Note: If the content of the following article offends anyone on this site, I sincerely apologize. My intent is not to berate smokers, nor is this an attempt to spark a debate on any of the controversial topics mentioned below. You obviously have a right to disagree if you choose, but please be courteous in any replies that you make.

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I am not so naive as to think that my individual vote actually affected the outcome of yesterday's mid-term election. I realize that my opinion is of little consequence in the grand scheme of politics. Whoever won and whatever initiatives were passed would have succeeded with or without my support. But since I became eligible to vote a few years ago, I've had it hammered into my head that I shouldn't become apathetic and that I should participate in every election, if only to be able to say that I contributed in some way. So I vote, and I encourage everyone else in my generation to do the same, if only to fend off the inevitable apathy for one more year.

I voted, along with a majority of Ohioans, to ban smoking in virtually all public areas by January of the coming year. My father is an oncologist, so I've grown up with the understanding that smoking is bad for you. And I've been in the medical field long enough myself to see my share of patients (and family members) die of lung cancer caused by either first- or second-hand smoke. It's a bit of a hyperbole, certainly, but I've always viewed a conscious decision to continue smoking (barring unsuccessful attempts to quit) as a concession to slow suicide.

I still find it deplorable that the majority of our country believes gay marriage is immoral, yet we maintain one of the highest divorce rates in the world. I still find it deplorable that a man who accuses a patient of exaggerating the symptoms of a debilitating disease for political gain is able to draw headlines while this country sits and debates over whether a few cells in a petrie dish constitute human life or a cure for the aforementioned disease. And I still find it deplorable that states like Louisiana waste time and tax dollars arguing over the potential effects of video games while its citizens still live in government-issued trailers. But at least it's somewhat reassuring to see that people are finally coming around to the idea that smoking might not be the most healthy decision. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.