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FORCES Toronto - Press Release Canadian Cancer Society and Ontario Human Rights Commission Practice 'Legal' Discrimination Sign up for the United Pro Choice Smokers' Rights Newsletter For information on what's happening in Ontario, check: FORCES Toronto in Affiliation with Smokers.com For Ontario, also check Smoking is Cool  Freedom of CHOICE Cig Pin Wear it with pride - you are not alone. Protest |
UPDATE - 12
December 2001 Bowing to pressure from the anti-smoking faction, this Provincial Government has reversed its decision not to compromise on established priorities. Funds will be diverted in order to provide enforcement for Winnipeg's smoking ban (01 Jan/02). Any resulting problems with safety regarding: water; terrorism; food handling.... can be laid directly on the doorstep of fanaticism. Genuine public concerns have been made subservient to the smokefree agenda - intent upon pursuing the social engineering experiment of denormalizing smoking no matter what the cost. Province won't enforce city's
smoking ban - Manitoba At least somebody has priorities straight, "At this point, our public health resources are quite occupied on water, on the terrorism issue, food and handling and other safety issues," Chomiak said. "I don't have the resources at this time to put to the city to be smoking police." Enforcement of Winnipeg's new bylaw protecting 'The Children™' from non-existent dangers of secondhand smoke to further a social engineering experiment should naturally take a back seat to real issues. Only an anti-smoking fanatic wouldn't understand that; dedication of 100% of the Provincial budget to the 'cause' wouldn't be enough for them. Where there's smoke... - Winnipeg Bracing themselves for the new bylaw, due to be implemented on January 01st, motorists are treated to the scolding voice of nannyism on, "A new billboard spotted on the south side of
the Disraeli Freeway (which) over-dramatizes the anti-tobacco crackdown with
the face of a hapless kid engulfed by a waft of smoke that could easily be
mistaken for the pits of hell. This bylaw is an obvious obeisance to the social engineering initiative of protecting 'The Children™' from the sight of adults enjoying a legal pleasure in the effort to denormalize the use of tobacco. If anyone seriously believes this has anything to do with the minors' health - there's a bridge in Brooklyn that's been reduced in price they might want to check out. This is once step closer to taking control over what is allowed in your home, make no mistake about it. "And that's the trouble with Winnipeg's
reckless anti-smoking law. It blurs the distinction between public and private
property and paves the way for lawmakers to legislate against and emasculate
individual authority over your own household. 'Healthism' recognizes no boundaries, and respects no one's rights. Every aspect of privacy, and private property, is considered by healthists as their privilege to trespass upon with impunity. There is an opposing Op-Ed following this article, and the writer uses the old anti-smoking 'studies' and rhetoric, for example: "Researchers in Ontario recently found that second-hand smoke triples the risk for cancer-related illnesses. And here's another statistic for you: Doctors estimate that up to 300 people die each year from second-hand smoke in Manitoba." We're still waiting for some good
answers on that 'triple risk study', and when "Doctors estimate" ...... the
numbers have a way of dancing to whatever tune anti-smokers play. Strange, they
never produce actual documented case histories, just epidemiological
statistics. Those are about as good as "There were a lot more storks in Amsterdam last year, and the
birth rate was up. Must be those storks that caused it.".
Statistics DO NOT prove causation - but they sure are a good public-scare tactic. FORCES Toronto - Press Release Canadian Cancer Society and Ontario Human Rights Commission Practice 'Legal' Discrimination"The actions of the CCS and OHRC are Legally not violations of the Ontario Human Rights Code, but they Are Violations of Human Rights. Hatred is Hatred, whether a minority group is named or not. Their actions are "Legal Discrimination", and both organizations know this better than anyone." It's way past the time that what is being done in the name of 'health', in pursuit of a smokefree society, was put into perspective. At the moment there is no accountability, and lives that are impacted by the climate of hostility being fostered are simply written off as 'collateral damage'. Congratulations to FORCES Toronto for taking this initiative. Nova Scotia Government - hands
off teens - no plans to sue 'Big T' Well, at least for now. "Nancy Hoddinott, co-ordinator of the Health Department’s tobacco strategy, told a legislature community-services committee yesterday there’s no proof that a law punishing kids for smoking will work." Any parent could tell you that; it's hardly 'news'. "The province announced in October a $1-million strategy to curb teen and adult smoking. It proposes to ban smoking in public and workplaces and pour money into cessation programs, public awareness and youth smoking-prevention initiatives." Another million dollars down the proverbial rathole. Curb teen smoking - how presumptuous of these people to insert themselves between parents and their children, delivering a message calculated to undermine the PARENTAL authority of those who choose to smoke. How the use of a legal product is presented to teens is not the government's business; there's a superfluity of one-sided information available should they choose to avail themselves of it.. Curb adult smoking - now we've reached the height of overweening sanctimony. We are talking about ADULTS - those who have reached the age of majority and are perfectly capable of making their own decisions. Rake in the taxes on the product (this Province increased the price of a carton by $8.00 this year) while preaching abstinence. Of course the taxes presumably pay for those "cessation programs, public awareness and youth smoking-prevention initiatives" as well as the salaries of anti-smoking operatives. In case anyone is interested,
