Where I live, we have a public smoking ban, and I don't personally feel that it is ridiculous, as it does endanger the lives of others... as many of the deaths are still due to smoking. I do, however, believe that people should be able to smoke in their own homes, and that removing that right is violating one's body. And once you have violated one's body, what other barriers are there left to cross? None, absolutely none.

I also think that (illegial) drugs should be legalized. It is again, the government forcing people to put things, or not to put things into their bodies.

Thirdly, abortion. While one may not believe in baby killing, it is merely a violation of one's privacy by dicatating what she should or should not do with her body.

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BACAMO

Then again, I do agree with this as well. But I do believe that smoking ought to be banned in public, government-owned places.

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BACAMO

I couldn't agree with you more.
However, I think abortion should be allowed if the couple were using protection and sort of.. accidently the woman became pregnant. I don't think abortion is right for those who are having completely unprotected sex and know of the consequences.
I agree with the legalisation of drugs. There would be far less crime, and people could be made aware of the results of using drugs, just like they are with smoking, and make a concious decision whether they do drugs or not.

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your boyfriend thinks I'm hot

I understand where you are coming from. I just see that smoking always does affect the lives of others (Even if they are no longer smoking in public places). They are smoking in their homes infecting their families, their partners and children they are smoking with other close people near by, friends, family ones who love them enough to accept them for it and not fuss up to them, getting slowly killed by that disgusting stench in the process.

I understand that the Government should not interfere in our pirvate lives and there are limits to what they should be able to do. I don't think this should extend to smoking (and anything else that damages other people - see speeding). As far as public safety goes I would rather see them regulate at will.

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My Demon revokes any prayer
He's grown contempt for love and hope
He betrays trust, twists truth and fair
Indifference is his way to cope
Engulfing sound of sensations
He quells with voices of despair
And muse of short lived inspirations
Flees at the sight of his cold stare
~Moy Demon - Mihayeel Lermontov~

See prohibition.

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Heil Frasbee

I never said they should prohibit

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My Demon revokes any prayer
He's grown contempt for love and hope
He betrays trust, twists truth and fair
Indifference is his way to cope
Engulfing sound of sensations
He quells with voices of despair
And muse of short lived inspirations
Flees at the sight of his cold stare
~Moy Demon - Mihayeel Lermontov~

Meh, my parents aren't killing me. My dad isn't allowed to smoke in the house, and my mum doesn't think I know she smokes twat.

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your boyfriend thinks I'm hot

How is not smoking in public places endangering smoker's lives? Smokers will not die if they don't smoke in public.

And how exactly does this change anything? Those who already intend to smoke know perfectly well that they can still purchase them at their everyday shop, right? And those who try to quit smoking, do it on rare occassions or have never done it wont feel any urge to try it out by seeing the package.

State control? I'd like to see a better example of that. This is hardly worth mentioning.

I believe a previous poster already clarified about this and cancer. And I'd far sooner believe the correlation between cancer statistics and habitual smoking over your one-person example.

Population distribution. I do hope you know where most of the people in the world live at before you use it as an example for first world country peeps to go wacko and kill themselves.

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One thing I'm curious about though. Just randomly, since christian beliefs are against masturbation since it kills seeds (aka potential life), doesn't it essentially mean that sex also should be against that belief since only one of the sperm make it to the egg while the others die?

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You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy,the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America’s Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn’t want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named Bush, Dick, and Colon.
— Chris Rock