Smoking


Smoking

If smoking is so bad for us, why legalize marijuana?

Mark Janda
fredericksburg.com
Sun, 26 Jan 2014 05:50 UTC
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Government gives green light to get stoned, and the red light to get thinking.
Regarding "Reefer madness: Why the big rush to legalize pot?" [Viewpoints, Jan. 19]: I've heard on the news and read several articles this past week related to how cigarettes are more addictive than ever. There was a New York Times editorial on Jan 19: "Smoking is worse than you imagined."

Smoking kills even more Americans than previously estimated with 480,000 per year dying from smoking-related illnesses. This costs us between $289 billion and $333 billion in medical care and lost productivity. The article states expectedly that the cause of all the deaths and costs are due to marketing from the tobacco industry freely not the individuals who choose to smoke.

The solution? The FDA should put regulations on all tobacco products. Thanks to the government, they will protect us from ourselves. This in addition to Obamacare, which will for the most part restrict all tobacco products so that the government will save all of those billions of dollars, right?

Comment: Wrong!

But we share the author's skepticism. The whole anti-tobacco/pro-marijuana thing stinks.

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Smoking

Jordan to enforce smoking ban despite public fury

Jamal Halaby
Associated Press
Sat, 25 Jan 2014 08:46 UTC
Smoking fascism
© Unknown
In Jordan, a country where smoking is so popular that motorists can be seen puffing away on miniature water pipes in traffic, the kingdom's government now wants to enforce a Western-style smoking ban in restaurants, cafes and other public places.

The ban, coming from a law passed in 2008 but not full enforced, also would see the government revoke the licenses of all 6,000 coffee shops that serve shisha by the end of this year.

But business owners and smokers are criticizing the push, saying it goes against the culture of a country where smoking is seen as an attractive sign of manhood and elderly Bedouins roll their own cigarettes in public.

"We are caught between a rock and a hard place whereby the government is trying to force a closure of our businesses," said Mazen Alsaleh, who owns 14 coffee and hookah shops around the country. "I am not defending the hookah or smoking, but we must defend our investments."

The pastime of smoking shisha - also known as nargile, hubbly bubbly, hookah or by other names across the Middle East - is engrained in Jordanian culture from the time of the Ottoman Empire. Mourners receive cigarettes at wakes, while delivery companies only supplying hookahs have sprouted across the country.

Comment: The main goal of tobacco smoking bans is "to change societal behavior" by stigmatizing smoking, making it less convenient and less socially acceptable. By raising the stakes, it helped transform a complaint into a right, so that people annoyed by tobacco smoke now felt justified in demanding that it be eliminated everywhere they might want to go, including other people's property.

In short, they have conditioned the majority of the people on the planet to behave like Nazis and think it is normal.

See also:

The devious plan of anti-smoking campaigns to control people and stop them from using their brain

Let's All Light Up!

5 Health Benefits of Smoking

Nicotine Lessens Symptoms Of Depression In Nonsmokers

Nicotine helps Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Patients

Brain Researchers: Smoking increases intelligence

Read More...
Briefcase

Sitting at work for hours can be as unhealthy as smoking


CBS News
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 09:32 UTC
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© Boagworld.com
Take a stand for your health - literally.

Doctors are urging the millions of people who work at a desk all day to stand up or walk around the office.

As CBS 2′s Dr. Max Gomez reported, our couch-potato lifestyle is killing us at about the same rate as smoking.

And it's not just sitting around at home; it's also our sit-for-hours workdays that are part of an unhealthy sedentary lifestyle.

"Sitting is probably killing me," said Linda Caufield, of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Caufiled is right. A number of studies have shown that prolonged sitting is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer and even early death.

"Smoking certainly is a major cardiovascular risk factor, and sitting can be equivalent in many cases," said Dr. David Coven, a cardiologist at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. "The fact of being sedentary causes factors to happen in the body that are very detrimental."

