Keeping People Hooked - Increasing Cigarette Nicotine

A new report came out yesterday saying that tobacco companies have been increasing the amount of nicotine in their cigarettes recently to keep people hooked on their product. My question is why is this big news? Anyone who has been paying attention to the tobacco companies story for the past ten or fifteen years know that big tobacco will do almost anything to keep people hooked on their product. The really interesting story behind the story is the government’s love/hate relationship with these tobacco companies. Most state and local government would be in a terrible financial situation if tobacco products were suddenly declared illegal because millions of dollars of tax revenue would disappear.

After most state governments suited the tobacco companies years ago, all the regular Joe’s and Jane’s got out of that deal was some really stupid television commercials talking tough about how bad tobacco executives are and how they have been lying and trying to kill children for decades. There were a few big winners in that anti-tobacco class action extravaganza and those winners were attorneys who made enough money to retire when the money started flowing to the various state governments. I just think it is silly to expect a company, which makes products which have been proven to cause cancer to, somehow on their own, not try and maintain a grip on their customer base.

In the US there always has to be some company or industry which becomes the face of evil to the public. In recent years that industry has been tobacco and from these latest news reports, it might not be long before some smart attorney’s start thinking up another way to sue these companies and become rich themselves. In my opinion, smoking is a choice and people make the choice on whether to smoke based on their own reasons and not those of government agencies or lawsuits. In most cities around the US, there are tough public smoking bans because people who do not smoke hate the smell of someone else that does.

While I am not a smoker, I use to be and I understand the anger of the non-smoking public at having someone else’s smoke blown in their face. However, I understand that some people are always going to smoke no matter how much a pack of cigarettes cost and no matter how many other people try and guilt them into kicking the habit. I believe most people could quit smoking cigarettes if they really wanted to and while nicotine is a very addictive substance, millions of people quit smoking every single year without any help from medical professionals. I think it is time for lawyers and other government agencies to leave cigarette smokers alone as long as their smoke isn’t bothering anyone else. Lets all try and mind out own business and please let’s quit suing tobacco companies for selling a product that everyone knows is bad for their health.

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September 11th - Five Years Later

In so many ways it is hard for me to believe that five years have passed since September 11th, 2001. Like millions of other people I still remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington DC. Even after all this time it is still difficult for me to watch scenes on television of those two burning towers in Manhattan. I feel so terrible for the families of the people killed that day who must agonize over the last few minutes of their loved ones life. I always knew there was evil in this world, but until that day I had no idea how cruel some people were and how fanatical some groups of people can be when it comes to their religious beliefs.

Looking back over the past five years so much has changed in my life, which is probably the case for other folks as well. We all lost a bunch of good people that day in New York, Washington and in a field in Pennsylvania and unfortunately many people have lost sight of that fact over the years because it is just too painful to imagine the horrible deaths that those people suffered in the World Trade Center that day. The lucky ones were on the floors where the jets hit because they didn’t even know what happened and didn’t have a chance to think about what was to come over the next hour or so. I still have nightmares from time to time about the terrible choice some of these folks faced between jumping to their deaths or being burned alive.

On the positive side I believe the United States as a nation has stood up well after 911 because even though there have been major changes in the way we travel by air, at least we still have air travel available to us and for the most part it is still very safe to fly. For the past couple of years there has been big political debate about individual rights as the government makes changes to protect the people and fight the war against terrorism. This is how our country is suppose to work and while these terrorist killed a bunch of innocent people on 911, they have not destroyed the fabric of our country, which I have no doubt was their ultimate goal. I remember when I was I high school learning about huge events in world history and at the time I never realized that one of the biggest events in future history would take place during my lifetime, but it did on 911.

There is so much all Americans have to be thankful for and maybe on the five year anniversary of 911 we should reflect on what has gone right in the United States since that date and not what has gone wrong. Yes, we have thousands of troop fighting around that world, but the US Constitution which governs this great land is still in tacked and most of us are back to going about our daily business without having to live in fear each day. Many people died on September 11th, 2001 and their memory will be burning into the hearts and minds of millions of people, forever.

Jerry Lewis Day - Watching The MDA Telethon

For decades, Labor Day Weekend has been the time when Jerry Lewis has held his telethon, which is watched by millions of people around the world. Over the years I have found that I watch less and less of Jerry’s telethon, but my wife still watches it for countless hours each year. I’m not sure why I have lost interest in the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, but I think it is because the talent, which performs there isn’t as current as it use to be. Don’t get me wrong, some great musical entertainers take the stage to support this worth while cause each year, but it seems like every year those entertainers get older and older and there are not as many good young acts taking their place.

My wife and I were talking about the Jerry Lewis Telethon today after “Inside Edition” did an interview with Jerry. I told my wife that the most memorable Jerry Lewis Telethon for me was the one many years ago the show started with a surprise appearance by Johnny Carson. Of course, most years the first introduction is for Jerry Lewis who always kicks off the show, but this one year they changed that format and that made it more memorable for me. I remember as a young boy watching this telethon on a television station out of Amarillo, Texas. I didn’t live in Amarillo at the time, but in a small town about 80 miles away. Back then, there were scores of people in my small town that went door to door collecting money for Jerry’s kids and for a few years I was one of those young people.

I believe it was about 10 years ago when the MDA thought it would be a good idea to replace Jerry Lewis with a younger host. When word got out about their plans, millions of people got upset and those plans were put down. Thinking back now, I wonder if the MDA might not have been correct in their thinking because now the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon isn’t reaching a new generation of people which will be required to continue funding for research into Muscular Dystrophy. The very idea of replacing Jerry Lewis with another host will always be controversial, but in my heart I believe the right thing to do would be for Jerry to encourage such a change of leadership for the betterment of the MDA and his kids.

Like Jerry Lewis, I too am getting older each year and the thought of someone younger and with more energy taking my place is something that gives me nightmares, too. However, when we become men it is important to realize there will be a time when someone else might be able to step into our shoes and continue our good work long after we die. I believe Jerry Lewis should be a part of the MDA Telethon as long as he wishes to be there. However, at some point the MDA must continue its fund raising efforts and while Jerry Lewis may hope that a cure for this dreaded disease is found in his lifetime, most likely that will not be the case. I will again watch some of the Jerry Lewis Telethon this year and maybe some younger talent will be part of the show. I just hope that Jerry will begin to think about the bigger picture of what is going on here rather than just focusing on what might be in his own personal best interest.