Things That Haunt

RULE 13: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions." ~Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals"~

Tobacco Act too harsh (Bhutan)

Everybody in the country knows it is however too harsh but he should have given second thought in 2010 while discussing in the parliament. Now after making so many people criminal without doing any real crime, this is biased. Had it been really worrying him about current tobacco act or worried about forthcoming election?

Warning: Smoking May Cost You A Job

Tobacco-users have steadily been pushed away from bars, restaurants, parks and even college campuses.

Now, some companies want to get rid of smokers in the workplace. But it's against the law in South Carolina, as well as in 28 other states that ban discrimination against tobacco-users.

"It is not government's role to tell a business owner how they operate their business and how they spend their money," said Sen. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson.

That protection for smoker could soon be repealed if Bryant's measure is passed.

The lawmaker believes companies should be able to hire or fire workers that use tobacco products off-the-clock.

The Chemist's War

And the numbers were not trivial. In 1926, in New York City, 1,200 were sickened by poisonous alcohol; 400 died. The following year, deaths climbed to 700. These numbers were repeated in cities around the country as public-health officials nationwide joined in the angry clamor. Furious anti-Prohibition legislators pushed for a halt in the use of lethal chemistry. "Only one possessing the instincts of a wild beast would desire to kill or make blind the man who takes a drink of liquor, even if he purchased it from one violating the Prohibition statutes," proclaimed Sen. James Reed of Missouri.

Officially, the special denaturing program ended only once the 18^th Amendment was repealed in December 1933. But the chemist's war itself faded away before then. Slowly, government officials quit talking about it. And when Prohibition ended and good grain whiskey reappeared, it was almost as if the craziness of Prohibition—and the poisonous measures taken to enforce it—had never quite happened.

The Australian Law of Growing Tobacco Plants

I have been searching high and low on the net tonight to find out what the actual law on growing your own tobacco plants in Australia is. I have finally found it – provided that the law has not since been repealed.

It really is incredible and my heart bleeds for our Australian cousins.

Producing tobacco plants, tobacco leaves and tobacco seeds is indeed forbidden under Australian law. The Act which forbad these things is date 1901. Can I say that again? 1901!!! 

Sterilise smokers' comment outrage

A suggestion by a Palmerston North city councillor that Maori women be sterilised to stop them smoking in front of their children has outraged councillors and Maori health advocates.

Councillor Bruce Wilson was speaking at the community wellbeing committee this week about a proposed smokefree policy covering the central city around and including The Square.

He said if the aim was to stop adults role-modelling smoking behaviour, and given 41 per cent of Maori women smoked, perhaps they should be sterilised.

The comment drew a shocked response from other councillors, and he quickly said he was not advocating the idea.

He also said it was not something he would say to the media.

However, a Manawatu Standard reporter was in the public gallery.

Wilson yesterday made an unreserved apology for the "inept" way he had expressed his frustration about ineffective policies to reduce the harm tobacco caused.

And One For Me

Jeremy Irons: Actor rips NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s ‘nanny state’

Smokers,vapers and non-smokers - we have been MUGGED!

Antis: What to expect

EU cigarette tax fail to reduce smoking prevalence; Smokers switched to hand-rolled cigs

Still smoking? You must be mad

Vapoteurs - standing up for smokers?

To Wish Impossible Things

School-based ‘healthy living’ programs triggering eating disorders in some children: Canadian study

The Skinny on Anti-Obesity Soda Laws

Springfield Housing Authority launches full smoking ban, triggering mixed reaction

Table to Farm: Coca-Cola Cake Edition

Tobacco tax hikes lead to black markets

Harvard Lecture On Libertarianism

Should employers be allowed to ban smokers from jobs?

Students Launch Petition To Return Dodgeball To Windham Schools



Every day I look at links just like these and I try to put them where I think they will do the most good.

I've given up writing about them or putting little blurbs up because if you're interested you'll look.

And every day I feel a little more hopeless ,like this river we're swimming upstream against isn't ever going to stop or slow down or change course.

I have a theory,my theory is this need to control us and treat us as so much cattle is because the system is broken and not just a little bit.

I think it's so broken the people at the top hope that by cracking down on us here we won't ever look up,won't ever see the sunshine won't ever see a world without them in it.

I think they are wrong.

But today I'm going to wallow in this sad feeling and wish for impossible things.............

Seemingly Random Things

AGreat Idea 

When The Nanny State Kills

You're Mad Experts Say

Rethink over smoking ban

Legislature lifts Prohibition-era ban on alcohol

The Loneliness of the Non-Smoker

Tyranny of the do-gooders

Exhausting thing-death!

