The Case for Heavy Drinking and Smoking

Well, during the past 30 years, we've become a stressed-out, overweight nation. No one can argue with this. I can pull up facts to prove this, but I'm not a numbers person; besides, you can do this yourself on the internet. There's no denying, we are more obese and stressed than our parents.

As a matter of fact, obesity has become a major health issue in America. A fortune is being made off of diet books, diet groups, lipsuction procedures, and "self help" gurus (Dr. Phil come on down!) Oh, they all tell us what to eat, or what not to eat. And the list seems to change weekly. One week carbs are BAD. The next week, you have to watch your fat intake. Then it's calories. Eat all purple food (one of my favorites). Or the "cabbage soup diet," (wasn't that from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?) And guess what? We're still fat!

Stress? Don't even go there! Prozac. Paxil. Zoloft. How many people do you know on anti-depressant drugs? And then, of course, there are the "tranquilizers" that are not supposed to be addictive, but really are. All to "calm us down" from our stresful lives. Yet people are popping pills like they're eating popcorn at a double feature and stressing out over who gets the last Elmo doll at Wal-Mart like there's no tomorrow. Nope, we're really, really stressed.

So what can we do about this? Should we involve more experts? Do more studies? Come up with more drugs? Start banning food groups? Force people to attend gym classes and mediation?

Hell no! We need to do what our parents did to eliminate these ills of society. They never worried about stress and obesity. Why? Because they smoked and drank, that's why.

Sure smoking causes cancer, lung disease, heart disease and early death. But it also curbs your appetite and satisfies that "oral fixation." So instead of popping in a candy bar, you're lighting up. Let's face it, the obesity rate has gone up as the smoking rate has declined.