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Tree of SCIENCE!!! #7

By drorzel on December 19, 2007.

Another cold December day, another ornament from the Tree of SCIENCE!!! This one's for the doctors in the house:

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That's a little elf guy smoking a pipe, and he represents the science of public health.and epidemiology.

I'm a little dubious about some of the more extravagant claims made regarding the dangers of secondhand smoke, but there's really no denying that one of the most important and beneficial societal transformations in my lifetime has been the implementation of smoking bans in restaurants and workplaces, and the decrease in the acceptability of public smoking. You don't really appreciate it until you go to a place where people still smoke inside all the time (I recommend Vegas), but it's really made an astonishing difference in air quality.

So, here's a tribute to the science of public health. They may get a little carried away from time to time, but they've got your best interests at heart...

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