They say opinions are like noses (OK,OK, but this is a family site, remember?), everybody has one. Here's mine, from a decidedly Redneck Point of View . . .

The topic today is Cigarettes. The Redneck is getting tired of all the hoopla about a little harmless tobacco!

OK, OK, I will admit that cigarettes ain't good for you, but since when has something got to be good for you to be legal? Did I miss something? Isn't America supposed to be the "land of the free"? Well, folks, it ain't free if a bunch of left-wing bureaucrats can decide what you are or you ain't gonna do on a whim!

The simple fact about cigarettes is they're not as bad as our illustrious government wants you to believe! The Redneck has looked at quite a few of those "experiments" that say tobacco is a killer, and guess what? THEY'RE FLAWED! Not one experiment that I've ever seen has been successfully repeated with identical results! That means they are not accurate!

Also, if we have identified cigarettes as the cause of lung cancer, why is it that folks are STILL dying of lung cancer who've never smoked or been around heavy smokers? And why is it that there's folks still alive after smoking like a chimney for almost a century? Sounds to me like we need a little more Unbiased research before we go jumping to conclusions!

Now, let's talk about secondhand smoke. If we assume that the reports of second-hand smoke are correct (which they ain't, but I'll humor them a sec!), then second-hand smoke is even more dangerous than regular smoke. Non-smokers are at a greater risk of medical problems from second-hand smoke than are smokers. Now get this: They (the smoker and the non-smoker) are breathing the same air, only the smoker is closer to the source of the smoke and is also inhaling the smoke directly. This means that smoking is actually a health benefit! If everyone smoked, there would be no problem with second-hand smoke, because we would all be immune to it's effects like smokers now are! Hey, folks, this is a break-through! Let's pass a law now REQUIRING everyone to smoke! And, hey, with the taxes that smokers pay on cigarettes, we could wipe out the national debt in two weeks flat! Another benefit!

Let's see, if we do that, then the tobacco farmers will have to grow more tobacco...that means they will have to buy more fertilizer, more tractors, they'll need more farm help....hey folks! We're talking about an economical BOOM! I didn't think this was a good idea at first, but hey, with healthier people, the national debt paid off, an economic boom, and I haven't even got started on what all else this would cause! I'm call ing my senator right now! I suggest you do the same! Cigarettes for a healthy and prosperous America! Three cheers! Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray!

OK, OK, back to earth....it wouldn't be right to require folks to smoke, just like it ain't right to keep them from it. I just wanted to show y'all how a movement can get started. I know there's a few folks that are actually alergic to tobacco smoke, and The Redneck understands that. But that is a small percentage of the population! It ain't everybody! So get over the idea that you're allergic just cause you don't like it. The guy smoking has rights, too. And if you can't tolerate a few whiffs of smoke, then you're gonna have a very unhappy life, cause nothing's being done about the factories that are spewing fumes into our atmosphere, or the catalytic converters that are poisoning the planet! If you're really worried about the condition of our air, there are two good places to start. While you're at it, plant a few trees, they clean the air better than a Hoover on steroids!

Oh, yeah, before I close, I just heard a nasty rumor: Seems that all that "balanced budget" talk is gonna be useless, since the Social Security trust Fund is heavily invested in tobacco stocks...