Thursday, January 24, 2013
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The Property Rights Newsletter January 25, 2013 - Issue #697 "If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silentwe may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." - George Washington |
Bill proposed in Oregon would make cigarettes prescription-only drugs. If you're a regular smoker, you may want to keep an eye on a new bill in the Oregon Legislature. 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. Under the proposal, offenders would face maximum punishments of one year in prison, a $6,250 fine or both. Other drugs and substances that are considered Schedule III controlled substances are ketamine, lysergic acid and anabolic steroids. "The State Board of Pharmacy may adopt rules placing requirements and limitations on the sale or transfer of products containing nicotine," the bill's text says.
New Bill Strikes Out Laws That Protect Smokers' Rights. A new bill could strike out laws that protect a smoker's rights in Oklahoma. "What's to say that because you smoke, you can't have a job?" said Jason Cole, a smoker. If Senate Bill 327 passes, an employer could gain the right to turn down job candidates, even fire employees, just because they light up. "I think it's wrong," said Cole. Senator David Holt (R-Oklahoma City) wrote the bill, he says with employers required to provide insurance coverage under the President's Healthcare Plan, they should have a right to say no to smokers. A Secret Asthma Miracle. Lots of chatter in the comments about a new study, one of whose authors is Our Stan (aka Stantonitis Glands), claiming that there had been a sharp fall in the number of children admitted to hospital with severe asthma after the smoking ban was introduced in England. Both DP and Chris Snowdon are on the case. The implication is that this is the result of reduced secondhand smoke exposure. Of course, the smoking ban mainly affected places where children don't go, ie. workplaces, pubs and clubs,  so the authors suggest that the smoking ban inspired people to make their own homes "smokefree" of their own volition.
Electronic cigarettes: The Anti-Tobacco Activist's Foundation is a Lie. The Anti-Tobacco Activists Know that their Ulterior Motives are Flawed, and so they take advantage of a Complex Debate. Prof Stan Glantz and several of his colleagues submitted a public comment to the FDA docket regarding a "Report to Congress on Innovative Products and Treatments for Tobacco Dependence". Glantz and his colleagues made note of the fact that electronic cigarettes were successfully ruled by The US Courts in 2010 to be excluded from FDA regulations, and regulated as "tobacco products" specifically because electronic cigarettes were not being marketed with therapeutic claims. 
NY: Bloomberg Offers Cash to Community Groups Who Convince Buildings to Go Smoke Free. He's offering community groups who convince buildings to go smoke-free a $10,000 thank-you, to be paid out by a Centers for Disease Control grant. The plan comes on the heels of Bloomberg's push this spring to force residential buildings to disclose their smoking policies and procedures to potential buyers and renters. At the time, Bloomberg insisted that he had no intention to institute an outright ban.
Egypt: Islamist vigilantes step up threats in Egypt's Sinai. An Islamist group in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula threatened to launch a crusade against drug use and cigarette smoking in the lawless desert region on Wednesday, prompting fears about the growing influence of radical groups in post-revolutionary Egypt. Ireland: Smoking in cars to be banned. At a time when Garda numbers are being reduced, stations all over the country are being closed and the budgets for overtime being hit, the Government now sees fit to introduce yet another bad law for the Gardai to enforce. Scotland: No one is seriously talking about a complete ban in smoking in pubs and restaurants - Adding anti-depressant drug to smoking cessation therapy fails to help prisoners stop smoking - Smoking ban at psychiatric hospitals "inhumane" - Health Minister's written answers on smoking in hospitals - Repeat after me: Glas-goals are working -Seeking assistance from the devil? UK: They simply can't back it up! And so it all began in 1975, but where has it got to now? We now know that the smoking ban was brought in on the back of lies, fabrications, manipulated statistics and utter junk science-in fact I am surprised that Jamrozik's name and science still be held in the same sentence such was the estimated garbage he gave the world! World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs. |
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Thursday, January 17, 2013
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The Property Rights Newsletter January 18, 2013 - Issue #696 "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."- Mark Twain |
 
The Rest of the Story: Top 5 Reasons Why an FDA Deeming Regulation for Electronic Cigarettes Could Be a Public Health Disaster. By Dr. Michael Siegel. The bottom line is that a deeming regulation that makes electronic cigarettes subject to chapter IX of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, rather than carving out a specific and separate regulatory framework for this product that contains no tobacco, would constitute a public health disaster. It would hinder the development of safer and more effective products, force many vapers to return to cigarette smoking, cause massive confusion, create a black market, and force companies to deceive their customers about the health risks and usefulness of these products. There is no justification for regulating a product that contains no tobacco in a way that is identical to products that actually contain tobacco. If the FDA has any ability to see the big picture with regards to the public's health, it will avoid this disastrous pitfall.
