DIYbanter - View Single Post - OT

In article ,
says...
On 02 Jan 2004 00:16:11 GMT, otforme (Charlie Self)
wrote:

But the longer I'm off the butts, the
less I can stand being around them, and the more I feel they are ruinous, both
fiscally and physically.

I certainly cannot argue that smoking is good for you.

However, I just don't understand why drinking alcoholic beverages
doesn't receive the same treatment as tobacco smoking. Beyond, of
course, the fact that the grain farmers have a better lobby than the
tobacco farmers.

.... snip of the evils of alcohol

Why are the do-gooders, health nazis, lay and professional, and
elected reps so afraid tin stand up against drinking? It's caused
more problems and killed more people than all the tobacco ever smoked.

You don't hear the PSA's regarding not drinking and driving? Or the
ads from the various beer companies that include the "warning", "Always
drink responsibly" (shades of the 60's and tobacco here?). Also,
consider that there was considerable furor over the advertising of hard
liquors in TV ads.

A couple of other things that make this different:
a) it is possible to drink in moderation, not everyone who drinks does
so to get drunk nor to the point of impairment.
b) not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic. While it is true that there
are a few people who can smoke a cigarette once in a while (I knew one
guy who would only have a cigarette at a quarterly meeting and nowhere
else), most people who smoke have a certain addiction to it and are not
able to smoke in moderation such that it does not impair their health.
c) There is some evidence that a moderate amount of alcohol may actually
have some health benefits.