SHOULD NICOTINE BE A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE?

However, certainly the FDA knew, or should have known, long ago that nicotine is addictive as the term is being used today. So, why does the FDA want to control its use? We might believe it is for humanitarian reasons but that is difficult to support. For many years -- and still today -- the U.S. Government not only provides price supports to farmers that raise tobacco, but also funds some marketing of cigarettes to other countries or, in some cases, threatens trade sanctions if a country does not allow the tobacco products into their country.

We all need to recognize that nicotine is addictive -- for some people. It is also dangerous to a person's health -- for some people. Not all people that smoke get lung cancer. Some who take the risk live to an old age. But all who smoke know, or should know, they are gambling with their life.

The point is, if we are to be free people, each of us has the right to gamble with our life. We gamble with our life in many ways. Should we as a society, for the good of society, restrict the use of nicotine by others or limit its use all together? Should we make nicotine a controlled substance by our government?

Should we start a "War on Nicotine," even though we have lost the "War on Drugs?" We are all aware that we have officials in government that do not wish to recognize reality and insist on attempting to take responsibility for actions of individuals when an individuals' actions should be thesole responsibility of the individual. Are we stupid enough to let government repeat their ways that have failed so many time before?

I think it is time everyone takes responsibility for themselves. We do have an obligation to educate others of the danger of smoking, or any drug for that matter, and then we must let the individual be resonsible for their own decisions and the consequences. Some would say that we are our brothers keeper, but at what point are we usurping anothers responsibility? Or is it easier to turn over this responsibility to our government so that we individually have, or seem to have, no responsibility?

There is the contention that non-smokers should not have to pay the health-costs for those that get lung cancer from cigarette smoking, and we shouldn't. Cigarette users should pay their own health-care costs. However, in a way they do, as the government collects over $25 Billion a year in tobacco taxes. If these funds were used exclusively to educate everyone to the dangers of smoking and pay for smokers health-care costs, non-smokers would not be burdened with these costs. We now place these taxes in the general funds of government as "sin" taxes.

By the way, I am not a smoker or do I use tobacco products.