Give us the money
I came across an interesting web site the other day.
I had some fun visiting various spots around the States and seeing them all get a slap on the wrist.
A couple of things struck me.
The first and most obvious is the choice of phrase "make the grade". They could have said "how you score" but no – they have set the bar and it's up to the various states to jump over it. It's back to school time – MUST DO BETTER!!
The second thing that struck me was that areas I had assumed to be no-go for smokers failed abysmally. New York? California? I know there is this weird system Over There where cities and towns can pass their own laws independently from the state but I assumed that as San Francisco is one of the least tolerant cities, that California would reflect that. But no – not a single "A" and two fails. Then there is New Orleans where there is a fight on at the moment to ban smoking everywhere in the city, yet Mississippi as a state comes across as an extremely tolerant and smoker friendly state – four Fs. Even New York manages to achieve only one A.
The main thing that gave me a chuckle though was the list of steps to be taken. I didn't visit them all, but all the ones I did visit had one thing in common. It came in various guises but the message is the same in each one –
"Sustain tobacco control prevention and cessation funding"
"Restore funding"
"earmark funding"
"Increase tobacco control funding"
and so on…..
It is really all they are interested in.
All together now……….
Too long winded…give us money, is the shortened version.
At least they are being honest about it which makes a change?
Nah, the staff have left the asylum to the inmates, they know not what they say.
Tobacco control is just one large racket!