| This poem commemorates the voters of Oklahoma in 2004 who by 53 percent to 47 percent increased the state cigarette tax by 80 cents to $1.03 per pack, as well as taxes on other tobacco products. The Oklahoma victory came despite the fact that proponents of the initiative were outspent by opponents, funded largely by Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, who spent almost $2 million in an attempt to defeat the initiative
by Ellen Zeltserman
Smoke, smoke, smoke,
that cigarette
puff, puff, puff...
written by Travis/Williams in 1946.
Remembering these words
as I look for that cigarette
for a friend of mine,
says she needs one.
Into each room I went,
asking the same question:
"Do you have a cigarette?"
Got a loaded reply,
"No,
I have quit."
How can that be?
So, to the street I went
with the same question.
To every passerby I would meet,
got the same answer:
"No,
I have quit.
If all these people
that I approached
stopped smoking,
why are all
the cigarette butts
around town
found on the street?
Must be the angel
in charge of smoking
to remind us
to
resist! Go Back |