A recent study shows levels of physical activity and lower levels of sitting time were positively associated with excellent health and quality of life.

Comment: MU study finds that sitting may increase risk of disease

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Smoking

Smoking is not for the masses! Politicians and royals light up, though

Palash Ghosh
International Business Times
Tue, 25 Jun 2013 03:15 UTC
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© ReutersRussian foreign minister Lavrov lights up
What do Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Winston Churchill and Jawaharlal Nehru all have in common? They were (are) all fond of smoking.

Rates of cigarette and cigar smoking have been falling across the Western world as a confluence of health advocacy and advertisement restrictions have prodded millions of people to either quit or not take up the deadly habit in the first place.

But a surprising number of global leaders like to light up, although a great many avoid doing so in public.

In recent years, much discussion has been made about U.S. Presidents Obama and Clinton and their habit of smoking cigarettes and cigars, respectively.

Comment: Do as we say, not as we do!

Again we see that the issue isn't smoking per se. The main goal of tobacco smoking bans is "to change societal behavior" by stigmatizing smoking, making it less convenient and less socially acceptable. By raising the stakes, it helped transform a complaint into a right, so that people annoyed by tobacco smoke now felt justified in demanding that it be eliminated everywhere they might want to go, including other people's property.

In short, they have conditioned the majority of the people on the planet to behave like Nazis and think it is normal.

See also:

The devious plan of anti-smoking campaigns to control people and stop them from using their brain

Let's All Light Up!

5 Health Benefits of Smoking

Nicotine Lessens Symptoms Of Depression In Nonsmokers

Nicotine helps Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Patients

Brain Researchers: Smoking increases intelligence

Read More...
Sheeple

Best of the Web: Marijuana for the Masses: Legalized cannabis and why the government wants us to go to pot

John Myers
Personal Liberty Digest
Wed, 22 Jan 2014 12:05 UTC
"By this time the soma had begun to work. Eyes shone, cheeks were flushed,
the inner light of universal benevolence broke out on every face
Image
© NSDUHDaily or almost daily marijuana use in the past year and past month among persons aged 12 or older: 2002-2012
in happy, friendly smiles." - Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, 1932

On Jan. 1, Colorado legalized the sale of recreational marijuana. In 2012, Washington State legalized marijuana; the State will begin permitting pot shops this spring. Alaska may vote on a marijuana ballot measure in August, while advocates are working for legalized pot in Oregon, Arizona and Massachusetts.

A public announcement from Colorado should say: "Be calm. Feel free to become distracted. Do not focus on how miserable you are or the fact that for the first time in 70 years, middle-class job opportunities have seized up." Then they could ask: "Are you ready for some football?"
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Vader

Zeig Heil! Life to get much more miserable and expensive for smokers

Jonnelle Marte
MarketWatch
Thu, 23 Jan 2014 05:54 UTC
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The surgeon general's report could lead to more antismoking initiatives

Turns out, smoking cigarettes can be even deadlier than previously thought. And, according to a report released by the U.S. surgeon general last week, smokers could be paying for the added risks in more ways than one.

The report, released on the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General's report on the hazards of smoking, found that the habit is associated with a higher risk of diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, colorectal cancer and erectile dysfunction, in addition to previously well-known conditions such as lung disease, heart attack and stroke. For employers, which are already taking steps to discourage workers from smoking in an effort to lower health costs and improve productivity, the latest evidence showing that smoking is linked to more diseases may cause them to ramp up their antismoking efforts, experts say. "This will only accelerate the movement that we've already seen," says LuAnn Heinen, a vice president at the National Business Group on Health, a non-profit in Washington, D.C. that helps large employers develop health and wellness programs.

Comment:
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Hitler would be so proud of how his Reich flourished
Consultants in Washington, of course, don't actually give a damn about you or anyone else's health. The main goal of tobacco smoking bans is "to change societal behavior" by stigmatizing smoking, making it less convenient and less socially acceptable. By raising the stakes, it helped transform a complaint into a right, so that people annoyed by tobacco smoke now felt justified in demanding that it be eliminated everywhere they might want to go, including other people's property.

