| The Property Rights Newsletter
February 26, 2010 - Issue #559
"There is no such thing as a free lunch."
- Milton Friedman |  Choking warnings for food. Doctors say risky foods should be cut into pea-sized pieces for small children. Those foods include hot dogs, raw carrots, grapes and apples. Some say things like hard candies, popcorn and peanuts shouldn't be given to young children at all.
Free BlackBerry phone for smokers. Watch a million dollars go up in smoke. So I say smoke 'em if you got 'em, because if you're still smoking even though you're down like the economy, it's going to take a lot more than a free BlackBerry to help you quit.
| From The International Mailbag |
Canada: John Oakley. Big Brother in the back seat, Ontario's ban on smoking in cars with kids. The government says it’s all about protecting the children. It always is in the nanny state.
EU: Smoking Bans Crumbling in the EU. The UK and Ireland are the only 2 countries within the EU that operate a blanket smoking ban.
France: A new antismoking advertisement aimed at the young that plays off a pornographic stereotype has gotten more attention than even its creators intended. "The campaign trivializes sexual abuse - worse, it implies guilt on the part of the abused."
Netherlands: The International Coalition Against Prohibition (TICAP) holds World Conference in The Hague, March the 15th.
NZ: No more 'sin' taxes, please. An increase in tobacco excise is not certain but, as Treasury notes, this tax is neither efficient nor equitable. Smoking rates are higher among poorer groups and these people are unfairly punished by increases in the cost of tobacco.
Switzerland: Smoking ban evaded by holes in wall.
UK: Frank Davis, Banging on about the Smoking Ban. Intolerance.
HI: Department of Health debacle. The Hawaii Smokers Alliance is very pleased by the admission of the State Department of Health that "there is no evidence that partially enclosed restaurants/bars had any dangerous level of particulate matter either before or after the law".
KS: Smoking Ban Clears Kan. Legislature, now goes to Gov. Mark Parkinson. Smoking would still be permitted in tobacco shops, private clubs and the gambling floors of state-owned casinos.
OH: Bars Can Fight Fine. The Franklin County ruling says the department exceeded its authority by holding bar Zeno's responsible for the actions of its patrons.
OK: Bordering on fanatical. By John Nothdurft. They won’t rest until all forms of tobacco are outlawed.
NY: Health Department to yank permits of nightclubs that scoff at New York City's cigarette smoking ban. It may be closing time for some of Manhattan's hottest nightclubs, where the young and hip are arrogantly flouting the city's smoking ban.
UT: IPCPR, Mood of America Says No New Taxes in Utah.
WA: The complete ban on smoking in Seattle's 400 public parks has been tossed out one day after it was announced.
USA: Cigar Insider: Ted King, Author of "The War on Smokers." |  | | Join FREE - Home - Events - Forum - Videos - Please Help - © |
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# posted by Samantha : 7:42 PM
| The Property Rights Newsletter
February 19, 2010 - Issue #558
Alice said nothing: she had never been so much contradicted
in her life before, and she felt that she was losing her temper.
"Are you content now?" said the Caterpillar. |  Alice in Wonderland: Rated PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar.
Avatar: James Cameron defends smoking scenes. Sigourney Weaver’s scientist Dr Grace Augustine taking a drag have caused outrage with health experts, Stanton A. Glantz, the director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education complaining that, “This is like someone just put a bunch of plutonium in the water supply,” on the damage done to his Smoke Free Movies initiative. However, never one to sit back and take it, Cameron’s come back fighting.
Smoking in Tintin cartoon breaks Turkish law. the channel went to court to fight the fine, and the verdict came in the channel's favor. The court's decision was based on an expert report that pointed out the series was shot before the smoking ban was enacted.
Third Hand Smoke: John Dale Dunn, "No one, ever, has shown that tobacco smoke residue causes cancer. In fact no one has shown that side stream or exhaled tobacco smoke causes cancer. The issue for anti-tobacco crusaders is smell and preferences, and interfering with smokers, not some serious public health issue." Elizabeth Whelan, "In the end, these claims of third-hand smoke dangers will be confirmed for what they really are--nonsense." (Read articles here at the Newsletter going back to 2003 about this Junk Science.)
| From The International Mailbag |
Canada: Mike Kennedy, "Fight not for your freedom to smoke, but your freedom to enjoy private property and socialize with whoever you choose." Smokers-Choice is now online.
