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August 4 [18:40 GMT] - Siegel’s perfidious 18 - Dr. Michael Siegel, a supporter of smoking bans, has nonetheless emerged as a strident objector to the social extremism and junk-science-based hysteria that he observes all over the anti-smoking movement. Here he fingers 18 organizations that are making bogus claims about second-hand smoke.
“In fact,
the claim makes it appear that secondhand smoke is far more hazardous
than active smoking, because it takes only 30 minutes of secondhand
smoke exposure to cause the same degree of heart damage as years
and years of active smoking. The passive smoke fraud August 4 [18:38 GMT] - Surgeon General redux - Jacob Sullum at Reason Magazine weighs in on Surgeon General Carmona’s report on second-hand smoke:“Since it's hard to measure even the health consequences of heavy, long-term exposure to secondhand smoke, how could one possibly demonstrate an effect from, say, a few molecules? ‘No risk-free level’ is an article of faith, not a scientific statement. “Speaking of which, Carmona was at pains to say he was merely summarizing the science, not making policy recommendations, even though he emphasized that smoking bans are the only way to eliminate the ‘serious public health hazard’ posed by secondhand smoke. He is right about this much: The issue of what the government should do about secondhand smoke is independent from the issue of exactly how risky it is. Whether smoking bans are a good idea is a question not of science but of values, of whether we want to live in a country where a majority forcibly imposes its preferences on everyone else or one where there is room for choice and diversity. “ August 4 [18:37 GMT] - A Healthist Manifesto - In 1974, one Marc Lalonde, Minister of Health in Canada, published a paper titled ”A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians”. Readers of the Forces pages may be familiar with the title of this publication. But how many have actually read it? Until recently, I had not.
Studying this healthist manifesto allowed me insight into the
fundamentals of the propaganda that we are exposed to every day,
through newspapers, television, novels and other channels of
indoctrination. ”A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians” is a
despicable medieval parchment. It reduces man to a pawn in a
gigantic game played by the directors of healthism. August 3 [13:20 GMT] - Extremism Has Taken Over the Tobacco Control Movement - Dr. Michael Siegel, the conscience of the anti-tobacco movement, is socking it to ‘em again: “Believe me: it's not that all of us in tobacco control want to ban smokers from the workplace, take children away from their parents for smoking in their presence, ban smoking everywhere (even in the home), and punish smokers in any way we can find. It's not that all of us support the idea of misrepresenting the science in order to promote our agenda. And it's not that all of us think that on-screen smoking is the most pressing threat to the well-being of our nation's children. “My views on these issues has been made quite clear, but there are many others in the tobacco control movement who feel similarly. “The problem, as I see it, is that we have somehow created a poisoned environment in this movement whereby those who oppose these extremist measures and tactics do not feel safe in speaking out to oppose them. “Any opposition to the anti-smoking agenda or to the tactics used to promote it is seen as heresy. You automatically become a traitor. You risk your funding, your reputation, your career."
One participant to a StarChef. Com forum , on the issue said this: “I'm a Chef/Owner in Chicago, I suppose this is akin to the 1920's prohibition (that didn't work out so well either) We have a city council that has apparently solved all of our civic, social and economic issues. I look forward to going to work and seeing no potholes and living with the knowledge that all of the cities schools are well funded and everyone has health coverage. Nice dream right? But not to sound overly biblical, and to paraphrase Joshua in the old testament, As for me and my house we will serve foie gras!!!” Food for thought - Caution: high calories here! August 3 [13:20 GMT] - The Hollow Heart of Medical Science - Ours is a world of silicone tits and gangsta rap fashion for the desperately getting elderly. Magazine “science” features have us dreaming that maybe, if the big break-through happens in time for us, we have a shot at immortality. Imagine queuing for tickets to the latest Rolling Stones come-back concert in the year 2100 – “Really Rusty Wheels”. Perhaps, if we quit smoking and eat the right foods and just hold on, the big scythe may not swing for us… Scientists and doctors are creatures of their time and culture, of course. The essay we link to above offers a timely meditation on the proper and proportionate role of the medical profession as a humane discipline in a wacky world. “The problem is not that science and medicine wish to avoid finding cures; it is that they are too strongly motivated by an irrational, unconscious need to cure death to be fully motivated by the lesser task of preventing and curing disease in order to delay their patients’ – and their own – inevitable ends. The irrational, obsessive promises made by scientists and physicians in the past few decades have, in a way, institutionalized the denial of death.” Junk science: killing 2 birds with 1 stone
 Why
not? Just frame the right questions and the answers confirming
the mental hypothesis come up – almost automatically! The
abstract of this piece of trash closes with the expected healthist
paternalism, of course: “ …These results were independent
of a range of potentially confounding factors and suggest a
direct effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on
adolescent overweight and obesity. They provide yet another
incentive for pregnant women to be persuaded not to smoke and
for young women to be encouraged to never take up smoking.” How
noble! Save yourself, and your child too – and kill 2 birds with one
stone once again!
How it
is possible to actually filter out the immense number of
confounding factors in a “study” like this is better left to the fantasy
of professional prestidigitators, as nowadays epidemiological junk
science is the science of conmanship at the service of fraud. Let’s
light one up to that.The role of Public Health
August 2
[16:20 GMT] -
Surgeon General leaving to run for office?
- The underplayed announcement this week that Surgeon General Richard
Carmona will not return for a second term will surely give rise to new
speculation about his running for office. According to early reports,
there seem to be no clear reasons being offered for Carmona’s exit as SG.
But other press speculations may yield clues. A
2005 interview with the Arizona Republic (purchase required), and a
Tucson Citizen article of the same year reveals the GOP’s interest
in Carmona as a potential candidate for political office, possibly in
the Arizona gubernatorial race.
