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Tue, 01 Apr 2008

Watering Down Smoking Bans

Have a heaping slice of absurdity with your healthy lifestyle ...

As laws against lighting up indoors are spreading, so too are ways to sidestep them.

/Politics | 3 writebacks | permanent link

writebacks...

On 4/1/2008 08:25:43
Noddy wrote

I've always thought smoking bans were absurd anyway. We were already trending towards no smoking in restaurants, grocery stores, and places where children gather without laws to enforce it. And before anyway says "I have a right to clean air!" consider that smokers and non-smokers usually don't mix anyway and when they do, the smokers generally (until the anti-smoking laws made everyone militant) acceded to non-smokers in public places so non-smokers got their "clean air". There were enough establishments that chose - pre-anti-smoking-laws - to go smoke-free that waitpeople didn't have to work in smoking environments if they chose not to. Adults have a right to choose whether they will smoke or not, and are, in my opinion, smart enough to choose to patronize places that cater to their preferences. There are enough businesses that we can support both kinds. I see no reason why we should make laws against things we can easily avoid if we choose to.

On 4/2/2008 00:56:55
Mick wrote

If the smoking bans don't get you, the taxes will. New York just voted to raise cigarette taxes - again. An increase of $3.00 in NY City, $1.25 for the rest of the state.

On 4/11/2008 10:13:30
Kevin wrote

Is the World health Organization through HIA Industry partnerships, loaning its stamp of approval to cruelty and intolerance? There are consequences to consider, not the least of which is the fact Philip Morris stock values have tripled in the past eight years as a direct result of a huge shift in responsibilities. Anti smoking, Anti fat and Anti alcohol in their current renditions are progressing perilously close to the anti witch movement in Salem. One has to keep in mind Hitler was a staunch paternalist with all the deceptive packaging removed, and what that popular attitude empowered in what he would eventually do. I repeat; there are consequences to consider, not the least of which is the fact Philip Morris stock values have tripled in the past eight years as a direct result of a huge shift in responsibilities. We often hear the phrases "measures which reduce tobacco use", “Those who wish to harm children” and “defenders of the Tobacco industry” as empowerment spin to legitimize smoking bans, all in a stated effort to “Help smokers to quit” It is highly offensive and blatantly opportunistic to state; anyone who wishes to defend their own freedom. or in fact defending their own personal economy, by challenging the efforts of Paternalist Lobby groups, to inflate the value and cost of a product they know a smoker will use every day, Is a promoter of the Tobacco industry, who are doing quite well by their silence, considering. If the truth is recognized Public Health is actually the true defender of the Tobacco Industry’s interests. They have; -Reduced the costs of advertising and research, - Reduced the cost of the raw tobacco through "no safe cigarette" campaigns. -Eliminated the costs of litigation and all responsibility. -Increased the value of the product through deals like the MSA agreement. -Surrendered them stability long term; in both market share and cash flow analysis. Most significantly they have shifted the blame for costs to society associated to smoking, from the industry to the consumer, who gets to not only pay double those claimed costs, but gets to wear the Yellow Star in community perspectives, as a result of what appear to be Public Health efforts to defend Tobacco Industry interests. All the while violent confrontations which were once rare, in resolving disputes concerning smoking are increasing, at an alarming rate within communities. As for the statement "measures which reduce tobacco use"; in theory the denormalizing strategies of making smokers “not normal”, might be believed to reduce tobacco use, however even a short term analysis indicates this has not been the case. The recent and as yet unexplained increases we see in young people starting to smoke is alarming. Public Health statements in the media grow more outrageous and demanding by the day, eventually [if not already] young people will be starting to smoke, just to spite the anti freedom attitude associated with these regressive and paternalistic campaigns. Just like the last time prohibition was deemed a noble human experiment. Can anyone imagine the coercive value of a single cigarette for those confined inside a prison or a mental institution, where smoking is banned? What consequences from human rights violations in torturing prisoners, will we all have to bear eventually? If tobacco “medical dependency” or “addiction” is a reality, it constitutes a disability. Dehumanization through public health is then, actually seen as a criminal act, which is an activity which could eventually require punishment, at a huge cost to society when compensation is eventually assessed and paid. How does anyone moralize punishing an addiction, in order to force compliance to a "prohibitionist normality"? "Helping someone to quit" is nothing more than a convenient lie, to quell the discomfort of conscience. Medical treatments which demand punishment, are not "tough love” or in any way justifiable, they are simply the stepping stones to legitimize the intolerant few among us. Those very individuals who society used to believe were “not normal" We can't blame the media entirely, when someone announces a long term education program to purchase hundreds of millions in advertising to warn of the "dangers of second hand smoke" in order to put a lot of pressure on smokers to "help them to quit". Ad agencies would understandably be quite enthused in competing for those large advertising contracts and want to put their best opinions forward, to suit the needs of the client. What is truly alarming is the fact the increased violence, which is resulting from smokers wearing the Yellow Star of de-normalization, is being played down in the media, apparently in order to keep the monetary drive alive. "Erosion of Civil Liberties is the genesis of Genocide." Elizabeth Kirkley Best PHD; Et Al Author of the Shoa education project.

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