Free Republic

CLEVELAND - A man at the center of a voter-registration scandal told The Post yesterday he was given cash and cigarettes by aggressive ACORN activists in exchange for registering an astonishing 72 times, in apparent violation of Ohio laws. "Sometimes, they come up and bribe me with a cigarette, or they'll give me a dollar to sign up," said Freddie Johnson, 19, who filled out 72 separate voter-registration cards over an 18-month period at the behest of the left-leaning Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. "The ACORN people are everywhere, looking to sign people up. I tell them I...

Lawyers for the city of San Francisco told a federal judge Thursday that the city's ban on cigarette sales by pharmacies has nothing to do with free speech. Attorneys for the city made the argument in a brief filed with U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland to oppose a bid by Philip Morris USA Inc. for a preliminary injunction blocking the ban. Philip Morris, the nation's largest tobacco company, claims the ban violates its First Amendment right of free speech by putting an end to cigarette advertising and displays in the pharmacy stores. But city lawyers wrote in their...

The MSM continues to harp about McCain being 72 years of age. His mother is over 90, so there are excellent genetics there. And what about Obama's continued chain-smoking ways? I have heard that smoking is very bad for one's heart, especaiily chain-smoking. People have smoked for only a few years and have had heart attacks...

A couple from Malaysia was beaten to death Thursday in a bizarre stop-smoking ritual, Agence France-Presse reported. Police spokesman Ku Chin Wah told the official Bernama news agency that Mohamed Ibrahim Kader Mydin, 47, and his wife Rosina Mydin Pillay, 41, sustained head injuries in a beating intended to cure them of smoking and other illnesses.

Drinking beats smoking, Mayor Bloomberg said Sunday at a beer-soaked street fair in the heart of Germany's capital. After scooping up an anti-smoking award, the mayor bragged that New Yorkers who smoke are now ashamed to huddle outside bars with cigarettes, while non-smokers buy more food and drinks inside. "It turns out that it is economically good for the bar and restaurant business," Bloomberg said. "It's certainly good for everybody except the funeral parlors." The mayor was in Berlin to accept an award from the European Lung Foundation for his anti-smoking crusade. Along with pushing through the smoking ban, Bloomberg...

Casinos in Illinois have posted double-digit revenue declines since a smoking ban took effect there in January. And it's not primarily because high air fares stop tourists from visiting the Windy City in search of a game of chance. "The smoking ban is having a major impact," Tom Swoik, head of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, told The Wall Street Journal last week. Share & Save Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites What is this? A 2005 research paper by the...

Smokers will be stopped in the street and asked to take a carbon monoxide test in London's most hard-hitting anti-smoking campaign. 'Smoking police' will target people at betting shops, bus stops and shopping centres to shock them into giving up cigarettes. They will be asked to breathe into a monitor to show how much carbon monoxide is in their bodies, and could then be signed up to local stop-smoking services and given access to counsellors. Pro-smoking group Forest described the campaign as a humiliating infringement of civil liberties. Ealing Primary Care Trust, which is funding the £75,000 scheme, said it...

HARRISBURG, Pa. - With virtually no warning, smoking at 14 of Pennsylvania's state-owned universities has been banned anywhere on campus — even outdoors.

Pennsylvania's statewide smoking ban, 15 years in the making in Harrisburg, became law today. Cindy Thomas, executive director of Tobacco Free Allegheny, has provided answers to these questions about the new law, which bans smoking in most public places and is aimed at making the state's workplaces smoke-free. What penalties does a person face if he or she is caught smoking in a place where smoking is prohibited? The Clean Indoor Air Act provides for the following penalties: The owner, operator or manager of the premises may be penalized for failure to post proper signs. Each offense can bring a...

Cigarette sales at Boston drugstores and on college campuses would be banned under sweeping new tobacco control rules likely to win initial approval today from health regulators. The restrictions, which would give Boston among the toughest antismoking laws in the nation, could go into effect early next year. The rules would also stamp out smoking on the patios of restaurants and bars with outside service; tobacco use has been banned inside since 2003. And, after a five-year grace period, the city would shutter cigar bars, swank salons catering to tobacco connoisseurs, which were exempt from the earlier regulation. The measures...

