SMOKERS THINK IT IS BAD IN THE UNITED STATES?

SMOKERS THINK IT IS BAD IN THE UNITED STATES?


I still have not figured out why drinking alcohol is glamorized in America, but someone smoking a cigarette or cigar is tantamount to killing a baby. Oh, I forgot, killing babies is legal in the United States. Now in Bhutan, a small country south of China and northeast of India, abortion is illegal (and forbidden in the Buddhist religion) and has become the first country in the world to outlaw the sale of tobacco products. By the way, when it comes to drinking, according to the World Health Organization, the country has the highest per capita alcohol consumption of any country in South Asia and alcoholism is becoming one of the leading causes of death there. So have they banned alcohol? No. But they have banned the sale of cigarettes and have limited smokers to smoking less than seven cigarettes a day.

The Bhutanese Tobacco Control Act is 36 pages long and the preamble is quite eloquent:


PREAMBLE
“The Royal Government and People of Bhutan concerned with the physical health and well being of the people of Bhutan which are important elements of the development principle of Gross National Happiness..."

I love their use of the phrase “Gross National Happiness." I doubt if any legislation in America would ever be so expressive, but whose happiness are they talking about?


It continues with: “Recognizing the harmful effects of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke, from a spiritual and social health point of view…” additional fluent language, but what about the harmful effects of alcohol? Why just go after the smokers?


Bhutan actually first banned the sale of tobacco in 2005 (but did not limit the amount of tobacco one could have in their home) but the law did not have enough consequences and tobacco smuggling thrived. Thus the new law gives the police the power to enter a citizen’s home and check out how much tobacco they have in their possession. The Bhutan Narcotic Control Agency has already started raids with trained tobacco-sniffing dogs.

The Act contains a number of pages listing the penalties but my favorite is:

“Any person found with more than the permissible quantity for personal consumption under section 12 shall be guilty of the offense for smuggling and shall be punishable with minimum sentence of felony of fourth degree.”

Kenusel, Bhutan’s largest selling newspaper, wrote in an editorial, “When it comes to the penalties in the tobacco control act, it is, in every sense of the word, draconian.”


Legislative Opposition leader Tshering Tobgay wrote about the new law in his  blog. “It’s a new year. And I have a new year’s wish: that the first person to be caught and jailed under the Tobacco Control Act is a member of parliament.”


Besides health reasons, Buddhists also believe that smoking is bad for one’s karma. I would love to see the United States Congress use that as a reason for some new law.  Or even Gross National Happiness!