Cyprus: Pro-smoking lobby hopes to repeal ban by April. MPs maintain that the law violates human rights.
UK: Misleading anti-smoking leaflets withdrawn by Sussex NHS chiefs. Health chiefs have been rapped on the knuckles for making unfounded claims about tobacco companies.
ID: Twin Falls says NO to smoking ban. Most public comment centered around concerns of the economic harm a ban would do to local business and about the city meddling with private property rights.
MO: Pipe Smokers Celebrate Int’l Pipe Smoking Day, Feb. 20.
NY: The Privacy of Smoke. Having a cigar in Lower Manhattan.
SC: West Columbia smoking ban gets preliminary approval.
TN: New restaurant markets itself as "smoker-friendly."
WV: Developing: Legislation May Disrupt Smoking Bans.
USA: The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids says U.S. would reap billions from $1 cigarette tax hike. "The report neglects to mention the fact that cigarette tax increases rarely generate all of the revenue they are projected to raise -- creating more budget problems down the road."
| The Slippery Slope After Tobacco |
Big Brother out of control. By Jeff Jacoby. There was a time when Americans were thought capable of deciding for themselves what to do with their coffee grounds or whether to carry groceries home in paper or plastic bags. Nothing in the Constitution authorizes the federal government to take charge of “revamping the way American children eat and play.’’ It is only our passivity that makes such an encroachment possible. This used to be the land of the free. Is it still? | 
Watch: Phil Williams, The Anti Smoking League: Bastards. | | Join FREE - Home - Events - Forum - Videos - Please Help - © |
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# posted by Samantha : 3:14 PM
| The Property Rights Newsletter
February 12, 2010 - Issue #557
"Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it
attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation
and makes crimes out of things that are not crimes."
- Abraham Lincoln |  The Old Rambler: Smokers face double risk: active smoking & SHS. Just thought I'd drop a line to acknowledge your superlative exercise in redundancy.
Denmark: The Health authority could not show any fewer heart attacks in the two years after the ban, which was reported to the parliament. The Health authority had expected this would happen – they almost promised it – leaving several politicians feeling that they were misled.
Scotland: Heart Attack Mortality – another riddle. It will be interesting to see if the heart attack miracle can be sustained, in the light of this new information that only 1 per cent has quit. Time will tell.
UK: Watch: Phil Williams video. Anti smoking bull.
Smoking Ban Health Miracle Is a Myth. By Christopher Snowdon. Restrictions on smoking around the world are claimed to have had a dramatic effect on heart attack rates. It’s not true.
The World: Smoking Solution Becoming Problem. The authors explain that this overemphasis on quit methods like nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) has led to the "medicalisation of smoking cessation," despite good evidence that the most successful method used by most ex-smokers is quitting 'cold turkey' or reducing-then-quitting.
 Click here for the NEW Stiletto updated for 2010!
By Michael J. McFadden.
The freely downloadable, short, and printable booklet, the Stiletto, exposes "The Lies Behind Smoking Bans" and is designed specifically to counter claims made to back up the bans that have not only taken over our workplaces and recreational gatherings but are now reaching even into our private living spaces and personal off-the-job lives. It is designed to be quickly and easily read in print-out form in dimly lit bars or on restaurant counters and packs strong information and analysis into its 20 pages.
CA: Menlo Park. By declaring secondhand smoke a public nuisance, the city would give residents the option to sue but would avoid getting involved in such actions itself, McClure said.
CO: Lakewood Smoking Ban Committee meeting update.
IN: Says NO! Smoking ban debate over in Indiana. Senate President Pro-tem David Long says that economic times are tough and a statewide ban could hurt business.
KS: ALERT: Kansas Emails Needed on Ban Vote!
NE: Violations. Officials want court to enforce smoking ban.
NH: Healthy by force: Nanny will keep you fit, tax soda. Our bodies are gradually becoming socialized. The choices we make about how to live, what to eat and drink and what pleasures we enjoy are increasingly to be guided by the hand of the state.
SC: Henry McMaster opposes Rex's cigarettes plan.
WV: Cabell County update, frustration remains high across the state.
USA: Congress Eyes 775% Increase on Pipe Tobacco Tax.