Eshoo bill would put a stop to flavored cigarettes enjoyed by children and hipsters. Does it go too far?IT'S NOT really fair for the government to control what we smoke," says Julian Shipp, manager at Mac's Smoke Shop in Palo Alto. "The taxes we pay already are astonishing. I feel like our freedoms are being taken away one by one." Silicon Valley Congresswoman Anna Eshoo says one fact trumps all others. "Smoking is a killer, and we know that," Eshoo says. "It's just as simple as that; it's just as profound as that." New tobacco legislation co-sponsored by Eshoo, which...

AUGUSTA, Maine — On Monday, Maine joins other U.S. states and Canadian provinces that have made it illegal to smoke in a car while children are present. But for the first year the law's in effect, violators will only get warnings. A law passed by the state legislature earlier this year outlaws smoking in cars while youths under 16 are present. It's modelled after a tougher ordinance in the city of Bangor, Maine. California, Arkansas and Louisiana have passed similar laws, as have Puerto Rico and some Canadian provinces. Other states have also looked at the proposal. When he signed...

Velvet Glove Iron Fist A History of Anti-Smoking by Christopher Snowdon The bookWelcome. Thanks for visiting and please stay a while. Velvet Glove, Iron Fist is the first comprehensive history of the anti-smoking movement. This book has not yet been published but several chapters are available here free of charge (these are chapters three, ten, eleven and thirteen). Or you might prefer to start with the introduction. In the news05.08.08:Velvet Glove author obtains data from Wales showing that heart attack incidence rose after the Welsh smoking ban. Politician accused of wilfully misleading the public. See original article and this...

As our lawmakers look for ways to save money, they've approved a plan to tax cigarette sales on Indian reservations. The New York State Senate approved legislation Friday that would require retailers on Indian reservations to charge a tax on tobacco sales. State Senator Dale Volker was one of the senators who voted for it. "You're talking about a situation where we got a deficit and here's three to four hundred million dollars," Volker said. "And if we get that money, obviously that makes a big difference in the deficit." Senator Antoine Thompson agreed Saturday saying that it was at...

Why L.A. Should Be Pushed Into The Sea August 8, 2008 - by Richard Miniter In the 1950s, the most puritanical place in America was somewhere in Kansas. Today it is Los Angeles. Exhibit A: A proposal by the L.A. city council to ban smoking outdoors. Outdoors. Say on a patio or hotel balcony. Puritans are people who want to live according to a strict moral code of their own devising and want to make you live their way too. The first round of Puritans murdered their king, Charles I, and ignited the English Civil War, which left many cities...

Politicians in Annapolis are scratching their heads wondering what happened to all those chain smokers who were supposed to help balance Maryland's budget. Last year the legislature doubled the cigarette tax to $2 a pack to pay for expanded health-care coverage. Eight months later, cigarette sales have plunged 25% and the state is in fiscal distress again. A few pols are pretending to be happy that 30 million fewer cigarette packs have been bought in the state so far this year. As House Majority Leader Kumar Barve put it, fewer people smoking is "a good thing." Yes, except that Maryland...

   Year  Output  Type  Cigarette Use (Adults) – BRFSS2007 State Current Cigarette Use (%) Alabama 22.5 Alaska 22.2 Arizona 19.8 Arkansas 22.4 California 14.3 Colorado 18.7 Connecticut 15.5 Delaware 19.0 District of Columbia 17.3 Florida 19.3 Georgia 19.3 Hawaii 17.0 Idaho 19.2 Illinois 20.2 Indiana 24.1 Iowa 19.8 Kansas 17.9 Kentucky 28.3 Louisiana 22.6 Maine 20.1 Maryland 17.1 Massachusetts 16.4 Michigan 21.2 Minnesota 16.5 Mississippi 24.0 Missouri 24.6 Montana 19.5 Nebraska 19.9 Nevada 21.5 New Hampshire 19.4 New Jersey 17.2 New Mexico 20.8 New York 18.9 North Carolina 22.9 North Dakota 21.0 Ohio 23.1 Oklahoma 25.8 Oregon 16.9 Pennsylvania 20.9...

