Is it immoral to hype good news about smoking?

There is mounting evidence that smokers are less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who don’t partake of the Devil’s Weed. The protective effects of smoking also decreased with years since quitting.  
 

“Although we found that current smokers and those who had continued to smoke to within five years of Parkinson’s disease diagnosis exhibited the lowest risk, a decrease in risk (13 percent to 32 percent) was also observed in those who had quit smoking up to 25 years prior to Parkinson’s disease diagnosis,” it said.

“Other tobacco products also appeared to be protective. Men who smoked pipes or cigars had a 54 percent lower risk. The number of chewing tobacco users was small, but there was a suggestion of reduced risk associated with this product,” it added.

Don’t get me wrong kids: Smoking may kill you. (Or, perhaps, save you from a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Either or.) My only question is how many major news organizations will give this politically incorrect fact the attention it deserves? If eating tofu* lowered your risk of Parkinson’s by 54 percent would it be a front-page story? Should it be a front-page story if tobacco does the trick?

Update: 

*Some readers have pointed out that tofu has no negative effects on health. So let’s sub in “alcohol” or “fatty foods” for tofu.

No eating while driving?

New Jersey governor Jon Corizine is gearing up to sign bills banning drivers from text messaging, using hands-on cell phones and smoking with kids in the car. As a Senator, Corzine sponsored unsuccessful legislation that would have withheld federal highway funding from states that failed to ban hand-held cellphones while driving.

“Why not get a ham sandwich bill together — no eating while driving?” said Steve Carrellas, the New Jersey coordinator for the National Motorists Association. “How about no talking?”

Well, actually … nationally, many legislators are skipping the specific bills and attempting to pass wide-ranging and ambiguous “distracted while driving laws.” These sort of laws give police almost unlimited pretext to pull you over or issue you a fine.

Last March the police chief in Winnetka, Ill., decided to stop playng around, for instance. He proposed a “distracted driving” law “that — among routine prohibitions — would also ban tuning the radio.”

Police Chief Joseph DeLopez said his plan would outlaw radio tuning, talking to passengers and tending to children or pets while driving in addition to the more typical bans on using electronic devices, reading the newspaper or applying makeup.

I wonder what the fine will be for yelling at the kids?

Another early mention …

Dr. Helen had a couple of nice things to say about Nanny State. She “pilfered” a copy I had sent to her hubby Glenn Reynolds — who was kind enough to blurb my book.

It may be too much to expect that this book will turn things around, but Harsanyi does a good job of getting his readers to at least start thinking about the larger issues of state intrusion. So maybe the next time a politician wants to pass a new law requiring yet one more nanny state regulation, the voters will make it more expensive to politicians who seek to tyrannize us for “our own good.”

Amen. (Though, frankly, I’ve yet to see an intrusive, overbearing nannyist politician pay with his/her job — anywhere.)

“It pretends to care for us”

Nanny State gets an early mention in the Washington Examiner.

It pretends to care for us, tucking us in at night, a smile on its lips, compassion in its eyes, but then, as our trust grows, it puts a pillow over our faces. Though we writhe and kick and try to shout, we find ourselves being smothered to death. 

I speak of the nanny state, which also happens to be the title of a book by David Harsanyi, a Denver columnist I recently met, a pleasant fellow whose unpleasant message is that the country is jam-packed with people wanting to tell us how to live our lives even when our behavior affects no one but ourselves. 

I had the opportunity to spend some time with the columnist Jay Ambrose at the Independent Institute’s Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Party last month.  Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

Welcome to DavidHarsanyi.com

Stay tuned.