Boston thinks drug stores should only sell stuff that's good for you

Seriously, you go into any 7-11 or bodega and they're all selling these blunt wraps, which are hollowed out tubes of tobacco. They make no pretense of being for anything legal and they're in plain view. I've never understood why someone doesnt call them out on these things, why not sell bongs and one-hitters?

I can't take my kids out for a nice evening at a cigar bar, because of all the cigar smoke in our faces!

And isn't a bit hypocritical to be going after cigarettes but not, oh, the Burger King Triple Whopper with Cheese (1,250 calories, 84 grams of fat)?

Triple Whoppers with Cheese aren't chemically modified with addictive drugs and toxic chemicals...and someone eating a Triple Whopper with Cheese doesn't injure people around them through second-hand calorie/cholesterol overload :-)

I'm glad they are implementing the rules for patios, but I don't see the harm in having a few cigarette-based private commercial enterprises, such as cigar bars.

As for regulating the selllers and their products, the state should just stop dictating who can sell what where. It's not logical, and people should be able to purchase their legal items from a legally established store wherever. It does not "protect" people, and fundamentally, the state should not be trying to "protect" people from their own decisions.

If they want to really be logical about substances in the public, they should ban smoking from all public spaces and legalize drinking in all public spaces. When I'm out on the street, a passerby smoking does more harm than a passerby drinking. At least in private places, such as cigar bars, this harm to the public and passersby can be mitigated with contained airspace and ventilation.

I don't see how the city can just shut down legal existing businesses (the cigar bars).

and some smart enterprising individuals will find them.

For example, cigar bars will become private clubs, and you'll be able to buy a "membership" for the day.

Those that can afford it will enjoy it, those that can't - well, the politicians are interested in you anyway ...

I agree, food kills.

The only new regulation I would like would be the smoking out of doors. It seems illogical to have no smoking inside but smoking outside. I realize there's "air" outside, but it's still a pretty-confined space.

I see no problem with "cigar bars". If you outlaw cigars, sure, but having a place where you can do it, in public, seems like a reasonable solution.

If we don't allow pets inside restaurants, maybe we shouldn't allow them on outdoor patios, either?

of a job (not that I think there are that many of them- but still). I guess this is a case of "hurting you to help you." Menino: "You'll thank me for this when you're older."

Candy bars and fatty foods are not inherently unhealthy. They only become so when not used with moderation. The same can't be said for tobacco products.

Should the state regulate products that are know to have minimal benefits, but terrible side effects? Do we have the right to knowingly poison ourselves without the paternal hand of the state smacking us silly?

I don't have answers to these questions, but I will say that all attempts to ban addictive products have failed to curtail their use and have created financially lucrative black markets that provide financial havens for criminals, thieves, and sociopaths.

Smoking cigarettes at the (few) outdoor patios is one of my favorite parts of going out in Boston.

I swear, someday bars will be open till 4am here, and the T will work correctly 24 hours a day... but no time soon.

Which pharmacies sell Burger King Triple Whoppers with Cheese?