The news here in New Jersey recently has been focusing a lot on how this state is going to disallow smoking in bars and restaurants, just as the neighboring state of New York and others have. Naturally this has created quite an uproar amongst people who want to still smoke in said locations, not to mention many of the bar and restaurant owners who fear it will cut into their bottom line if these smoking patrons decide to stay home and puff away.

Some are concerned that the government is overstepping its bounds in regulating personal behavior . This stance is countered by arguments related to workplace safety. With my admittedly limited understanding of legal matters, it seems to come down to the fact you cannot have offer a job that has a preventable environmental health hazard, which second hand smoke is considered to be for bartenders and wait staff.

In my role as a Certified Hypnotist, naturally I am gladdened by anything that will prevent people from starting smoking or encourages those with that habit to quit. Although I must also admit the fear of the ever-increasing intrusion of Big Brother into daily life is a reasonable one, on this matter I am willing to give Big Brother a pass and I will explain why.

Awhile back I had the opportunity to view the Bodies in Motion exhibition of "plastinated" bodies and body parts at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The work of a mad scientist type from Germany, these anatomical specimens are preserved by a special method that makes them seem freshly dissected, although they are hard and dry (and mercifully odor-free!).

Included in this cabinet of curiosities are a number of "smoker's lungs" from donors ranging in age from young adults to senior citizens. In the younger specimens, the whitish pink tissue of the lungs was speckled with black pitting as if someone had wiped a barbecue pit or fireplace clean with them. The older smoker's lungs simply looked as if they had fallen into the fire!

It struck me then that a major problem with smoking is that the damage occurs unseen and usually undetected until significant damage has occurred and people seem to respond more strongly to visual images since they seem more real than standard health warnings.

Although farcical, one can't help but wonder what would happen if the tobacco companies were forced to put an additive in their product that caused a disfigurement of the face identical to what the lungs experienced. By your 20's or 30's you might look like a chimney sweep who never seemed to bathe, by your later years an unfortunate burn victim. It would be a safe bet that few if any would be willing to even consider the smoking habit. Want to learn more about how smoking can help you quit smoking? Visit my Quit Smoking page, although I will warn you there is a very graphic depiction of the differences between a smoker and a non-smoker's lungs. Curious? New">www.njhypno.com/generic32.html>New Jersey Hypnosis Stop Smoking Page

About the author:

James Malone is a Certified Hypnotist from Point Pleasant, NJ. He publishes the popular and FREE Creative Calm online newsletter. If you are curious about hypnosis and mysteries of the mind visit