In short, they have conditioned the majority of the people on the planet to behave like Nazis and think it is normal.

See also:

The devious plan of anti-smoking campaigns to control people and stop them from using their brain

Let's All Light Up!

5 Health Benefits of Smoking

Nicotine Lessens Symptoms Of Depression In Nonsmokers

Nicotine helps Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Patients

Brain Researchers: Smoking increases intelligence

Read More...
Smoking

Chicago follows NYC in banning indoor electronic cigarette smoking

John Byrne
Chicago Tribune
Wed, 15 Jan 2014 16:00 UTC
Image
E-cigarettes will join regular smokes and other tobacco products as forbidden in most indoor public places in Chicago after aldermen today passed a measure backed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to restrict where electronic cigarettes can be used and how they can be sold.

The ordinance, which passed 45-4 after opponents took one last chance to voice their displeasure, will prohibit people from using e-cigarettes in restaurants, bars and most other indoor public places in the city. The measure also will require retailers to sell e-cigarettes from behind the counter so it's harder for minors to get their hands on them.

Emanuel has made tobacco regulations a recent focus, working to frame the discussion over cigarette sales as a question of how willing elected officials are to protect children from getting lured into addiction at a young age.

At the last City Council meeting, aldermen voted to restrict sales of menthol cigarettes near Chicago schools. Emanuel delivered a short speech from the dais positioning himself as a bulwark against the evils of Big Tobacco. Emanuel also increased the city's cigarette tax as part of his 2014 budget.

On Wednesday, the mayor used the passage of the e-cigarette regulations as a chance to again lay out his anti-tobacco bona fides, saying Chicago can't wait for the Food and Drug Administration to take a position on the safety of the products.

Comment: The main goal of tobacco smoking bans is "to change societal behavior" by stigmatizing smoking, making it less convenient and less socially acceptable. By raising the stakes, it helped transform a complaint into a right, so that people annoyed by tobacco smoke now felt justified in demanding that it be eliminated everywhere they might want to go, including other people's property.

In short, they have conditioned the majority of the people on the planet to behave like Nazis and think it is normal.

See also:

The devious plan of anti-smoking campaigns to control people and stop them from using their brain

Let's All Light Up!

5 Health Benefits of Smoking

Nicotine Lessens Symptoms Of Depression In Nonsmokers

Nicotine helps Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Patients

Brain Researchers: Smoking increases intelligence

Read More...
Stormtrooper

Anti-smoking police force in Philippines arrested 3,690 smokers in 2013

Reuel John F. Lumawag
Sun Star Davao
Tue, 21 Jan 2014 05:51 UTC
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No smoking 'allowed' in Davao, Philippines
The Anti-Smoking Task Force (ASTF) had apprehended a total of 3,690 individuals from January to November 2013 for violating the Davao City's Anti-Smoking Ordinance, an official said.

According to the ASTF's report on the Anti-Smoking Campaign of Davao City, a total of 2,364 were issued with violation citation tickets after the implementation of New Comprehensive Anti-Smoking Ordinance (Ordinance 0367-12, Series of 2012) on June 2013 while 1,326 were apprehended prior to the implementation of the ordinance.

"There were no cases filed in court against them but were only issued violation citation tickets, required to pay the fine of P500 to the City Treasurer's Office, and attend the counseling at the City Health Office," ASTF co-chairperson Dr. Domilyn C. Villarreiz said during Davao Press Club's Kapehan sa Dabaw at The Annex of SM City Davao on Monday.

According to The New Comprehensive Anti-Smoking Ordinance (Ordinance 0367-12, Series of 2012), "the person issued with the ticket has the option to either contest the violation in court or voluntarily pay the penalty of P500 imposed upon him or her to avoid being criminally prosecuted within three days from apprehension".

