| The Property Rights Newsletter
February 11, 2011 - Issue #601
Any horror element is as much psychological as special effects.
- Christopher Eccleston |  Circus of Horrors: Circus act's smoking raises health and safety alarm. Fire-eating is fine. As is walking barefoot up a ladder of swords and swallowing a revolving electric drill. And – while it may not be to everyone's taste – there should be no problems with a dwarf dragging a genitally attached vacuum cleaner round the stage. "To cut the smoking bit out spoils all the rest of it," said Haze. "It's just been completely ridiculous. They've made us do a risk assessment and they've now said they have to get an exemption from the council. Well I've never heard of that. The law is that you can smoke if it's part of the performance, you don't need to have an exemption. We're in limbo really."
 Radiation from tests hike risk of cancer: Canadian researchers appear to have proven what, until now, had only been assumed: Radiation from widely used medical tests can increase the risk of cancer. Montreal doctors who followed nearly 83,000 heart attack victims for five years found exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation from common tests used to diagnose and treat heart problems are associated with an increased risk of cancer.
 Secondhand Television Exposure Linked to Eating Disorders. For parents wanting to reduce the negative influence of TV on their children, the first step is normally to switch off the television set. But a new study suggests that might not be enough. It turns out indirect media exposure, i.e., having friends who watch a lot of TV, might be even more damaging to a teenager's body image. This research was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, Harvard University and the Radcliffe Institute.
 Dog on board? Drivers urged to buckle it up. USA: Man's best friend is not a driver's best friend. While lawmakers have been banning drivers from texting or using cell phones, many motorists are riding around with another dangerous risk: their dogs. Experts say an unrestrained dog – whether curled up on a lap, hanging out the window or resting its paws on the steering wheel – can be deadly. Tens of thousands of car accidents are believed caused every year by unrestrained pets, though no one has solid numbers.
UK: It's a dog's life: The Dog Ban, insists Joe Jackson, is one of the greatest political achievements of the last 500 years. Amend it? It has to be a total ban, with no exceptions, as soon as possible. Any revision – even discussion – would be a devastating blow to public health. Not that this is necessarily about health. Let’s face it: dogs just stink, and the people who get so powerfully attached to them – for God knows what sick and twisted reasons – stink too. They have no ‘right’ to inflict their vile addiction on me.
Row over whether new law bans farting: Two of Malawi's most senior judicial officials are arguing over whether a new bill includes a provision that outlaws breaking wind in public. Justice Minister George Chaponda says the new bill would criminalise flatulence to promote "public decency." | From The International Mailbag |
 Happy Birthday! Cuban man celebrates his 111th birthday with a cigar and a wad of cash. Ignacio Cubilla Banos enjoyed the festivities at his home in Havana surrounded by family.
Bhutan: Monk faces jail under smoking ban. A fourth degree felony can carry a sentence of five years. The Bhutan Narcotic Control Agency has started raids, with officials allowed to enter homes if someone is seen smoking or if officials have reason to believe there is illegal tobacco there.
France: French ignoring the smoking ban. "We close our eyes to maintain a business whose balance remains very fragile."
Malaysia: Smokers lighting up just about everywhere. The Government has made a stand, the law has been gazetted, but enforcement is just not there.
Scotland: Updates: NHS Grampian: full retreat from hospital smoking ban, Biting the hand that feeds them?, We're all waiting for you, Claims looming for passive smoke exposure in Scottish prisons, and more. AL: Alabama Opinion Leaders Urged to Seek Truth in Secondhand Smoke Claims. “Legislated smoking bans, for whatever reason, are unnecessary and inexcusable. They deprive business owners their right to make such determinations on their own."
IN: Terre Haute City Council votes 9-0 in adopt new ordinance but puts off implementation until July 1, 2012. For now, the ordinance changes nothing and at least one proposed amendment can be expected between now and July of next year. Councilman Norm Loudermilk, D-3rd, one of the strongest supporters of the ordinance, said he would propose an amendment to exempt private clubs, such as veterans clubs, for the workplace smoking ban.
MN: Annandale's oldest tavern calls it quits. JJ's Bar on Main Street has heard its last "last call" and closed its doors for the final time, ending a 75-year run that began not long after the repeal of Prohibition.
NY: Should Outdoor Smoking Be Banned? The places where people can smoke are becoming more and more limited by the minute.
OH: Walford Street Shooting Sends 1 To Trauma Room. Police say that 42-year-old Alberto Chavez was outside smoking when he was shot.
SC: Atlantic Beach nods to smoking ban. Ordinance would affect workplaces, beach. The ordinance requires a second vote for it to be final.
SC: Dorchester County Council tabled Smoking law, signs tabled. "Sometimes good-intentioned legislation has unintended consequences," said Byars, citing businesses in Florida that failed after a similar law passed. Protecting businesses "is the right thing to do."
USA: States eye "sin" taxation as salvation for budgets. Cash-strapped state lawmakers across the country are looking at raising "sin" taxes on everything from traditional vices, like smoking cigarettes and imbibing alcohol, to more recently vilified habits like drinking sugary sodas and hitting the tanning salon.
USA: The Big Tobacco Deal: Watch the video from CEI. |  | | Join FREE - Home - Events - Forum - Videos - Please Help - © |
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Don’t believe the lies about secondhand smoke. By Theodore J. King. Fortunately, it is simply not true that even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause cardiovascular disease. The myths about secondhand smoke are lies and the product of the mass hysteria the nanny state has wrought that has overcome reason. The hidden and sly purpose of the attack on secondhand smoke is to convince everyone, even rational, smart people, that smoking is not only unhealthy but evil and that all tobacco should be banished from the earth. 