Sue 'Big T'? Only if you're willing to overturn the rule of law, and stack the deck with Legislation preventing examination of evidence presented. Anti-tobacco lawsuits won't survive unless that 'evidence' is shielded from scrutiny. Ottawa's smoking ban will save up to
$50M in healthcare? "The smoking bylaw is going to save health-care dollars, it's going to save on emergency-room visits, and it's going to save lives," said Dr. Atul Kapur, an emergency-medicine doctor and president of Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada." Dream on Dr. Kapur. "The estimate (emphasis added) is based on a study published by researchers at the University of Toronto in 1998.....", but of course the president of Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada translates that into an absolute for publicity purposes. More likely, any cost savings
attributed to the destruction of freedom of choice in imposing a 100% ban will
come from: What is happening to our society with the imposition of mandatory adherence to 'healthism' is well described in Dr. Peter Marsh's lecture In Praise of Bad Habits (Social Issues Research Centre, Oxford, UK, 17 November 2001) "People who are unwilling to succumb to what the late (Dr.) Petr Skrabanek ..... described as 'Coercive Healthism' - those among us with 'bad habits' - are the new outcasts in this increasingly fearful and intolerant world. It is, in the words of the East London GP Michael Fitzpatrick, the Tyranny of Health which now surrounds us." A 'smokefree' society - bought at the expense of individual autonomy and submission to what others believe is for our own good. Editorial "Allan Rock's Big Tobacco Lie"Unfortunately, this Editorial is not available in the online version of the Financial Post. However, for those of you interested in Health Canada's deception on the labelling terms 'light' and 'mild', it's a must read. Can anyone have missed the full page ads in newspapers across the Country depicting tar being squeezed from a handful of cigarettes? It's part of a 200 million dollar promotion budget geared toward "reducing the use of tobacco" and in this case, justifying a law eliminating the use of the words from cigarette packages. Supposedly, the terms 'light' and 'mild' deceive smokers into thinking the products are less dangerous to their health. NewsFlash: Smokers prefer the TASTE - a concept Health Canada anti-smoking fanatics aren't familiar with. Congratulations to tobacco companies who refuse to voluntarily comply with this latest attempt at label meddling. Canada is already a global laughingstock with the grotesque graphic labels introduced into law last year. "It's a slick campaign, but the
real deception here is coming from Mr. Rock and Health Canada. Because it is
Health Canada, and a succession of Liberal health ministers going back to at
least 1967, who systematically forced the tobacco companies to begin the light
and mild reporting that Mr. Rock now labels deceptive." "...the greatest deception flying around Ottawa today is coming from Health Canada, and Mr. Rock. Health Canada, after spending two decades....hounding the tobacco companies into light and mild cigarette brands as a health benefit, is now hounding the same companies for selling light and mild cigarettes because they are a health hazard.....At the least, somebody should sue Ottawa for promoting a false health benefit." Health Canada irretrievably lost credibility on the tobacco issue when they decided to embrace the nonexistant dangers of secondhand smoke as a means of inducing fear of, and guilt in, smokers. Anything this Ministry has to say now in their efforts to pursue a 'smokefree' society is relegated to the 'blah..blah..blah..' category. "...what we really need is a removal of the Minister of Health and the Health Canada operatives who are behind the current grotesque and deceptive harassment of smokers and the tobacco industry." There would be no disagreement from those who've experienced firsthand the government sanctioned War declared against smokers. Update: 28 November 2001, Washington
Post Sniffing
around The 'story' is USA origin - with a Canadian warning on what can happen here. "The new smoking ordinance by
Montgomery County Council near Washington, the American capital. Fines up to
$750 if you smoke inside your home or backyard, and your neighbour's nose picks
up the smell and hears health-problem bells going off in the head. According to the National Post, 22 November 2001, "The county gets about 10 air quality complaints a week, none of them connected to tobacco." Well, we can't have that can we? If there were any problems, the situation was obviously resolved between those concerned. The anti-smoking social engineers on this County Council have taken what may have been a minor annoyance and escalated it into a legally actionable offense. There's nothing like 'fostering friendship and communication' between neighbours. "When you live in close proximity to people, you must conform your behaviour and your conduct," he said. (Council Member Isiah Legett) Strange. Originally, cooking odours were to have been included in the new regulation, but eventually received exemption. Those 'scents' aren't an agenda concern to those who have assigned themselves the right to determine what behaviour and conduct need to be tempered. This is transparent social engineering, a case of "the elite deciding how everyone should live." (Mark Schiller, MD, Pacific Research Institute - October 1998) Watch out Canada - what happens south of the border has a habit of travelling in this direction. Time to stop fanatics -
Calgary As another commentator on this issue once remarked, "...here they come, with hairnets pulled tight and little hatchets swinging". "It's supposedly still a free
country, so if someone wants to spend their loonies smoking, drinking and