USA: This federal tax deduction applies to legislators in all 50 states.
USA: Watch: Obama Tax Promises, lied about tobacco taxes.
Canada: Anti-smoking advocates busy juggling numbers on unneeded and unwanted outdoor smoking bans.
Canada: Glenrose launching anti-smoking program for patients.
Canada: Ottawa Smoker's rights fight heats up w/ Mike Kennedy.
| Prohibition Will Not Work |
Greece: Greece's smoking ban not working, say officials. "The whole country is smoking," Behrakis was quoted as saying to Kathimerini.
India: Defying law, smoking continues unchecked at public places. Their survey report finds that around 50 per cent of bars and restaurants are not complying with smoke-free laws. The survey was conducted in 211 indoor places in 16 cities of 12 states.
Malta: Smoking laws widely ignored, even by police. Judging by the manner in which revellers smoked inside with impunity, the government's decision to extend the ban to all public places from 2013 will have little significance in Malta's premier nightlife district. |  | | Join FREE - Home - Events - Forum - Videos - Please Help - © |
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# posted by Samantha : 11:31 PM
| The Property Rights Newsletter
February 5, 2010 - Issue #556
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test
a man's character, give him power.”
- Abraham Lincoln |  The psychology of power. Absolutely. Power corrupts, but it corrupts only those who think they deserve it. These results, then, suggest that the powerful do indeed behave hypocritically, condemning the transgressions of others more than they condemn their own. Which comes as no great surprise, although it is always nice to have everyday observation confirmed by systematic analysis. But another everyday observation is that powerful people who have been caught out often show little sign of contrition. It is not just that they abuse the system; they also seem to feel entitled to abuse it.
EU: The EU has declared war against smokers! A dossier with recommendations for the 27 member states has been released by the EU. The objective - a "100 per cent smoke free environment". Brussels wants to eliminate cigarettes with a ‘smoking police’, ashtray bans and high-publicity legal processes against celebrities who enjoy a puff. The new 31-page document makes recommendations for drastic measures to ban smoking in all workplaces, public buildings and facilities.
Anti-smoking laws: Shaming smokers makes it harder to quit, study claims. There is an "urgent" need for governments to revisit their anti-smoking policies, the academics say, suggesting that the stigma around smoking could lead to patients hiding their tobacco use from doctors, and feeling desperate about ever kicking the habit. The policies run counter to how other addictions are treated by the public-health field, they argue. IN: Bill would kill anti-tobacco agency: Transfer of funds to health department seen by some as efficiency measure, by others as government power grab.
KS: ALERT: Help Topekans Against The Ban get signatures.
MA: Cigar Store Owners Oppose MA Governor on Proposal to Increase Tobacco Taxes, cigars and smoking tobacco.
NV: No smoking at the tobacco show. More folly from local Nanny Staters. This lawsuit is likely to fail. At which point, the courts should order the prohibitionists to reimburse the convention authority and Nevada's taxpayers their legal costs. But more important is what this effort again demonstrates.
Hong Kong: Failed tobacco tax sees hopes go up in smoke. Smokers may evade the indoor smoking ban by sneaking puffs, but evading the tobacco tax is more dangerous. The 50 percent tax hike last February increased the cost of a pack of cigarettes and smokers, like most savvy consumers looking for a deal, are finding cheaper packs can be bought on the black market.
Italy: More than two million people started smoking again since ban.
Scotland: Scottish Display Ban Becomes Law.
UK: The Free Society. Say No to Big Government.
UK: In the media spotlight: Health Secretary Andy Burnham's preference for smokefree homes and cars without regulation.
Parachutes Study: Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma related to gravitational challenge: systematic review of randomised controlled trials. (Read that again!)
Michael Siegel: More Shoddy Science on Smoking Bans and Heart Attacks: Study from Switzerland Has No Comparison Group and Results Don't Support Conclusion.
Weight gain from quitting smoking linked to diabetes. So, quitting smoking is now linked to Diabetes along with a long list of other adverse effects. Stress was not included as a confounding factor, it should be. | | Watch: Glenn Beck:
"Revolutionary Holocaust: Live Free or Die" documentary.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 | | Join FREE - Home - Events - Forum - Videos - Please Help - © |
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# posted by Samantha : 4:32 PM
