by James Kellard

Created on: June 10, 2009   Last Updated: June 15, 2009

Considering smoking around children to be child abuse is absolutely blowing (no pun intended) the issue out of proportion. Certainly those who argue that people who smoke around their children are child abusers mean well, but a line must be drawn. Not only is this vilifying smokers even more (as is all the rage these days), but it is horribly insulting to those who have been and currently are victims of true child abuse.

The debate over the health risks of smoking is over. We all know that being exposed to cigarette smoke, whether directly or indirectly, is detrimental to your health. If a person chooses to smoke they are fully aware that it is bad for their health. They are restricted from smoking in most public indoor areas, many do not even smoke in their own homes. Many smokers, aware of the health risks associated with smoking, choose not to smoke around children or even adult non-smokers, completely on their own without being forced by law to do so or branded as a child abuser.

Several states currently have laws, with special interest groups pursuing more in other states, which prohibit smoking around children even in private places. Obviously nobody is encouraging smoking around children, that would be stupidity. What we should be fighting against is the government creating unnecessary laws that dictate what we can and cannot do in our private lives. If we accept these laws or consider those who smoke around children to be child abusers, what about the parents of obese children? Obesity has even more short and long term health risks to children than second hand smoke and has become a national problem. Does this mean that a parent who gives their child fast food, soda, and candy on a regular basis is also a child abuser? It follows the same logic. Should we began creating laws against that? For thousands of years parents have been raising children without laws dictating what they can and cannot do in their parenting. Granted every parent makes mistakes, some worse than others, but the human race has not died out yet. We do not need even more laws governing our personals lives. More bad laws have been created to "protect" children than anything else.

What is even more disgusting than smoking around children, is comparing smoking around children to child abuse. I would challenge anyone who truly believes this, or believes that they were the victim of child abuse because their parent(s) smoked around them when they were children, to explain that to someone who had their parent(s) beat them on a daily basis or molested them. It is absolutely infuriating that someone could even put the two in the same category and anyone who truly believes that smoking around a child is equal to beating or molesting a child, should seek mental help.

Tonight when you are sitting at home relaxing, watching television, reading, or surfing the internet, remember that thousands of children around the country are being beaten, molested, and truly abused at this very moment. Most of these cases will never go reported which is why the numbers for (real) child abuse will never be truly known. After taking this into consideration, which should we be more concerned with..."catching" a parent who has a cigarette in the same house as their child, or finding, protecting, and helping those children who are being molested, having bones broken, and being beaten within an inch of their lives. The children being truly abused at this moment believe that nobody will ever help them or even cares, but at least we can tell them that we will make sure their parents will never have a cigarette around them.

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