|
Rights Newsletter
August 27, 2004 |
||
|
Light'm Up Until The UN Says You Can't. By Alan Caruba. When I served in the Army, the sergeant would say, "Smoke'm if you have'm." Most of us would, too. I am still a cigar smoker. The question is---how long before some storm trooper busts in the front door to tell me I can't smoke any more? My Turn: The end of our way of life. By Joshua Adams. As a result of various social pressures, the Juneau Assembly decided that the prohibition of alcohol could cure a few of the evils in our society. Unfortunately for concerned Juneau citizens, words like "prohibition" and "Volstead" are several decades out of style, so they cleverly devised a series of tax increases and smoking regulations designed to run bar owners out of business. Our Freedoms are Going Up in Smoke. By Neil Lock. For, the more and bigger the tattles they tell, the less are people inclined to believe them. The mental tide is turning. People are starting to see the freedom-killers for what they are. The Age of Omniphobia. By Joseph Sobran. In short, we are being protected to death. A friend of mine has coined a word for the mentality that sees dangers lurking in every hot dog: omniphobia. Who knows how many more perils Professor Banzhaf may yet call on government to banish from our lives? More Things That Will Kill You: UK: Fife mother calls for investigation into cancer cluster. Judge approves some requests by Monsanto. St. Louis-based Monsanto and bankrupt Solutia still face a legal wrangle over costs from decades of producing P-C-Bs, chemicals suspected of causing cancer. N.Y. calls acid rain a health emergency. More chemicals found in farmed salmon than wild. Asthma, Children And School. Parents, health-care providers, educators and other school personnel also should be alert to the possibility of emotional and/or behavioral problems in children with chronic asthma. One large study (more than 10,000 children aged 5 to 17) found that children with severe asthma were three times more likely than other children to have serious behavioral problems. Episodic Neurological Dysfunction Due to Mass Hysteria. Could a "Super Pill" Fight Obesity and Smoking? Pollution in U.S. lakes raise fears about fish. The EPA, after being sued by NRDC, plans to issue by mid-March the first regulations for the 43 tonnes of mercury a year from power plants. The Industry: Minority Cigarette Marketing Scrutinized. The latest cigarette-marketing efforts have caught the attention of health officials and anti-tobacco activists, who are accusing tobacco companies of using hip-hop images and attractive flavors to seduce minority youth into smoking. Limiting tobacco ads. Farmers aren't the only ones who will be paying close attention when the debate over a tobacco buyout starts up again in Congress. National media, marketing and advertising groups are nervously watching to see what happens to a proposal that gives the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco advertising. Remove subsidies. The letter writer failed to mention how this would help children, other than to say the targeting of minors would be more restricted. As far as I know, the FDA has nothing to do with advertising. Matter of fact, by the FDA's own bylaws, tobacco would have to be outlawed under the agency's oversight. Philip Morris Ad Incites Tobacco Market Struggle. Small Manufacturer Questions Motive Behind Advertisement Supporting FDA Regulation Of The Tobacco Industry Let FDA do its primary job. Rather than tobacco, the FDA needs to focus on fixing problems raging with prescription drugs. FDA Cigarette Regs Unfair to Convenience Stores. Congress obviously has no intention of outlawing tobacco. It's too afraid of the political fallout and too fond of the federal and state taxes paid by smokers. But pending legislation in Congress would treat anyone who sells tobacco like a criminal, including the many independent retailers who probably run your local convenience store. Read More About The FDA Situation. Another large tobacco company has joined the Master Settlement Agreement with Iowa and other states. JTI-Macdonald Files for Court Protection. VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Japan Tobacco's JTI-Macdonald Corp. unit filed for court protection from creditors on Tuesday in a fight with Quebec tax officials, who have accused the firm of smuggling to avoid more than $1 billion in taxes. Law Suits: Mass. judge allows class action against Philip Morris. The state's highest court ruled Friday that smokers of so-called "light" cigarettes can pursue a class-action lawsuit against Philip Morris USA, based on the smokers' claim that the tobacco giant advertised Marlboro Lights as less harmful than other brands. Tax-evasion charges dismissed against Indian cigarette dealers. Brunetti wrote there was merit to the defense argument that the defendants could not be trying to evade a tax that the state was not collecting anyway. Man seeks free cigarettes from 1976 settlement with Philip Morris. We Are Everyday People: Cigarette lighter guides rescue. A 21-YEAR-OLD man used a cigarette lighter to guide police in a helicopter to rescue him from a cliff ledge in an Adelaide recreation park, police said today. Female World Athlete of The Year Smokes. No-fly list's "T. Kennedy" irks senator. Sen. Edward Kennedy said yesterday he was stopped and questioned at airports on the East Coast five times in March because his name appeared on the government's secret "no-fly" list. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit on behalf of six Americans who have had experiences similar to Kennedy's. They include a Vermont college student, a retired Presbyterian minister and an ACLU employee. CT: Look for Shasta in CT and hear the new hit song, "No More Smokin'!" Widow Brown's Cafe - Federal Rd - Danbury, CT - After 10 pm 9/5-9/12 (Sunday Night Open Mikes). 59 Bank Street - New Milford, Ct - After 10 pm 9/1-9/8 (Wed. Night Open Mikes). Marbledale Pub - Route 202 - Marbledale, CT - After 10 pm 9/2-9/9 (Thurs. Night Open Mikes) Could This be the New Look of Cities Due Smoking bans? Conversational Knives and Daggers. By Catfarmer. An unseen part of a writer's job - even for people who write only as a hobby and can't really consider it a job - is correspondence. From The Mailbag: CA: From elite beach communities to Sacramento legislators, smoking while enjoying the sun and surf is now enemy one that must be destroyed. Geez, is it even safe to swim in Long Beach, California? CA: Beach-smoking ban stalls. CA: Car smoking ban resurrected. GA: Peachtree City approves smoking ban. IL: Sober Illinois Teens Ticketed at Party. Guilty by association. More about Alcohol. KY: Nazis raid Lexington bars and restaurants. With comments in red text by Terry Gray, President of Forces Kentucky. KY: Adding insult to injury. Bar owners aren't fabricating losses ME: Rumford. Ski area to ban tobacco. MN: Brooklyn Park challenges smoking ban trend. The council voted unanimously for a resolution opposing a countywide smoking ban. Read More. MN: Baxter. Smoking ban on hold. City Council expects further discussion in September. MN: Brooklyn Center became one of the latest Twin Cities suburbs to ponder the possibility of a smoking ban. The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the proposed ban at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14, in the county boardroom on the 24th floor of the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 S. Sixth St., Minneapolis. NY: Action Alerts. NY: Shoes become an issue under smoking ban. They say another problem is that if bowling shoes are worn outside to smoke they can get wet and stick to floor. NY: Rochester. Smoking Ban Violator Expanding. NY: Smoker-Friendly Bars in New York City. By Heather Klein. Despite Bloomberg's efforts, there are still bars where you can smoke. NY: See who is running in the September 14th Primary. OH: Smoking ban leader reports death threats. OH: Health Department identifies more victims of South Bass illness. OH: The squabble over Toledo's controversial smoking ban is back in court. This time, bar owners are complaining about the way the law is being enforced. Judge McConnell will issue a ruling within two weeks. Post your comments. OH: Toledo. Why uphold the laws, they don't... A city of Toledo employee responsible for enforcing the smoking ban testified yesterday that he was told to file two false reports against area bars for smoking violations that he never saw or believed to exist. OH: Cleveland mayor suggests gradual move toward smoking ban. PA: Up in bureaucratic smoke. By Tom Murse. Is smoking unhealthy? Sure. Are other states banning it? Uh-huh. Then why is a ban unlikely in Pennsylvania? Although health advocates are optimistic, insiders say there are simply too many political obstacles. TX: Copperas Cove voters to decide fate of smoking ban. VA: Clintwood. Town council voted unanimously last week to cut its cigarette tax in half, lowering it to 5 cents per pack. VA: Cigarette Tax will rise from 2 and a half cents to 20 cents per pack. WI: Phillips. Smoking ban opponents rise from the ashes. Tavern, restaurant owners face city council in force. WI: Portage. Smoking residents can rest assured -- or rather smoke assured -- that the city of Portage will likely not have an anti-smoking ordinance like the Columbia County Board of Supervisors passed Wednesday night. Canada: Edmonton. Charity bingo halls have launched a billboard campaign attacking the city's smoking bylaw, saying it could shut them down. Ireland: The smoking ban should be reconsidered as it is leading to despair among some people, the Government was told today. Ireland: Irish government under fire over smoking ban. NZ: At 4pm on Sunday afternoon, at the Carlton Hotel in Timaru, Mulvihill will risk a $5000 fine to protest against oppressive new anti-smoking legislation that could put him out of business. Tasmania. Lobbyists fight against smoking ban proposal. UK: A no-smoking pub has had to revert back to offering smoking areas after trade plummeted. UK: No Doubt Our PUB Jobs Will Go up in a Puff of Smoke ; Let Me Lay It on the Line. I Could Lose 25 Per Cent of My Trade. Surely This Isn't Labour Policy. Read this newsletter on a web page ..... Sign up for this newsletter Send your news items ..... © Copyright 2004. All rights reserved. | ||
Issue # 291