Electronic cigarettes challenge anti-smoking efforts. A new TV advert for a brand of electronic cigarettes marks the first time in decades cigarettes of any sort have been promoted on US television. Anti-smoking campaigners fear the rapid growth of tobacco-free cigarettes could undermine years of successful anti-smoking efforts. A handsome actor poses and struts on a beach in a stylishly shot black-and-white television spot. He puts the cigarette to his lips, takes a puff, and exhales a rich flume. "Blu lets me enjoy smoking without it affecting the people around me, because it's vapour not tobacco smoke," says Stephen Dorff, the scruffy heartthrob star of The Immortals. "We're all adults here, it's time we take our freedom back." NJ Westville: Introduces measure to repeal and replace smoking ban. While the old ordinance was approved by a vote of 6-1, with Councilman William Rebel dissenting, the council later opted to amend it by adding language allowing for "smoking sections" on borough property. The new ordinance would scrap all previous efforts to ban smoking. SD Deadwood: Gold Dust Casino in Deadwood Closes. The lack of information has left Deadwood players and the more than fifty Gold Dust employees to wonder what is next. The entire Deadwood gaming market had suffered a sharp decline since a voter referendum in November 2010 created a casino smoking ban in Deadwood casinos and state video lottery casinos. SD North Sioux City: Casinos find loophole in state smoking ban. "If there is a break between the floor and the ceiling, that is exclusive of a doorway, then it meets the statute." A garage door would be excluded from the statute, and wouldn't qualify. "A door is a door," said Jerry Miller. Miller has analyzed the ban and sees a way around it. He says a casino could cut a hole in one of their walls. It wouldn't have to be very tall, only a few inches. But, the hole would need to run the length of the wall. Supports can remain so the structure is stable. "If there is a break between the floor and the ceiling, that is exclusive of a doorway, then it meets the statute," said Miller. Ike's has given it a try. They cut a hole in the back of their smoking room. You can't see it. It's been covered by a soffit. On the outside it's hidden with an eyebrow and grate. It keeps the outside out, smokers happy, and it's totally legal. "We are not back to where we were. But, every week we're adding a few more people that are finding out they can enjoy themselves, have their cigarette," said Hoffman. Germany: JTI upgrades Frankfurt Airport smoking facilities with four lounges. JTI Vice President Worldwide Duty Free David Francis said: "Over 20% of adult passengers are smokers and their choice of airports is influenced by the availability of smoking areas. Providing these travellers with state-of-the-art lounges is a competitive advantage for airports. As a result, Frankfurt Airport is recognised for its commitment to passenger service." UK Hospital lifted a smoking ban after losing a five-year battle to enforce it. They are now building three smoking shelters costing 17,000 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk. The hospital said the no-fag rule was "impossible to enforce" legally and some smokers had threatened and abused staff. At the main entrance smokers had been lighting up within yards of signs declaring the hospital a smoke-free site. World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs. |
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Thursday, January 10, 2013
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The Property Rights Newsletter January 11, 2013 - Issue #695 "What comes around goes around." | ||
Why legalize pot and ban tobacco? By Theodore J. King. I cover arraignments on a daily basis and see people facing jail time and huge court costs for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The state's resources would be better spent dealing with Oklahoma's meth problem. But I find it strange that the states most intent on legalizing pot are the ones that are moving most aggressively toward banning tobacco. In Colorado and Washington State, for instance, it's illegal to smoke in public places like bars and restaurants. The same is true in many of the states where medical marijuana is legal, like California, Oregon and Hawaii.
More: Newsletter articles about Marijuana. 
Corrections stand by smoke-free prisons: The Corrections Department is standing by a decision to enforce smoke free prisons despite a High Court ruling saying the ban is unlawful and invalid. Career Criminal and Auckland prisoner Arthur Taylor challenged the blanket ban on smoking in the High Court earlier this year. Last Thursday, Justice Murray Gilbert ruled the ban - which had been in force for 17 months - was "unlawful, invalid and of no effect". Corrections has refused to say whether they would challenge the ruling, but said the ban would remain in place. "This victory shows Corrections must obey the law like the rest of New Zealand. Prisoners have legal rights too."
