Pubdate: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 Source: Ledger-Enquirer (GA) Copyright: 2005 Ledger-Enquirer Contact: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/enquirer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/237 ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER Some readers were upset by Jim Vaughns' comments in Saturday's column, "Tobacco is a gateway drug," which they perceived as an attack on tobacco. Vaughns said: "Tobacco is a gateway drug because if you are smoking tobacco, it is not a far leap to smoke marijuana, therefore it is not a far leap to smoke crack cocaine, and not a far leap to methamphetamine." Jonathan Pinard of the New York Coalition of Social Smokers offered this reply: If that's the case, he said, "Drinking water leads to juice. Sugar in juice leads to soda, bubbles in soda leads to beer, you get the point." Pinard wanted to know if Vaughns had any evidence to confirm his conclusion. "Is it based only on the assumption that smoking cigarettes could lead to smoking marijuana which could lead to harder drugs?" he asked. Pinard said most people tend to believe media reports that are slanted against tobacco. He recalled a recent article that had the headline, "Smoking reduces mental capacity." The information quoted from the researcher, however, actually conflicted with the headline. "The researcher said they weren't able to discover any cause and effect," he said. "Anybody just reading the headline would walk around the next day saying, 'Hey, I heard smoking makes you stupid.' I am amazed that almost anything said negatively about tobacco or its users, regardless of its merit, can get printed," he said. Pinard's coalition Web site, (http://www.socialsmokers.org)www.socialsmokers.org, states the group was founded "to protect the rights of smokers and non-smokers alike. The goal is not to promote smoking, but to preserve the individual's right to choose freely." Pinard actually complimented Georgia for carding potential tobacco purchasers in an effort to keep underage kids from buying cigarettes and other tobacco products. J.C. Evans of Columbus had a slightly different bone to pick. He said people seem to come down harder on cigarette smoke than they do on other noxious smoke and exhaust fumes from buses and personal vehicles. Smokers are easier targets, he said. Despite his complaints, he has firsthand knowledge of the kind of grip cigarettes can have. He's 52 and has been smoking since he was 12. "Older people used to tell me to light their cigarettes. I was lighting Camels, Pall Malls, Lucky Strikes," he said. He has tried to quit smoking three times. "I tried cold turkey, nicotine patches, nicotine gum. It's not easy to get tobacco out of your system." Though he initially had a problem with Vaughns' statement that tobacco is a gateway drug, he said parents have an obligation to teach their children not to smoke cigarettes, drink or smoke marijuana. "And teaching them to 'Just say no' is not likely to work," he said. So he basically agreed when Vaughns said, "Any drug that a child takes is a big deal, because it interferes with the child's ability to mentally function at an age-appropriate level." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth