Tobacco and Butter

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 8, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 14.

Tobacco and Butter.

Of all the men in the world who ought to let tobacco alone while engaged about their work, those who handle food take the lead. It is most disgusting to one who objects to tobacco smoke, and there are few women who do not, to see marketmen standing over such easily affected articles as meat or butter, with cigars in their mouths. A walk through any of our markets will show plenty of men doing this very thing. For the sake of decency the cigars ought to be kept out of sight during business hours. We have seen men standing over a butter tub with a long ash at the end of their cigars that threatened at any moment to fall directly into the butter. An old smoker would perhaps see nothing wrong in this; but the majority of those who eat this food are not "old smokers." The public have no right to say that a man shall not smoke, though there would be a great deal more happiness in the world if such a right did exist; but customers certainly have a right to say that their food shall not be tainted with what to them is most objectionable.—Southern Progress.