Texas Senator Ted Cruz was met with mockery after declaring that smoking cigarettes is an individual’s choice -- despite being an active opponent to personal choices such as abortion.
In response to a report from The New York Post about New York Governor Kathy Hochul looking into a potential ban on tobacco products, Mr Cruz bashed Democrats for wanting to address this specific public health crisis.
“Dems are nanny-state authoritarians,” Mr Cruz wrote on 22 April. “Personally, I don’t smoke cigarettes, but if you choose to do so, it’s your damn choice!”
Notably, Mr Cruz’s statement about allowing others the choice to smoke cigarettes is a direct contradiction of his stance on other personal choices like abortion and same-sex marriage.
The Texas Senator opposes abortions and called the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v Wade, “nothing short of a massive victory for life.”
He praised SCOTUS for returning the right to an abortion to the states and felt that same-sex marriage should, similarly, be a decision up to each state, not the federal government.
Meanwhile, Mr Cruz criticised New York for making a decision on a public health issue. As a Texas resident, Mr Cruz obviously does not live in or represent the Big Apple.
People on Twitter mocked Mr Cruz, calling for him to apply his laissez-faire attitude to other issues like abortion.
“Replace cigarettes with abortion you’re so close,” Liz responded to Mr Cruz.
“Now do uteruses,” podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen wrote.
“But in your state of Texas - if a woman is seeking an abortion for any reason, what she does with her uterus is your choice,” Jo tweeted. “I mean, students can’t even read books by Toni Morrison in the state of Texas. Even if they choose to. But if you want to smoke a known carcinogen, one which can harm those who didn’t choose to smoke at all… that’s your choice? The hypocrisy goes to 11, Ted. As always.”
“Personally, I don’t dress in drag but if you choose to do so, it’s your choice!” Ross responded to the Texas Senator.
“Now do marijuana,” a Twitter user wrote.
Cigarette smoking has been proven to cause serious health problems like cancer, heart disease, lung disease, stroke, and more.
According to the CDC, more than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking. The World Health Organisation considers tobacco to be “one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced.”
Ms Hochul’s latest push is to ban menthol-flavored cigarettes to reduce the number of smokers in New York City.