The Great Lie of the Nanny State

Portrait Lenimentus

Anti Potpurri

UC Davis researchers uncover earliest tobacco use in the Pacific Northwest

Native American hunter-gatherers living more than a thousand years ago in what is now northwestern California ate salmon, acorns and other foods, and now we know they also smoked tobacco - the earliest known usage in the Pacific Northwest, according to a new UC Davis study.

"The study demonstrates that tobacco smoking was part of the northwestern California culture very early ... shortly after the earliest documented Pacific Northwest Coast plank house villages," said the study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Testing organic residues extracted from pipes, researchers from the UCD Department of Anthropology and the Fiehn Metabolomics Laboratory of the UCD Genome Center confirmed tobacco was smoked, and likely grown in the region, by at least A.D. 860.

Barring smokers from hospital jobs unfair

This one is so repuignant to me that I refuse to post a piece of it.You'll have to click the link to read it. Sadly the title sounds promising.

D.Baigalmaa: People ask who would monitor the cigarette consumption in streets and apartment corridors. It is us, civil citizens, who are in charge of monitoring

Also a doozie but I did find a small part I could put here without wanting to scream in disgust.

To prevent the hazardous habit of smoking amongst children, the law amended the approved age to smoke. It was 18, but now those who are 21 years old or above will be able to purchase cigarettes. Therefore, citizens will be obligated to show their identification from now on.

Cook County cigarette taxes up $1; fake cigarettes likely to increase

This one has video.

Tobacco: The Opium War of the 21st Century?

Tobacco smoking continues to place a heavy toll on the Chinese people's health. It is estimated that every day roughly 2,000 Chinese die because of smoking-related ailments.

Utah wants to ban smoking in cars with kids

In Utah, a bill that would outlaw smoking in cars when children are present is making its way through the state legislature. If passed, Utah would become the sixth state to enact such a law -- though many more are set to follow suit.

Because I Can

This bill would prohibit the smoking of a cigarette or other tobacco products in all areas of multifamily dwellings, except those areas designated as areas where smoking is permitted, as specified.

The Legislative History of Mitch Greenlicks

This just seems relevent

Press Release Mitch Greelicks March 31,2009


Nicotine has proven to be a tremendously addictive substance, and Greenlick argued that the Legislature 
should take the same actions for nicotine that it did for pseudoephedrine, a main ingredient in the 
production of methamphetamine, in 2005.  “Four years ago, the Legislature took pseudoephedrine off the shelves, and as a result the production of meth in Oregon dramatically declined,” he said.  “We need a similar policy to effectively combat the addictive properties of nicotine, because it will take bold steps to curb tobacco use and the deaths it causes.”  
Greenlick also referenced his long career as a health researcher to show the damaging effects of nicotine beyond dependence.  “Nicotine is a harmful substance that raises blood pressure and constricts arteries, and it only takes a 40mg dose to kill a human,” he said.


Greenlick's hunt for 31st vote on health bill February 9,2010

"I'm at 30 Ds right now," said Greenlick, who acknowledged that some of his Democratic colleagues are worried about the practical effect of putting the right to health care in the state  Constitution.  Republicans, meanwhile, have locked up against the measure, saying they don't want to burden the taxpayers with paying for a massive new entitlement.


Mitch Greenlick's bill to ban kids in bike trailers is still buzzing January 2011

State Rep. Mitch Greenlick, whose district spans Northwest Portland and Washington County communities north of U.S. 26, continues to create a stir with his proposal to ban children younger than 6 from riding in bike trailers or on the back of adult bikes.

Here's the dirt: Senate votes down bill to make Jory soil the official soil of Oregon May 19,2011

Greenlick, who has a reputation for prickliness, was indeed not amused.

"I feel very badly about it," he said.  "They made a joke out of something that is very serious to a lot of people in the state."

Greenlick said that, although being an urban legislator, he became interested in Jory soils because a friend of his is a descendant of the pioneer family for which the soil is named.

He said Jory soil was included in a Smithsonian Institution exhibit of unique state soils and should be treated as the iconic soil that it is.  This is the third session in a row he's tried to officially recognize Jory soil - and the second in which he's got the bill through the House only to see it fail in the Senate.
So will there be consequences if his Jory soil bill fails on Monday?

Greenlick, who has several Senate bills still pending in his health committee, paused before answering. 
"For every action," he finally added, "there is a reaction.  It's the law of physics."

'Nanny' bills pile up at Oregon Legislature March 19,2011

The most prolific writer of such bills this year is probably Rep. Mitch Greenlick, a Portland Democrat and former health researcher. Among his bills are ones that would make it illegal to carry a child in a bike trailer, require a prescription to smoke cigarettes or cigars, and add a special tax on soda pop to discourage its consumption. 

Greenlick makes no apologies. These things are unhealthy, he says, and should be stopped. 