After just returning from a 2 week holiday to my home country, I can sadly conclude we Brits have become obsessed with public smoking. I can understand why people shouldn’t smoke on trains, but even in the outside of a train station, as long as it is covered, NO SMOKING! At Heathrow airport, NO SMOKING! (Even Changi Airport in Singapore has had the civility to keep smoking rooms available for those inclined.) In every pub, NO SMOKING In every hotel, NO SMOKING Thank god I live in smoker’s paradise.

Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to make the city the first in the country to ban the sale of cigarettes in pharmacies such as Walgreens and Rite Aid. And that's only the city's latest effort to make us all healthier. The supervisors also voted to require chain restaurants to post nutritional information, including calories and fat content, on menus. This follows the creation of a program to recognize restaurants that don't use trans fats and an idea by Mayor Gavin Newsom to levy a fee on retailers of sugary sodas. The board is also taking up...

Reactions from smokers ranged from stunned to furious -- and often unprintable. "Outside?" gasped Isaac Kim, who's about to start pre-pharmacy classes at the Silver Spring/Takoma Park campus. "Do they have the right to do that?" Welcome to the land of tolerance and freedom Mr. Kim. Your rights will be dictated to you in the Citizens Manual. Should you stray, they have a special police force to enforce your right not to smoke or chew tobacco. See if you can pick out the innocent-sounding, Stalinist name for the anti-smoking cops. And yes, employees could ultimately be fired or students kicked...

SAN DIEGO, July 31 (UPI) -- A $70 million fire on the nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington left its top two officers stripped of their duties, officials said Wednesday. Adm. Robert F. Willard, commander of the Navy's Pacific Fleet, directed the skipper, Capt. David C. Cykhoff, and his executive officer, Capt. David M. Dober, be relieved of their command, Navy Times reported. Dykhoff was fired for "loss of confidence in his ability to command and his failure to meet mission requirements and readiness standards," Navy officials said in a statement. Dober was ousted for "substandard performance." Two months ago,...

The House approved legislation yesterday that would for the first time empower the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the tobacco industry, a measure long sought by anti-smoking advocates. After about 40 minutes of sometimes passionate debate, the House voted 326 to 102 to approve the measure, which would give the agency broad authority over cigarette makers, including the power to ban marketing of cigarettes to children, require disclosure of tobacco ingredients and mandate larger, more specific health warnings. It would also enable the agency to require tobacco companies to reduce or eliminate harmful ingredients and ban candy- and fruit-flavored...

Cigarette sales have dropped by nearly 25 percent in Maryland since the state's tobacco tax doubled in January, as sticker shock apparently has curtailed some residents' smoking and sent others across the border for better deals. Maryland lawmakers voted last fall to raise the tax to $2 a pack to help bridge a budget shortfall and expand subsidized health care. Fiscal analysts predicted that the new rate, the sixth highest in the nation, would cause cigarette sales to drop off, following a pattern with past increases. But the decline during the first six months of the year significantly exceeded their...

In recent years, state and local governments across the United States have passed measures to outlaw smoking in bars, says the American. The public health rationale is simple: to protect bar patrons and employees from exposure to secondhand smoke. But according to economists Scott Adams of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Chad Cotti of the University of South Carolina, smoking bans have had some unintended and deadly consequences. Specifically, they have led to an increase in drunk-driving fatalities. The economists studied a variety of municipalities that passed smoking bans. According to their research: The passage of the bans led to...

About one in five adults in the US still smokes The US House of Representatives has voted to treat tobacco as a drug and have it regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The bill would tighten restrictions on advertising, impose new penalties for selling to children and require all new products to be approved by the FDA. But the White House threatened to veto the bill, saying it would put an enormous burden on the FDA. It also said having FDA approval could make people think cigarettes are safe. Industry funded The bill cleared the House with a...

