On Evictions And Letters

I've mentioned Richard White before on this blog.

I greatly admire his book Smoke Screens which is pretty eye opening and reminds me of other well written books in the same genre like Dissecting Anti-Smokers Brains or Velvet Glove Iron Fist.

So when Richard says he has something he'd like to share I pay attention.

I am posting his e-mail to me which I had permission to post:


Hi all, 

This is one of the most important emails I've ever sent to you all and 
it's imperative this gets as much attention as possible. If you are 
unfamiliar with the story, read this link before opening the attachment. 
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/year+woman+told+butt+evicted/3696774/story.html 

The attachment is a letter I have written to be sent to the Housing 
Association in question to urge them to overturn their decision. If we 
can generate enough support and interest perhaps we will have victory on 
this one. Please take a moment to read the letter and add your name at 
the bottom; if you involved in any organisation like CAGE, Forces, F2C 
etc then add that too, and if you know any others who will be interested 
please pass it on to them and ask them to do the same. Once your name is 
added, email it back to me and I'll put each name on the same document. 
Alternatively to signing, just email me back with your name and relevant 
description next to it and i will add it to the letter. This is a matter 
of urgency as I want to send it out during the week. 

If you find any errors in the letter, let me know and I'll amend it. 

Thanks, 
Rich 




If anyone out there is interested in reading and or signing the letter please contact Richard White at his site
www.smokescreens.org  .

Smokers are destroying the planet ... apparently

Smokers are destroying the planet ... apparently

Yes there we go.

I was waiting for what was going to make me mad enough to write again.

Here it is a story so unbelievable that I will say no more.

So What Does That Have To Do With This?

I'm noticing a theme when I look at the things I care about.

Seems like I keep reading the same types of stories over and over again,just change one word and you can see what happens when entities, charities and governments decides a plant is what is wrong with the world.


ICSDP REPORT: US Government Data on Cannabis Prohibition Video

Tobacco Smuggling Detracts From Law Enforcement

The High Cost Of Cheap Smokes

If contraband is, indeed, playing a role in the smoking problem, what to do about it is still a matter of debate. Convenience stores and the major tobacco companies, backed by the conservative Fraser Institute think-tank and other analysts, have pushed for a reduction in taxes, which they say would largely remove the market for cheaper, unlicensed cigarettes.

Health groups reject the tax-cut idea, stressing that the high prices resulting from taxation are a major barrier to smoking, and lowering the levies would only restore market share to sanctioned cigarettes, not address stalled anti-smoking efforts.

Do Anti Smoking Programs Work To Reduce Smoking?

Statistical analysis that I've conducted shows that there is a very tenuous link between cigarette sales and state anti-tobacco spending. At best, spending large amounts of money on anti-tobacco programs seems to produce a trivial drop in cigarette sales — less than a pack a year per capita. States would be better advised to put these resources toward other public health policies that produce larger results.


What are they spending all our tax money on again?
Effective programs to stop illicit activities?


Or just another waste of money that does nothing that anyone could call helpful?
Watch where the money goes.


Seems like more is spent making criminals out of honest people than is spent really trying to help the less fortunate.

End Game

End Game

A F r a m e w o r k f o r I m p l e m e n t a t i o n A p p e n d i x B

End Game.

It's not a word that means much to most people,unless you smoke or use smokeless tobacco or hell enjoy a cigar or a pipe occasionally.

Maybe you like some Swedish snus on occasion,maybe you just use an electronic cigarette.

Maybe the words end game mean nothing to you at all,but they should.

End Game is the plan to end nicotine use unless under regulatory schemes.

It's tobacco control's best idea,a way to take everything away from all of us.

I just vape and use snus,but to these people I am no different than someone who smokes or smokes cigarettes or a  pipe or cigars.

I hope we can get past the us versus them bullshit I keep seeing because eventually all of us who use nicotine in any form will be needed to try and stem the tide of tobacco control's success.

Comprehensive Long Term Nicotine Policy

I should clarify that not all tobacco control people are this draconian but some of them are and their plans are clearly spelled out

Third Hand Smoke

High risk of nicotine transfer from clothing

Another day,another horrible story about nicotine,smoking,parenting and science.

Here again the results were unambiguous: in the laboratory experiment, scientists say the toxins from the cigarette smoke that were dissolved in the perspiration caused massive damage to the skin cells; for example, they changed their shape and even, where the concentration was high, died off. Similarly, nerve cells, which are particularly active during the early stages of development, showed clear changes and were no longer able to connect properly with one another. The Hohenstein scientists are now publishing the results of their work in a scientific journal.

How a baby's skin cell reacts in a lab under controlled conditions isn't exactly how an infant's skin will react to the same conditions away from the lab.

I can't pretend to understand the science behind it but I am pretty sure the immune system plays a role in how our bodies,skin and organs handle toxins on a day to day basis.
It's not that I question the ethics of the scientists it is only that conditions in a lab don't reflect conditions in the real world.

Third hand smoke for those who might not already know it was an odd concept.

Richard White author of the excellent book Smoke Screens has a wonderful post about it on his blog.

When you read about how the research was carried out on this" new smoking catastrophe" I'm sure you won't be surprised,I know I wasn't.

Richard White On Thirdhand Smoke

Sin Taxes

I always seem to be reading something.
99% of the time I wind up reading something about the encoraching nanny state here in America.
Today Google Alerts pointed me to something I think got published on Monday in the Washington Times.


Washington Times Comments

All politicians that promote sin taxes are two faced. They never want you to quit alcohol or smoking, they just use that as a ruse to increase taxes on those products...if they wanted to really get you to quit, they wouldn't bank on the money from those "sin taxes" . 

The story itself was a small mostly angry  rant about how out of touch Bloomberg really is.
He seems to be upsetting constituents on a number of fronts.
But what I took away from that article wasn't the angry person upset about the ground zero victims and their families.

I found the comments section was much more informative and useful to my personal experiences in the world.
The smoking ban alienates a minority group of folks who are indulging in the use of a product that is despite some efforts isn't illegal to use.

No smoking inside,no smoking outside and yet tobacco is still a very legal and extremely regulated consumer product,fully legal to purchase,but where it can be used is being prohibited.

There is always a reason why feel good politics seemingly does something without attempting to stamp out the root cause of the problem.
It always comes down to money.
There is no real concern for anyone's health or welfare.

The comments from the story I read today are what I linked to,not because the story itself wasn't interesting but because the comment left by a non -smoker rings so much truer than anything I have ever read about why feel good politics is so prevalent in the world today.

The Tipping Point

I read an interesting article today in Tobacco Reporter.
It seems like some people are quite worried about contraband tobacco.

Contraband Tobacco

I suppose it's something to have a vaild concern about,if Canada's government were really concerned about tobacco being adulterated and people getting hurt by ingredients that shouldn't be there.

That isn't what they are afraid of though(suprise,suprise) their biggest concern is that with cheap cigarettes being so widely available cheap tobacco might once again become socially acceptable.

"The problem is getting near a tipping point," said Mark Holland, the Liberal public safety critic. "If contraband tobacco becomes too prevalent, it just becomes socially acceptable.... If we cross that line, if we have that tipping point, it will be almost impossible to stamp out."

Is that something to be so afraid of?
It seems like it's a bottom line issue,but it always is.