A blog from Mr.LaxmiNarsimhaa prompted me to write this blog. This blog is not to justify smoking or to prove that it’s better than other forms of pollution. This is a smokers perspective!
I wish to ask Mr.Laxmi a simple question, does he drive a car or bike?, if so how does he respond to the pollution caused by his motor vehicle. If he is concerned about the fellow human beings health ( this is like Clintons response to global warming and the nasty dog! ) why does he still drive around. I don’t think driving large cars or taking a pleasure drive in the town can be classified as any productive engagement.
I don’t seem to understand this “high morale” view point, either we should be able to put facts forward or put a viable solution. I can for argument sake conclude that petrol prices should me made Rs.100 a liter and heavy taxes should be laid on cars based on their fuel efficiency. People should be made to use only public transport. This would ensure the war in Middle East comes down! (the lesser oil we need, sooner the war for oil will stopJ)
Let’s try not to mix economics with emotions, though our political system thrives on it! I would be concerned on far more serious issues pertaining to the current state of affairs. How do we make the political system and bureaucracy accountable for the money they collect from you and me? As a tax paying citizen I wish to understand the efficiency of usage of my money, I am a customer to the government and not vice versa.
If we try to focus our issues and not let the government spin it around with multitude of issues, we should be able to move forward in a productive manner. More taxes and subsidies are not going to help anyone. Lets educate people, the recent study of rural incomes from the government suggests that 40% of the population in rural India lives below Rs.12 a day!. All these issues of smoking and pollution will then automatically come to focus. Lets get the basic bijili, sadak and panni moving. For at-least some time I would request Mr. Health minister to stop troubling AIMS and SRK and start focusing on the primary health care system and the policy frame work. We are in a country where kidneys are stolen!
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2 comments:
I'm assuming you started out this blog as a response to "Mr. Laxmi's" take on 'Lighting it up" (smoking), so to speak.
I did'nt read that article and am not sure what exactly he said there but ur blog's missing the point entirely, if in fact, it was a defense you were attempting to put up. By the end of it, u've attacked everything from, driving cars with faulty exhausts, to petrol prices and King Khan....without really convincingly, defending your right to smoke. Sure, it's your prerogative, u get a kick out of it it, it relaxes the nerves, gives you perspective, perhaps. Point is, those who urge you not to smoke are generally looking at it from the health perspective….YOUR health perspective. It has nothing to do with confusing ‘economics with emotion’. ‘Smoking is injurious to health’ wasn’t a fancy philosophy some holier-than-thou environmental activist came up with. It’s a FACT smokers KNOW and WON’T accept. Even if they did, they apparently think they’re invincible, immune (maybe it’s the nicotine that disillusions them into thinking this way…who knows, go figure!).
Without going into the whole debate on smoking, I’m sure the point Mr Laxmi & the entire congregation of anti-smokers is trying to point out here is, like it or not, smoking isn’t a ‘fun’ thing to do in the long-run. It’s upto you now, how you view this piece of information…..use it…ignore it. Choice is yours.
first..instead of being anonymous, a name will help know who i am responding to..
the blog was more towards ensuring focus to larger issues..i think i get to determine what is fun for me and not anyone else..i dont want the state telling me wht to eat and how to live my life and hence lets stick to issues relateing to states perogative.
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