[Dion]

Originally Posted by Azure

We are.

Obesity will kill approximately 400,000 people in the US this year. Smoking will kill 430,000.

The rate of people dying from smoking has fallen considerably, while the rate of obesity is shooting through the roof.

So, considering that obesity is going to be a much bigger problem than smoking in about 5 years, should the government start regulating how much we eat, and God forbid, WHAT we eat?

Also, according to the book written by the guy who produced 'Super-size Me'.....almost 80% of the kids who grow up in a home where unhealthy eating habits are normal....will become overweight, and obese. And more than 50% of those kids will have health problems by the time they are 25 years old.

In fact, there are more kids suffering from Type 2 diabetes as a direct result of poor eating habits, than there are kids suffering from the effects of second hand smoke.

So, which is more harmful?

That 50% of kids you talked about for sure will have health problems, still they have opportunity as adults to make lifestyle changes. For sure some won't, but it doesn't negate the fact they still have that option.

As for second hand smoke........

http://www.bchealthguide.org/healthf...0a.stm#E46E291

Children exposed to second-hand smoke have a greater risk of suffering from lung cancer, nasal sinus cancer, heart disease, stroke, and breathing problems, including increased coughing, wheezing, pneumonia, bronchitis, and asthma.

Second-hand smoke can affect childrens behaviour and their ability to understand and reason. Studies have shown that children who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke score lower on tests in reading, math, logic and reasoning skills.

Infants who breathe second-hand smoke have a greater chance of dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), also known as crib death. More than three times as many infants die from second-hand smoke-related SIDS as from child abuse or homicide.