Olympic-Caliber Hypocrisy - "Who knows, tobacco money could soon be going to finance snowboard competitions across the country. Then money raised from tobacco smokers could be used to maintain the marijuana lifestyle of snowboarders." Columnist Terence Corcoran of the Globe and Mail remarks on the smoke Canadian politicians are blowing over smoke -- of both the cannabis and cigarette varieties.

Smoke and Mirrors: Understanding the New Scheme for Cigarette Regulation - A few days ago, President Clinton stated in a press conference that his balanced budget will be achieved solely on the taxation of tobacco, that is, the taxation of smokers. Considering the support of the Congress, and the silence of the media on this issue, Clinton is now quite obviously representative of a ruling class that justifies looting the lower classes, using as justification their habits and lifestyles. To any objective observer, it is clear that anti-tobacco is no longer related to health, but to power, greed, and loot. Actually, it always was. From an historical perspective, this is the same political thinking of the French monarchy in the years preceding the intensive use of the guillotine during the French Revolution.

Alcohol Blindness - Why was knowledge of the health benefits of moderate drinking suppressed for many years? We link to the pages of Reason magazine for an interesting case study that sheds light on the subject of truth, education, censorship, and the paternalism of the health establishment. By Jacob Sullum.

Gambling With Morality - How often are we told that it would be worthwhile to eliminate smoking "if just one life could be saved"? Well, if some pay a stiff price for smoking, others pay stiff prices for other "vices." The curious thing is this: while some vices are condemned by government, others are pimped for by government. Either way, government makes money. In Canada, this situation applies to smoking and gambling respectively. For more on the effect of gambling, government's favorite vice, we link to the CANOE web site for a column by Dale Eisler.

Addiction Addicts - This short essays appeared in the NY Times on November 20, 1997. It is written by Kevin Wm. Wildes, a Jesuit priest associate director of Georgetown University's Kennedy Institute of Ethics. Wildes comments on a society that is sick enough to give the cure for its social diseases to the medical profession.

Settlement Smoke and Mirror - A pointed critique of the tobacco settlement which will soon be taken up by the U.S. Congress. "Despite its risks, many adults find smoking to be a fun, recreational activity for many adults....Just as we rely on good sense instead of trial lawyers when it comes to skiing and horses, so it should be for smoking." - By Julie DeFalco - We link to the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Michigan Cigarette Policy Ignores Lessons of History - "For Michigan, the lessons from the British and Canadian experiences are clear. Our cigarette tax is defeating its purpose. Rather than impose tax stamps, we would do better to slash the tax that encouraged smuggling in the first place." - By John Attarian - We link to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Smoke Alarm - Reason Magazine's Jacob Sullum quotes the scientists who admit the lack of evidence that secondhand smoke is dangerous. So why is the secondhand smoke scare being used to ostracize smokers? "In the pursuit of a smoke-free society, as in the pursuit of tobacco profits, truth is expendable." We link to the pages of Reason. - By Jacob Sullum

Litigating Our Way Toward a New Prohibition? - "Ifa prohibition passes, that's fine, but brace yourself for a new generation of Al Capones. If a prohibition fails, that's fine, too, but then at least we can start talking rationally about how to better regulate the industry." We link to the archives of the Boston Business Journal for a piece by Jay Fitzgerald.

Anti-smokers: Get A Life! - "I've had enough of a plethora of self-appointees on radio and TV who insist on telling me, in the most intimate and personal detail, how I ought to be living, and then claiming that by intruding on me in this manner -- violating my privacy and diminishing my sense of self-determinism -- they're performing a "public service". Libertarian writer L. Neil Smith takes on the antismoking whiners.

Tax-Funded Politics - Reformers in Congress want to strengthen laws restricting tax-funded politics, the practice of federal departments and agencies awarding grants to nonprofit organizations that use the money to lobby for higher taxes, more government, and more grants for those same nonprofits. No one knows exactly how much is spent on political advocacy of the estimated $39 billion that the federal government gives to nonprofit each year. But the Capital Research Center and other groups have disclosed many questionable grants. Although there are many laws that restrict such activity, they have not been well enforced.

Should Americans Be Concerned With The Toxicity Of Second-Hand Smoke? - It's a lot easier to scare people than it is to unscare them. When guilt is added to fear, the task is even tougher. Americans have been convinced that environmental tobacco smoke or ETS, is dangerous. Of course they're frightened, and smokers have been made to feel guilty. They fear they are hurting, maybe killing others - maybe even their own children. But these highly publicized claims from seemingly trust worthy sources don't hold up under close scrutiny. - By Sara Mahler-Vossler

Casualties Of The War on Smoking: Truth, Freedom, Fairness, And Children - A bold, to-the-point denunciation and rebuttal of the infamous lies and misrepresentations of the antismoking movement -- and the government is supporting -- it by mathematician Rosalind B. Marimont.

Smoking Out The Anti-Tobacco Crusaders - When political correctness is at stake, people who should know better often can't "tell a scientific study from a propaganda tract." Take the case of the Glantz restaurant smoking study... - By David A. Keene.

The Pickpocket State vs. Tobacco - As the Province of B.C. and other provincial governments gear up to sue tobacco companies to "recover costs," this is required reading. By Jerry Taylor, director of natural resource studies at the Cato Institute.