NAVAL STATION NORTH ISLAND, Calif. (NNS) -- Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. Robert F. Willard, issued a final endorsement to the investigation of a fire that occurred aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) on May 22. As directed by Adm. Willard, Commander, Naval Air Forces Pacific, Vice Adm. Thomas J. Kilcline, Jr., relieved the Commanding Officer of USS George Washington (CVN 73), Capt. David C. Dykhoff, today due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command and his failure to meet mission requirements and readiness standards. As directed, Kilcline also relieved the George Washington Executive Officer, Capt. David...

<p>SAN DIEGO -- (AP) - Navy officials say smoking appears to be the cause of a fire that caused $70 million in damage to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington.</p> <p>The announcement Wednesday by the Navy came as Adm. Robert F. Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, relieved the carrier's commanding officer and the executive officer of duty.</p>

Free cigarettes are no longer handed out at Congressional Black Caucus functions. And it has been years since anyone referred to Edolphus Towns, Democrat of Brooklyn, as the “Marlboro Man” for his campaign contributions from the tobacco industry. But the Congressional Black Caucus has not severed its financial ties to big tobacco. And that can complicate matters when the political discussion involves smoking’s impact on African-Americans. A rift has opened in the 43-member caucus over a menthol provision in legislation that would enable the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco. To reduce smoking’s appeal to teenagers, the legislation would...

NEW YORK (AFP) - Multibillionaires Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg launched a worldwide anti-smoking campaign Wednesday, fueled with 500 million dollars of their money. Microsoft founder Gates told a press conference he will donate 125 million dollars toward the campaign, while New York Mayor Bloomberg said he would chip in with 250 million, on top of the 125 million he already committed in 2005. "Our goal is to support and complement the Bloomberg initiative," Gates said.

Amy Winehouse's lungs are reportedly so damaged from her incessant smoking that the singer may die if she doesn't quit. But she still can't seem to stop. 'Wino' was recently seen smoking something hand-rolled – exactly what is impossible to tell from the photos.

For painter and decorator Gordon Williams, his van is simply a means of getting from A to B. But council officials chose to give the vehicle a more lofty status. When they spotted him behind the wheel with a cigarette, they handed him an on-the-spot fine of £30 - for smoking in his place of work.

2 of the richest men to join forces to stamp out smoking

Russia has threatened criminal action against tobacco manufacturers after accusing US corporations of perpetrating "nicotine genocide" against the Russian people on the behalf of their capitalist masters. Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's combative chief public officer, said he had instructed state lawyers to explore the possibility of criminal prosecution of tobacco companies in the "service of US state capital". He accused them of causing a health crisis among young Russians by peddling cheap tobacco with high tar levels. The Soviet-style rhetoric of Mr Onishchenko's tirade and his reputation as a Kremlin attack dog will alarm foreign investors in Russia, who are likely...

...people who enter treatment won't be able to use tobacco anywhere -- or even give a ride to a friend who is smoking.

A church that considers smoking a sacrament? It gives a whole new meaning to "Ash Wednesday."

As a family operated small business owner in Ohio, I urge Ohio senators to support the passage of Ohio SB346. The passage of this bill to clarify the language used in the ill-conceived "Smoke Free Work Place Act" would be an effective liberty preserving compromise to ensure the spirit, and intent of providing the sought after, but quite unnecessary "protection" for all employees from the alleged effects of second-hand smoke. Sufficient warning through appropriate signage, as decided upon by the individual small business owners and in order to meet free market demand for smoking venues, easily provides the "minimum standard...

LEXINGTON — Drive down Main Street on a sunny summer day and brightly colored pig statues smile at you from every corner — fat pink pigs in wild costumes, standing tall and waving welcome. Roll down your window and you’ll know why Lexington is, for many, the barbecue capital of the world. You can smell the pulled pork, spice and vinegar for miles. It’s the smell of Southern tradition — secret family recipes, waitresses who smile and call you “sugar.” But these days, in many of the city’s most popular restaurants, customers say the air is sweeter for what you...