"Nanny bills are bills you don't like," he says, brushing off criticism that he's becoming the Mary Poppins of Oregon. "I think we're within our rights and our obligation to protect our citizens." 

People react negatively because the bills make them uncomfortable, raising questions about their choices or their ability as parents. And so they should, Greenlick says. 

Oregon Bill Would Essentially Ban Cigarettes January 24,2013

Rep. Mitch Greenlick, from Portland, is sponsoring a bill that makes cigarettes a Schedule III controlled substance, meaning it would be illegal to possess or distribute cigarettes without a doctor's prescription.

Tobacco Tid Bits (World Edition)

ATF agents raid Seneca Falls smoke shop, seize cigarettes, records

The federal government Wednesday entered a dispute between Native American tribes by raiding a Seneca Falls service station operated by the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma.

Activists protest ‘hidden cigarette ads’ on TV show

The petitioners said that the presentation of the residents smoking in the Big Brother house is evidently deliberate. and may constitute hidden and indirect advertising of cigarettes. The Second Channel Authority was asked to request from Keshet all the contracts it signed with the producers and the promoters of the international “Big Brother” concept. so it could be determined whether smoking was listed as one of the components of the show. The authority was also required to obtain and publish the criteria according to which participants are selected.

Duma Sets Maximum Fine for Smoking in Public

"Understandably, smoking a cigarette outside of the smoking area in a restaurant is one thing, while, say, smoking in the hallway of a kindergarten, clinic or at a gas station is entirely different," said Sergei Zheleznyak, a United Russia deputy and head of the Duma's Committee on Health Protection.

Smoking ban called for in Italy when smog levels high

 "We call on mayors across the country to prohibit smoking when smog limits are surpassed," said Codacons in a statement. The group was responding to a report on smog levels in Italy, which it says are dangerously high in many cities. "Citizens can ask for 2,000 euros in damages," said the group, which offered instructions on its website. 

Pro-Tobacco Groups to File Judicial Review Against New Regulation

Putu Oka, the chairman of the Bali chapter of the APTI, said that farmers usually prepare seeds for planting in March, but this year they can’t because they don’t know how many seeds to prepare. 

“There are more than 800 hectares of land in Bali already projected for use as productive tobacco land,” Oka said. 

The tobacco industry, he added, was still observing what the impact of the government regulation would be on the market and whether it would reduce demand or not. 

Academy Keeps Tobacco Scientist Aboard

Xie was elected as a member of the prestigious academy in 2011, but his membership has been questioned by anti-smoking activists and health experts. 

Anti-smoking campaigners say Xie was famous for his studies in refining low-tar cigarettes, which are as harmful as regular cigarettes.

Smoking laws will cost State millions

The lobby group estimates the legislation would result in an additional tax loss to the State of €250m per year, on top of the €570m that is being lost to the illegal tobacco trade, bringing the total loss to €820m per year. 

Smoking in movies: Beware, beware, no one cares

The non-logic behind this move is presumably the hope that a 20-second bhashan will undo the evil effects of watching movie stars looking uber-cool while they blow sexy smoke circles in the air. So the next time we see Kareena smoking on screen, we won’t just be subjected to the running statutory warning each time she lights up — which was 30 percent of Heroine — but also her husky voiceover telling us to do as she says, not as she does.

Doesn’t that make you want to quit? Like right now?

Smokers still puffing away at newly prohibited zones

“I didn’t know about the new bans,” self-employed 35-year-old Loh Puay Meng said at a Woodlands void deck. The new areas have been included as part of an extension of the existing smoking ban, which already covered places such as playgrounds. Smokers are now also banned from lighting up on overhead pedestrian bridges, in outdoor compounds at hospitals or within 5m of bus stops.

Eileen Yap, an assistant manager at the NEA’s central regional office, acknowledged that many members of the public were not yet aware of the new rules.

Hospital sparks outrage with plan for smoking shelter outside cancer ward

“The beautiful main entrance has become a particular problem area with a large number of smokers congregating and at times it has been difficult to keep the area clean.

“We accept this has caused problems for neighbouring residential areas and are working with unions to see what actions can be taken to alleviate this.

“We enforce a blanket ban on staff smoking on our property and staff will not be allowed to use the shelters.”

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is expected to rule on the planning application in the middle of February.

Rep. Greenlick unleashes wave of Nanny State Bills…again

Greenlick wants adults to require doctor’s permission to obtain tobacco by making it a controlled substance (HB 2077). Imagine how long the lines at the local pharmacy will be and how long seniors will have to wait in these lines to get their life preserving medicine because Greenlick’s law will explode prescription requirements and turn our pharmacies into something like an old-style Russian bread line. Then of course he wants to tax tobacco with additional higher taxes (HB 2275) so as to punish any doctor who dares write a permission slip.