gambling, I say let them go ahead. Those wishing to live in a clinical setting should sign themselves into some institution or other, turn their lives over to those "who know best", and leave everyone else to choose their own route to perdition. Since when did 'health' become a religion whose pronouncements free citizens ignore at their own peril? "...the definition of puritanical is someone who just can't bear to see another person enjoying life. The strident anti-smoking brigade is in this category." 'Saving souls' used to be justification for all types of excessive repression - now it's saving bodies. The basic 'virtue' is the same, just a different regime. "People who are always taking care of their health are like misers who are hoarding up a treasure which they never have spirit enough to enjoy." - Lawrence Sterne. Ban review? - Ottawa It just hasn't worked out - the anti-smoking promise that once all the smokers were cleared out of establishments, non smokers would take their place. Did anyone seriously think this 'promise' was realistic? The economic repercussions of a
100% ban are now known and reportedly, five Councillors are prepared to have
another look at the situation. The whole premise of the ban is a
sham: As one Councillor put it,
"I wouldn't have voted for the whole package had I had all the information.......That was wrong. That was so wrong. That's enough reason why everyone should be willing to revisit it." It's time the deceptive practises of anti-smoking proponents were recognized and declared unacceptable. Those who recognize no values other than their own must be prevented from interfering in the lives, and livelihoods, of other people - who never asked for their help in the first place. Court Action - Ottawa "Poisoning staff is not a good
employer practice," he said. "You have better protection working in a mine or a
foundry than breathing in Class-A toxins from second-hand
smoke." And faking opinion survey results is not a good public servant practice. Second-hand smoke became listed as
a 'Class A carcinogen' in the National Toxicology Program (NTP) 9th
Report. "The NTP’s Report on Carcinogens simply discusses substances that “may pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans” but that the report presents no risk assessments that would determine conditions under which the hazard may be harmful to humans. ...... The listing of substances in the [NTP] report, therefore, does not establish that such substances present carcinogenic risks to individuals in their daily lives.” Sunshine and alcohol received the same Class A designation in this Report; according to anti-smoking logic, we'd better eliminate those too. Interesting to note that a
sub-committee member in meetings for the Report on Carcinogens (RoC) hoped
that"...when we get to diesel we will get the same
generous interpretation of epidemiology" enjoyed
by the ETS-as-carcinogen faction. "Mike Kennedy of Smokers' Choice, which helps bars morph into hosts for private parties to get around the bylaw, is disappointed businesses will have to wait for an explanation on how the bylaw prevents smoking in private space." There is no "private space" as far as anti-smoking fanatics are concerned. They'll get around to putting your home and motor vehicle under their wing if their fervour isn't cooled. These people seem to believe that we're all 5 years old - and incapable of making personal decisions. (or discovering the shoddy methods used in their attempt to control adult behaviour) Tobacco tax hike "I regard tax increases as an important part of our overall strategy in the fight to reduce the use of tobacco," Health Minister Allan Rock said in announcing the federal increase. It will be as 'effective' as any other measure being used to obliterate informed, adult, legal choice. What it will do is reduce the amount of individual disposable income available - and hit charitable contributions at a time when they can least afford it. In case it's gone unnoticed, we're experiencing a general economic downturn. "The health minister said Thursday
he will make public his legal game plan on how *that will be done "within the
next few weeks." The word ETHICS has obviously become redundant and is slated for extinction. How many theories is this paternalistic government going to allow the inhabitants of social engineering heaven to inflict on the population? "Experience should teach us
to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are
beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their
liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in
insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."
Grand River Hospital - Waterloo, Ontario In the name of 'health' 01 November 2001 "ACTION REQUESTED" Smokers who are unfortunate enough to be a patient at Grand River Hospital, or their visitors, will find themselves travelling to 'smoking sheds' in order to light up. This is supposedly a measure to 'promote health'. Staff are required to follow suit. With the type of winters experienced in this area, you have to wonder whose 'health' the policy makers here have in mind. Reiteration of the need to protect others from the nonexistent dangers of environmental tobacco smoke no doubt will be used to support this decision. Outdoors? Could anything be more blatantly manipulative? The linked message in the heading was received from a resident of the Waterloo area who has requested help. Please email your concerns and comments directly to: Let the Waterloo Region newspaper
The Record know how you feel about this. Nasty thing to think, but this wouldn't be a measure to reduce healthcare costs by discouraging smokers from seeking treatment - would it? This is the first step in ending up like Carey Medical Hospital in Caribou, Maine - where you are not allowed to smoke on 'their' hospital property, including the parking lot. Scroll down on this link to the message from a Maine resident: "....Carey went totally smoke free? We can’t even smoke outside or in our cars in your lot." Note the use of the possessive "your" in that sentence. Looks like health facilities are no longer owned by the taxpayers - ALL of them - who pay for their existence. Let Grand River Hospital know what you think about their march along the road to total PROHIBITION. |
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