Carmona has declared that he sees no
reason why tobacco should be legal. Are the Republicans – and/or
Democrats – grooming this man to become the politician who runs on a
platform of Prohibition?
August 2
[16:20 GMT]
-
Smoking rates continue to increase in Ireland after the ban
- To any sane person this seems logical because what’s forbidden
attracts. Far from us, of course, to imply that, since “smoking is
bad”, governments should reverse
policies of prohibition to obtain a decrease of smoking. What must be
noted is the fanaticism of ASH and the like. Faced with the unarguable
reality of the increases in smoking rates because of prohibition (there is no
other reason), ASH now advocates bringing the price of cigarettes to
€ 8.50 a pack (over $10.80). Why not ten? Why not twenty? Of course, ASH will
be ignored
until the after the Irish elections, because politicians know that
smokers vote. So the increases will kick in later. Why is it that politicians are
NEVER asked to declare their
position on smoking prohibition before the elections? Democracy doesn't
work if the politicians are always allowed to set the agenda themselves.
IT'S HIGH TIME THAT SMOKING PROHIBITION BECAME A NUMBER ONE BALLOT BOX
ISSUE.
Just one month after a smoking ban went into effect in Colorado, some bars are already on the verge of bankruptcy, having lost 50 per cent of their business. A Denver-area newspaper columnist visits a formerly profitable local bar and its desperate owner. Other reports (click here for story and video link) further detail the destruction of the area’s bar businesses and the price being paid by ordinary hard-working people for the prohibition dreams of others. Missing the target, once again
FORCES activities July 31 [19:30 GMT] - Welcome to The Tavern at FORCES - A new public forum, The Tavern at FORCES, is now open and welcoming anyone who wants to discuss the smoking issue and other FORCES topics. Sure, we know it’s not the only forum out there about smoking, but we’re not just about smoking, anyway, as our regular readers know. We invite views and debate about the New Prohibitionism and lifestyle policing, junk science and more. Do modern states really want to make their war on tobacco part of the dismal and misery-causing War on Drugs? Is there ever any justification for the use of junk science as part of government propaganda campaigns? Why are the baby-boomers – the “let it all hang out” generation -- spearheading the most intolerant domestic political policies of the post-war era? Is it because they’re really responsible – or just as irresponsible as they ever were? Weigh in with your opinion. Keep it civilized, folks, but keep it lively! Come on in and join us at the bar. Prohibition July 31 [19:30 GMT] - Politicos and anti-smokers scratching each others’ backs in D.C. - Now that the Washington D.C. city council has passed a total and mandatory smoking ban for all at D.C. nightclubs, bars, and the bar areas of restaurants, the antis are celebrating. The American Cancer Society, oblivious as usual to anything apart from its own obsessive, totalitarian agenda, recently gave a special award to the authors and supporters of the bill . David Catania, one of the chief crafters of the bill, is already scratching the back of his political masters by giving money to the anti-smoking campaigns that are giving him help with his political career . But for those who make their living in the hospitality industry are having a wake as they contemplate the effects of the new law, slated to go into effect in January. Already at least one nightspot, the Lizard Lounge, has announced its closing, blaming the smoking ban for the demise of the popular gay locale. “Regrettably and painfully, we find ourselves in the position of being left with no choice but to heed the publicly-offered and now infamous advice to hospitality industry professionals made by gay D.C. Councilmember and mandatory smoking ban bill author David Catania … urging workers to … either change careers or at least have a good head start on saving some money.” said nightclub producer Mark Lee. The bill was pushed through earlier this year despite rigorous lobbying against it from all sectors of the hospitality industry, and despite Mayor Anthony Williams’s refusal to sign it because of the economic damage it would cause. Rewriting history
July 30 [13:50 GMT] - Theatrical smoking banned in Scotland: Cigar censored for Churchill character in historical drama - “The thing I would like to say about it is that it would have delighted Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler, as you know, was anti-smoking. You couldn't smoke at Adolf Hitler's dining table, so he'd be pleased, wouldn't he? Congratulations Scotland." That was the comment from British actor Mel Smith, due to star in the role of Sir Winston Churchill in the Edinburgh Festival production of Allegiance in August. He and other actors who play roles which call for on-stage smoking have been informed that any lighting up will be considered a full violation of Scotland’s smoking ban. Warnings by Edinburgh City council have already been issued to one theatrical group.
Meanwhile, some festival organizers are lobbying to get
the law changed to exempt theatrical productions before the festival
season kicks off in early August. July 29 [17:40 GMT] - Tony Blair’s legacy: Public Health becomes Healthy Living - As he prepares to exit the political stage, British Prime Minister Tony Blair explicitly says that modern Public Health is not really Public Health at all, but instead Healthy Living. He offers a redefinition of the modern state, claiming the key question is not “how much government?” but “government for what purpose?” For Tony, the “command and control” welfare state must give way to a government which guides all elements in society towards an “enabling state” that works with the private sector and the media to “empower” people to get at least what they should want (whether they really want it or not). Otherwise, “…in a tougher way, I think than ever before, we have to act,” he added, before drawing out an extended implied comparison between today’s world and Victorian England before the era of modern sanitation. The BBC interprets his stand as a move by Labour to rehabilitate its “nanny state” image, but it’s difficult to see how they arrived at that conclusion. Talk of government being “tougher and more active in setting standards and enforcing them”, while “empowering” people rather than coercing them to do what government wants – it all sounds merely like mendacious double-talk to us.
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When
will the business owners ever learn that there are no “rights” when
the topic is legally defined as a “health issue”? The prohibition
agenda must be tackled