[renton20]

This article to me appears to be trying to draw upon similarities between Hitler and current American anti-smoking policies. Though I am sure this was not the OP's intent this is an old idea that to me seems to be little more than petty name calling. In the most basic form this is the argument which is being used with much more sophisticated language to attach liberalism to nazism

Person 1: You have a bad idea
Person 2: No you have a bad idea
Person 1: Well you are a bad person
Person 2: No you are a bad person
Person 1: Well you are Hitler
[/End Argument]

This is just like a few years ago when all the idiots that I go to school with were calling Bush and Cheney Hitler. It seems that enough time has passed that people have forgotten what a truly dark section in the history of the world the rise of nazi power was. Tens of millions of people died. Not just the 11 million or so that were killed as a result of state sponsored murder, but the sixty or so million that died because of famine, disease and in combat.

Back to the subject, the article does a good job of documenting the anti-smoking movement of the time, at least the parts that were written by the author of the book, Mr. Proctor. Despite this seemingly scientific and objective body the article opens with a rather long quote by someone named Steve Fantina, whom I cannot find any information on. By far the most disturbing line in the article is at the end of the quote from this unknown author, "Perhaps the ultimate overlooked point of this work is the suggestion that Adolph Hitler with his anti-tobacco, anti-religion, pro-animal rights, pro-government intrusion would find success as a modern day liberal."


For me at least what ever else was being communicated in this article was completely discredited because of this quote. One could just as easily and with just as little truth say that conservatives are like hitler because they are pro-militarization and anti-homosexual.

I do not mean to cause controversy but this article offended me both as a smoker and as a human being. Comparing those who disagree with us and our cause to hilter will help no one, least of all us and will only serve to push more people away. We should win our battles because we are in the right, because no one should have the right to tell me or you what do if we are not harming society, least of all in our own homes and cars. I realize that this is kind of a ridiculously long reply to what I maybe should have just ignored, but I think that this is a strong community and I know that I value the ability to have interesting discussions here using civil language.