Or is it?
Do we really want to become ‘the Nanny state’ where the government can tell us what we can and cannot do in every area of our lives?
Have we decreased the amount of those who smoke because we made it illegal to smoke under the age of 19? Did that work?
If we know smoking is not good for us, and we all know this, then why doesn’t the government penalize the companies that produce the dangerous product more than the consumer? If you make it harder for them to make cigarettes and or at least more expensive would that stop some of this? But even then what are you doing? There is no way the producers of the product are going to take a loss so they will just charge more for the product. You might get some parents to stop if the prices increase, but for the most part, you will be causing those that don’t stop to spend more money on this instead of on their babies.
In some countries, it is illegal to smoke in public places. That is a great start and for those that don’t smoke that protects them from harmful second-hand smoke. For public places, there might be a place for the government to take a stand, but how far do we let the government go in making what we do in our own personal lives, legal or illegal?
So is there a good answer? In truth, people will do what they want to do! So you have to change their ‘want to’, but how? Is there a good way to make this happen? Most people don’t want to change because they either don’t see a need to change or they don’t care. This goes for anything in life, not just smoking. Even for alcoholics, at some point early on in their drinking, they knew they should slow down or stop but they either didn’t see the dangers or didn’t care and then it became a disease of the mind not having control anymore. But if that is true then how did those that stop drinking do it and why? The answer is simple they wanted it bad enough and so went through all they needed to in order to be and stay sober.
Some will argue here that if you were a smoker before you got pregnant you shouldn’t stop because it will cause the fetus to go through nicotine withdrawals and causes more harm. That might be true, but if that is true then wouldn’t slowing down how much you smoke at least help? Eventually, you will be smoke-free. It should only take a month or two and you are giving the fetus a better chance to be healthier, stronger than if you kept smoking the whole way through. This is what parenthood is all about, giving up, sacrificing for the sake of the child! Doing what is best for them at any personal cost to yourself.
Education is the only thing you can offer to people and hope that when a person sees the harm they will make the right choice. We know from history that this will not work 100% of the time, but we have to try. But for those that don’t smoke, if you think passing a law that will allow the government to fine a pregnant mom for smoking is a great idea, are you willing to allow the next law to possibly infringe on your personal beliefs and/or desires?
Many questions in this article…Do you have any answers
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