No More Smokes for You!

No monkey business about it. It's time to quit, by force, if necessary.

Orlando is one step closer to infringing on smoker's rights to light up outdoors with a ban aimed at prohibiting smoking in all of their parks. Mayor Buddy Dyer said he would support the ban that has now gained momentum with city commissioners approving a resolution last Monday.

The prior draft included sidewalks and any public plazas, similar to the ban that recently went into effect in New York. Those suggestions for inclusion were removed with some feeling as though the scope of the ban would be too broad, however, many residents of Orlando feel otherwise and would happily support banning smoking in those areas.

While Orlando is evaluating their banning options, one man in Michigan has been ordered to quit smoking in order to see his children.

Brad Wessler was smoking in a hotel room with his family present. During the course of appeasing his nicotine addiction at the Kensington Inn in Howell, Wessler apparently burned his daughter with his cigarette, alleging that his daughter was burned after she came running up to him. Following the incident, Wessler was charged with third-degree child abuse and has now been ordered to quit smoking or never see his children again.

Prior to the order to quit smoking, Wessler was allowed to smoke, though not within twenty feet of his children and all visitations had to be supervised by his wife. Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Michael Hatty stated in his ruling,

There is no more opportunity for an accident to occur. I'm going to the extreme side of safety for the child. You're going to quit... You're going to have to make changes in your life. I've got a short fuse for someone hurting a kid.

Who's rights are protected and who's rights are violated? I know that his children would be better off no breathing in the toxic chemicals from secondhand smoke. Without making light of Mr. Wessler's situation, he is not the only one being forced to quit smoking.

Shirley, an adult orangutan was reported as an avid smoker as supplied by zoo visitors has been quarantined by government authorities in a different zoo, forcing her to kick her nicotine addiction. Melaka Zoo Director Ahmad Azhar Mohammad said that Shirley is no longer being provided with cigarettes because, "smoking is not normal behavior for orangutans." He went on further to state that he did not believe that she had an addiction to smoking, but rather mimicked adult smokers frequenting the zoo.

Nature Alert, a British-based activist group, reported that in viewing Shirley prior to the government seizing her, she suffered severe mood swings including agitated until a lit cigarette was thrown in her cage.

Smoking and tobacco aren't worth monkeying about. Toxic, deadly chemicals are emitted into the environment, in homes, and even injuries can occur. Quit today. Eliminate burning plant leaves and paper from your lives, for your life. You have the opportunity to live a cleaner, more enjoyable life.