Smoking

I'll preface this by saying that I have never smoked, but have had many smoking friends and have sympathized with their repeated efforts to quit. Having a fairly addictive personality myself, I cannot imagine how difficult it would be for me to quit smoking if I had ever taken it up.

Having said that, I find Mike Ditka's recent comments regarding the proposed smoking ban for public places in Chicago absolutely ridiculous. Ditka--former Chicago Bear's player, coach and Chicago restaurant owner--was audacious enough to implore the Chicago City Council to "[not] impose the will of the few on the lives of the many."

Reading this story in the midst of an ongoing medical crisis has certainly heightened my visceral response. We recently discovered that Kirstin's Aunt Marj has been diagnosed with adeno carcinoma of the lung and emphysema in both lungs, resulting directly from working for years with co-workers who insisted on smoking in the office.

Aunt Marj is one of the most life-filled, generous people I have ever known and, quite frankly, it pisses me off to think that her life will be cut short because people couldn't be bothered to give a damn about anyone but themselves.

So, I say to Mike Ditka: Don't impose the will of the few on the lives of the many. If you can't enjoy a restaurant without smoking a cigar in deference to others, then perhaps your cigars have gotten the better of you.