The Tyee – Nicotine Patches a Waste of Public Money: Harvard Report

The Tyee – Nicotine Patches a Waste of Public Money: Harvard Report:

The main study to support the decision was from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, Jabs said. That study, Pharmacologic-based Strategies for Smoking Cessation, reviewed some 500 studies and reports related to smoking and quitting, he said.

That 548-page report did find that NRTs and the pharmaceuticals all helped people quit smoking, The Tyee reported in June 2011.

However, it also cast doubt on whether it was wise to spend public money on them, finding it was actually cheaper to treat smoking-related illnesses in the few who develop them compared to widely providing smoking cessation products. The health benefits were relatively small considering the expense, they found.

This whole charade is sickening.

University Of California Announces Blanket Smoking Ban

University Of California Announces Blanket Smoking Ban:

Whilst no one can argue that it is a bad idea to encourage smoking in places where young people are finding their feet and developing habits that might last them a lifetime, a problem that is due to hit home in another decade or so, is when the cancer rates fail to drop and the spotlight turns to the myriad of toxic chemicals, insecticides, air-born contaminants, plastics, glues, paints and even cosmetic and food additives that are known to be highly carcinogenic. There should be plenty of interesting lawsuits - the question is whether these companies can survive, once public enemy number one is out of the picture.

The usual propaganda,but the conclusion at the end of the article isn't one I usually see.

When I see something like this I have to wonder if these people know cancer rates are affected by things that aren't smoking how come no one ever says anything about them?

Smokers need not apply, but the stupid should feel free

Smokers need not apply, but the stupid should feel free:

Seems discrimination and prejudice are alive and well in America. According to some health care companies, smokers need not apply for work because they won't get hired.

"Geisinger Health System, based in Danville, joined two other Pennsylvania health systems that won't hire tobacco users. The company said it would begin testing new hires for use of cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, snuff, nicotine patches and gum as part of its pre-employment physical process on Feb. 1."

At the same time, however, the government is making sure that the stupid can get a job as long as they claim a disability. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is deciding whether employers should be allowed to list a high school diploma as a requirement for employment because it might violate the Americans with Diasbilities act. Lawyers advising employers are warning that the government might decide to come after companies requiring a high school diploma. "Employers are wise to evaluate whether a high school diploma really is necessary to perform the essential functions of any job for which it is being required,” the Employer Law Report advised in a blog post by Lisa Whittaker, a lawyer with the Porter Wright firm, which has represented business clients for more than 150 years. “Even in those situations where the high school diploma requirement can be justified, employers will still need to consider” whether a “reasonable accommodation” could be provided to allow a disabled person without a diploma to perform a given job."

Sometimes I just link to stuff that makes me shake my head.
This is one of those times.

Controling tobacco control - Tshering Tobgay’s Blog (Bhutan)

Controling tobacco control - Tshering Tobgay’s Blog:

If the amendment sounds better than the current draconian Act, it is. Yet I didn’t I support it. Here’s why:

First, the amendment, like the existing Act, continues to allow people to legally import tobacco. Travelers, and those fortunate to live in bordering towns, can continue to legally import tobacco up to the “permissible quantity”. The way I see it, if we’re going to allow some people to purchase and consume tobacco legally, we should allow other people to do so too.

Second, the amendment, like the existing Act, does not recognize the simple fact that prohibition has never worked and will not work. That’s why a black market quickly (and effectively) established itself in spite of the draconian provisions of the existing Act. That’s why, in the year since the Tobacco Control Act came into effect, many people took their chances despite the stiff sentences in it. Of the many, 84 people got caught. And of them, 39 people have already been sent to jail.

If the amendment goes through, a minority of us will continue to be able to procure and consume tobacco legally. But for the most of us, if we consume tobacco, we will continue to be doing so illegally. That would make us criminals. And because the penalties have now been staggered, expect a bigger black market; expect many more criminals.

I hate this.

I hate reading about it,being driven to know about it,putting it up here and trying to figure out why in an insane world this is allowed.

