The Muslim Woman

The issue of Islam and its tribe like bans on certain things often seems a little bizarre to me. I mean, having social customs is cool, and all that, but anything taken to an extreme becomes down right odd. Banning women from showing skin is strange enough, but now they would seem to be banning smoking. And I would be lying through my teeth to even suggest that this issue doesn’t have me very ambivalent. As an avid non smoker, I can appreciate that there is a very good underlying reason for keeping the public at large from lighting up those putrid death rods. After all, caring for all the self inflicted cancer patients most likely costs other nations about as much as it costs us, all other things being basically equal (which they never are, but the point remains the same). But on the other hand, do people have a right to smoke? And how many stop smoking measures will the religious authorities tolerate? Will they encourage them, or force everyone into quitting cold turkey? I have seen the effects of smoking first hand – my own mother needs breathing treatments because she used to smoke. And my father’s lost several good friends to puffing away on those things. I completely agree that the only people who think smoking is a good idea are those who have a profit motive. But, at the same time, I can’t help that I’m a spoiled American who thinks everyone everywhere should be free to do pretty much anything they please. While it’s true that cigarette butts are an insidious little source of pollution, it seems a small price to pay for the right to do as one pleases. I also tend to wonder if the authorities will permit patches, nicotine gum and electronic cigarettes as ways to kick the habit a little more gently.