The Scourge of the Earth

Now that the hated Cowboys have been vanquished and all is right with the world (Philadelphia's version at least), let's take on the next in a growing list of earthly vermen:

Smokers.
You probably know one, or are one. If you are one, you are probably feeling the pinch and if you know one you are hearing the complaints. Here in New Jersey, smoking indoors has been banned since the summer, and in nearby Philadelphia it was banned at the beginning of October. They say smoking can kill you.

Meanwhile...

Lettuce joins spinach as the latest source of the dreaded E. coli. The lettuce scare comes amid other federal warnings that some brands of spinach, bottled carrot juice and recent shipments of beef could cause grave health risks — including paralysis, respiratory failure and death.
Executives ordered the recall after learning that irrigation water may have been contaminated with E. coli, said Tom Nunes Jr., president of the company.

It took about five minutes to put out the spinach ban, and now we are hearing that lettuce could be the latest source of the dreaded E. coli. For the record, E. coli has one of the root words of the family's scientific name, "enteric", which refers to the intestine, and is often used synonymously with "fecal".

Escherichia Coli

It's unlikely that the bacteria in the lettuce fields share the source of the E. coli found in spinach that has sickened nearly 200 people and has been linked to three deaths nationwide, Nunes said. Pathogenic Escherichia coli bacteria, or E. coli, can proliferate in uncooked produce, raw milk, unpasteurized juice, contaminated water and meat. When consumed, it may cause diarrhea and bloody stools. Although most healthy adults recover within a week without long-term side effects, some people may develop a form of kidney failure.

Wow, 200 people and 3 whole deaths. How many people have cigarettes killed? More than 3, I can tell you. And while we are pondering the effects, ask yourself, how long does it take someone to recover from lung cancer? More than a week? Yes.

I know, I've been over this before, but it bears repeating. We go nuts over feces in spinach and lettuce that may be the cause of some deaths, while the world seems to revolve around tobacco.

All the while, legislation is being passed almost daily banning the use of tobacco indoors. Smokers are the scourge of the Earth and they are being slowly pushed from the "smoking section" to the great outdoors in bars, restaurants and places of business nationwide. How long before the only place they can smoke is in the privacy of their home?

We continue to make new laws to regulate something that shouldn't exist to begin with. Cigarettes (man made) go on, but the bacteria (earthly) must be stopped. It's 2006 and we can't stop crapping in the irrigation water, but we can continue to sell something that we know is killing people. I'm at a loss.

And don't give me that tired old argument about how Congress is ruled by the tobacco lobby. I've heard it. Suppose cigarettes had E. Coli bacteria in them. Would that be enough to get us to stop selling them?

Look at them. The E. Coli. They look like little cheese doodles. If we could smoke them, they would probably be legal.