FL County can't ban smoking, its attorney says. Sarasota County discovered Tuesday that it is powerless to stop smoking at public beaches, parks, youth sports fields or even in front of public libraries despite years of passing laws to the contrary. The issue is rooted in a 2003 Florida law that created smoke-free restaurants and workplaces. While the law banned smoking in workplaces, it also declared that only the Legislature could ban smoking in other places, such as parks and beaches. Even so, dozens of counties and cities have passed smoking bans for public beaches and parks, ignoring the legislation and years of warnings from Florida's past attorneys general. "I don't think the public knows we've lost our ability to enforce these laws," Barbetta said. 
Anti-smoking advocate says hospital fired him for speaking out. A longtime anti-smoking advocate has filed a multimillion-dollar wrongful termination lawsuit against Glendale Adventist Medical Center, as well as three City Council members he alleges used their political influence to get him fired. Steven Gallegos was terminated from his job as a tobacco outreach worker in October after he spoke out publicly last fall against the City Council for loosening smoking restrictions for restaurants with large outdoor seating areas. According to the lawsuit - filed Dec. 24 in Los Angeles County Superior Court - Gallegos is seeking more than $5 million each from the hospital, three Glendale Adventist officials and council members Ara Najarian, Laura Friedman and Rafi Manoukian.
Happy 19th Birthday: The Smoker's Club.
Happy 18th Birthday: Forces International. Happy 16th Birthday: Cigar Lounge Online Forum. Happy 14th Birthday: FORCES Netherlands. Happy 11th Birthday: PASAN. Pennsylvania Smokers Action Network. Happy 8th Birthday: Freedom to Choose UK. Happy 5th Birthday: TICAP. The International Coalition Against Prohibition. More: Smokers Links. World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs. | ||
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Thursday, January 03, 2013
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The Property Rights Newsletter January 4, 2013 - Issue #694 "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as hewho helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." - Martin Luther King, Jr. |
Beirut Protest: Female traveler 'goes nude' at Beirut airport to protest smoking ban. MTV Lebanon website reported that the traveler removed her clothes and held a sign calling for lifting the ban on smoking inside the airport. The incident caused commotion among travelers and prompted airport security to arrest her. Still, there is speculation as to how far the new ban can actually hold in a country where cigarette, cigar and nargileh (water-pipe) smoking is so popular and widespread.
Anti-Smoking Senators Invest in Tobacco Cessation Drug Manufacturers. According to a joint investigation by Scribe and the Washington Guardian, published Monday in the Washington Times, top Senate Democrats who have pushed policies that fund anti-tobacco measures have money invested in pharmaceutical companies that manufacture tobacco cessation products such as Nicorette. In April, President Obama signed into law the Stock Act, which prevents lawmakers from using insider information gained from government duties for personal financial gain. But just one month later, senators were debating anew the smoking-cessation funding, including several who began the year with investments that could be impacted by the outcome. Airbrushing History: Children do not need us to artificially sanitize the world. The holiday book-buying season is upon us and for those who have not heard, Canadian independent publisher Pamela McColl has updated Clement Moore's 1823 poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas," by deleting two lines regarding Santa's pipe and its ubiquitous cloud of smoke. I cringe at the possibility of children living in an unreal utopian world where images that do not fit the current culture are erased. 
UK: Velvet Glove, Iron Fist. If there was ever any doubt that the campaign against smoking was a dress rehearsal for a wider crusade of puritanism and prohibition, those doubts were surely put to bed in 2012. The question for 2013 and, I fear, for many years to come, is how much more taxing, banning, lying and demonising will society permit before a line is drawn.
UK: Simple Simon Says... 1/1/13 The whole idea of the e-cigarette, which millions of people worldwide now use to reduce their smoking, was, surprisingly enough, to hopefully reduce the amount of tobacco consumed (smoking). It has even been cited as an intermediary device which would lead to quitting smoking altogether! It is easy to see that 2013 is going to be the year of "ban the e-cig" - because it resembles smoking. You really couldn't make this war on tobacco up if you tried. So what have we to look forward to in 2013? We can look forward to more antipodean claptrap from the almost saint like Simon Chapman who has already stated that forcing smokers to be licensed would see a dramatic reduction in smokers-and this man is a professor (what of I dread to think!). When I asked him (on a comments section) if wearing a yellow star would be better he simply stated that I was being silly and over reacting. I've not quite worked out how he figures that out personally for this is following all the footsteps of the Nazi regime that engulfed Europe from 1935 onwards. World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs. |
 WATCH: Dreaming of America Hey there Mr. and Mrs. Congressman, making all the rules down in Washington... can't you hear me hollering out in the streets with my bull horn? |
