an Oreo to function.
To protect children from tobacco, there should be restrictions on advertising, age, selling locations, etc. However, a ban on the product for adults makes absolutely no sense. In a free society, people must be allowed to make choices about what is right for them and accept responsibility for their actions.
Dennis Busch
Cedar City
© 2009 Dennis Busch, The Salt Lake Tribune