Why are people put in jail for this?

Why are we demonized,hated,lied about,fed poison pills?

Is it this simple?

The thing that scares me most though is wondering is this our future?

What can we do to stop this forced march ?

1909 Chicago: The 'L' smoking war

1909 Chicago: The 'L' smoking war | WBEZ:

There was no trouble at first. The smokers simply went on smoking. A few conductors tried to enforce the new rule, but gave up in the face of the mass civil disobedience.

On November 5 the excrement hit the fan. That day "L" security guards removed two smokers from a train at the 44th Avenue (Kostner) station. Other passengers tried to stop the guards, and a near-riot ensued.

Three days later a grass-roots gathering of smokers held a protest rally in Oak Park. A crowd of over 500 people jammed a local hall and spilled into the street. A citizens' committee was organized to carry on the fight. They declared their purpose in populist rhetoric--"Neither Knight nor any other monopoly can deny the workingman his morning smoke."

The "Smoking War" became front-page news. All through November, newspapers detailed the actions of the pro-tobacco-choice forces, and the options they were weighing.

Times have changed so much.

This is the first I ever read about this.

Not that their protest changed anything,but it still makes my heart glad to know people stood up for themselves about this.

Study: Nicotine Replacement Therapies May Not Be Effective in Helping People Quit Smoking

Study: Nicotine Replacement Therapies May Not Be Effective in Helping People Quit Smoking - University of Massachusetts Boston:

In the prospective cohort study the researchers, including lead author Hillel Alpert, research scientist at HSPH, and co-author Lois Biener of UMass Boston’s Center for Survey Research, followed 787 adult smokers in Massachusetts who had recently quit smoking. The participants were surveyed over three time periods: 2001-2002, 2003-2004, and 2005-2006. Participants were asked whether they had used a nicotine replacement therapy in the form of the nicotine patch (placed on the skin), nicotine gum, nicotine inhaler, or nasal spray to help them quit, and if so, what was the longest period of time they had used the product continuously. They also were asked if they had joined a quit-smoking program or received help from a doctor, counselor, or other professional.

The results showed that, for each time period, almost one-third of recent quitters reported to have relapsed. The researchers found no difference in relapse rate among those who used NRT for more than six weeks, with or without professional counseling. No difference in quitting success with use of NRT was found for either heavy or light smokers.

Why wait over 5 years to write and publish this study?

Oh right of course there's your larger demographic.

No need to worry if someone still buys the product,because it doesn't matter what you sell it for.

Am I the only one who finds it odd that these studies came out so close to each other?

Employers hope to curb health costs with nicotine tests

Employers hope to curb health costs with nicotine tests - San Francisco Luxury Living | San Francisco Luxury Living:

Employers as varied as Michigan-based benefits manager Weyco and Humana Inc. in Arizona to the Union Pacific Railroad and Alaska Airlines have followed the same path, although the policies have come under fire from civil libertarians and privacy advocates who contend companies are trying to ban workers’ use of a product in their private lives that is legal to use. About 20 percent of American adults are smokers, government surveys show.

Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania will begin nicotine tests for job applicants in February and also will implement higher insurance premiums in 2012.

“This is just the next step in creating a tobacco-free environment and it’s just an effort to focus on the well-being of our employees,” said Geisinger spokeswoman Marcy Marshall. All Geisinger facilities have been tobacco-free since 2007.

Critics argue that bans on tobacco could easily be followed by prohibitions on alcohol, cheeseburgers or high-risk sports off duty, all of which can also impact health costs. In fact, nearly 30 states have laws protecting smokers or users of “lawful products” from employer discrimination to at least some degree.

Not like I couldn't see this coming from a mile away.

I have been watching the bashing of large people for awhile now and truth be told if you really look not all of these people are so large.

If you want to see what these global health initiative types call obese you should look  here.

Many of these people look just like I do and my friends do.

It all goes to show you,you can't trust anyone about your health when there is money involved.