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“Yo, Mister. Can you buy
me a pack of cigarettes?” came this voice from someone behind me the
other day. While thinking to myself, “Do I look stupid?”, in my
most matter-of-fact tone, I said, “No, I cannot. It is illegal for
me to do that.”
When sharing this event with a friend, I was challenged and
pretty much told that I handled the situation incorrectly. I had failed
miserably to capitalize on a great and rare opportunity to educate a
child.
According to this person that knows me well, and obviously
better than I know myself, I should have used other pertinent
examples of why I wouldn’t buy him cigarettes. I should have told
the kid that cigarettes are bad and that they kill people. I should
have told him that my step-dad and hero died from lung cancer. I
should have given this kid the telephone number to the County Health
Department. I should have asked him why did he think the government
got rid of Joe Camel. I should have and could have done so much
more.
If only this person had been there that day, she would have
handled it differently. If only this person knew I was gritting my
teeth in disappointment in myself for sharing this information with
her.
Believe it or not, I actually agreed with this person for all
of three nanoseconds. Certainly, I could have said a lot more than
I did to a kid that only wanted a yes or no answer. I could have
told the young man the “Surgeon General’s Warning: Quitting Smoking
Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health” was required by
the federal government for a reason.
Then I thought of more I could have told him. I could have
told him that if he invested just $3 per day for 30 years in a pack
of those same harmful cigarettes with the government warning and was
lucky enough to become terminally ill, the government would award
him billions of dollars. For just over $1,000 per year for 30 years
he could become a billionaire. I could have told him that the
famous actor George Burns smoked for years and lived to be
100-years-old.
There was so much I could have told that kid. I also know that
too much information is not a good thing. It’s especially useless
when our government gives conflicting messages.
I should have made him realize how much the federal government
really cares about him. It cares so much it made it illegal for me
to buy him cigarettes. I could have told him that the government
attempts to get rid of things that are bad for its citizens. The
Corvair automobile and Joe Camel quickly came to mind.
This kid didn’t care about my step-dad, George Burns or me. He
didn’t care about himself either. I wasn’t about to waste my time
telling him things he had probably heard a million times and chose
to ignore.
I told him it was illegal for me to buy him cigarettes. I
could have told him I only do illegal things to benefit myself and
today is not one of those days. But he got my message as he walked
to the next person that looked old enough and possibly willing to
help him.
As I thought about it, I could have said even less. I could
have used the government’s standard answer to all youth issues.
I
could have Just said No.
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