She said from June to December 2013, the city treasurer has collected only P955,500 in fines from 1,911 violators.

Comment: The main goal of tobacco smoking bans is "to change societal behavior" by stigmatizing smoking, making it less convenient and less socially acceptable. By raising the stakes, it helped transform a complaint into a right, so that people annoyed by tobacco smoke now felt justified in demanding that it be eliminated everywhere they might want to go, including other people's property.

In short, they have conditioned the majority of the people on the planet to behave like Nazis and think it is normal.

See also:

The devious plan of anti-smoking campaigns to control people and stop them from using their brain

Let's All Light Up!

5 Health Benefits of Smoking

Nicotine Lessens Symptoms Of Depression In Nonsmokers

Nicotine helps Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Patients

Brain Researchers: Smoking increases intelligence

Read More...
Smoking

Study of miners exposed to diesel finds smokers were far LESS likely to develop lung cancer


iWatch News
Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:53 UTC
School bus diesel fumes
© Mark J. Terrill/AP file
A much-anticipated government study of more than 12,000 miners - whose publication was delayed by litigation from a group of mining companies - has found that exposure to diesel engine exhaust significantly increases the risk of lung cancer.

For the most heavily exposed miners, the risk of dying from lung cancer was three times higher than it was for those exposed to low doses. For non-smokers, the risk was seven times higher.
Read More...
Smoking

50 years after the flawed U.S. Surgeon General's report, ALL health problems are still being blamed on smoking

Brady Dennis
The Washington Post
Thu, 16 Jan 2014 00:00 UTC
Image
© Associated Press Surgeon General Luther Terry testifies (lies) on Capitol Hill before the House Commerce Committee hearing on proposed labeling of cigarette packages on April 9, 1965.
Fifty years after the U.S. surgeon general first linked cigarette smoking to deadly diseases such as lung cancer and heart disease, his successors continue to add to the list of health problems associated with tobacco use.

Smoking is a cause of liver cancer and colorectal cancer, the fourth-most-diagnosed form of the disease in the United States, Acting Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak found in a report released Friday. In addition, he said, smoking is a cause of Type 2 diabetes mellitus, age-related macular degeneration, erectile dysfunction and rheumatoid arthritis. It can impair the immune system, worsen asthma and cause cleft lips and palates in fetuses. And exposure to secondhand smoke can cause strokes.

Smokers today have a much higher risk of developing lung cancers than did smokers in the 1960s, probably because of changes in the design and composition of cigarettes over time, according to the findings.


Comment: So this has nothing to do with our poisoned environment? 'The tobacco industry' seems to be an easy scapegoat, but isn't it more likely that the increase in rates of cancers of ALL kinds isn't due to this one factor, smoking? Colorectal cancer? Diabetes mellitus? Erectile dysfunction? Seriously? Pick an ailment and apparently the U.S. Surgeon General can pin it on smoking...

Air pollution causes lung cancer in non-smokers (erm, can't it cause it in smokers too then?)


Friday's report, the latest of more than 30 such documents issued by surgeons general since the landmark 1964 examination of smoking's health consequences, offered another round of evidence of tobacco's potential to harm nearly every human organ.

Comment: 'Fighting tobacco and smoking' has nothing to do with 'saving lives' and everything to do with imposing tyranny...

The main goal of tobacco smoking bans is "to change societal behavior" by stigmatizing smoking, making it less convenient and less socially acceptable. By raising the stakes, it helped transform a complaint into a right, so that people annoyed by tobacco smoke now felt justified in demanding that it be eliminated everywhere they might want to go, including other people's property.

In short, they have conditioned the majority of the people on the planet to behave like Nazis and think it is normal.

See also:

The devious plan of anti-smoking campaigns to control people and stop them from using their brain

Let's All Light Up!

5 Health Benefits of Smoking

Nicotine Lessens Symptoms Of Depression In Nonsmokers

Nicotine helps Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Patients

Brain Researchers: Smoking increases intelligence

Read More...