Smoking ban leads to new religion Wednesday 16 July 2008Café owners in the Netherlands are joining religious movement known as the One and Universal Smokers Church of God, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday.‘We stand firmly behind the church’s teachings and that is smoking,’ Cor Busch, owner of the former Lindeboom café in Alkmaar told the paper. ‘Smokers are being discriminated against… but a beer and a cigarette belong together.’ Smoking has been banned in Dutch bars since July 1. Several dozen bars have joined the movement which claims the Dutch constitution and European rules give it legitimacy under the...

Addicted to Nicotine Taxes by: Daniel Smith, July 17, 2008 The main claims that politicians make when they raise taxes on cigarettes have been found to be wanting, and very expensively so, by the National Taxpayers Union. The NTU’s Kristina Rasmussen provides “five reasons why non-smokers should oppose high tobacco taxes.” Rasmussen worked from the primary source of actual state budgets. First, argued Rasmussen, “states with low cigarette taxes tend to have lower overall tax burdens.” Analyzing the 16 states with the highest per-pack cigarette tax, Rasmussen discovered that these same states had a higher “per capita state and local...

A smoker who has 10 cigars day and enjoys a whisky with his morning tea has celebrated his 100th birthday.Mr Priestly began smoking at the age of nine, he has since smoked 153,000 cigars and 715,400 cigarettes Jack Priestly claims he has suffered no serious health problems related to his tobacco and alcohol habit. Mr Priestly, a widower and former baker, began smoking cigarettes when he was nine and claims to have smoked every day since. He changed to cigars in 1966 after he said he was told they were "healthier" and celebrated his century last Saturday.

Researchers say industry manipulates the ingredient to recruit new generation of users Tobacco companies are manipulating menthol levels in cigarettes to appeal to newer, younger smokers, part of a deliberate strategy to get younger people, particularly African-Americans, hooked, a new study contends. Menthol makes cigarettes more palatable to the novice smoker. "If anything, menthol is being used as a candy to help the toxin go down," said Dr. Gregory Connolly, senior author of a paper being published in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health. "If we let the industry go ahead and willy-nilly design the product...

There are some good arguments against the war on drugs. But there are some nonsensical ones as well.

Smokers would find it harder to buy their cigarettes and light up in public under two proposals under consideration by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Mayor Gavin Newsom has proposed prohibiting tobacco sales in pharmacies, including Walgreens and Rite Aid. The city's public health chief said the proposal is modeled after rules in eight provinces in Canada but has not been tried anywhere in the United States. Supervisor Chris Daly has proposed legislation that would vastly limit areas where people can smoke. Gone would be smoking in all businesses and bars, which now make an exception for owner-operated ones....

When the new "Incredible Hulk" movie comes out on DVD, the first green man you see might be a wheezing smoker in a wheelchair. The startling portrayal of an emphysema patient is one of four new anti-smoking ads Hollywood studios have agreed to place in all upcoming movies on DVD that show tobacco use and carry a PG-13 rating or lower. The ads are expected to reach tens of millions of viewers around the world when placed on movies such as "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," "Get Smart" and the gambling flick "21," said California Gov....

Iran Saturday condemned US presidential candidate John McCain for his remark that one way of killing Iranians was to export cigarettes to Iran, the official news agency IRNA reported. "We condemn such remarks as ugly and immoral, especially for someone who intends to lead a country claiming civilization," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said. McCain last Wednesday joked with reporters about sending Iranians cigarettes. "That's a way of killing them," McCain told a journalist who asked him about reports that US exports, especially cigarettes, to Iran increased tenfold during the current administration of President George W. Bush.

When they weren't breaking the law or going in and out of jail, the Jersey Boys who went on to become the Four Seasons were hanging out on street corners singing with cigarettes dangling from their mouths. Not in Chicago. Here, lead singer Frankie Valli, song-writing sensation Bob Gaudio and the boys have gone cold turkey Following an apparent complaint from an irate theatergoer, the Chicago theatrical production of "Jersey Boys" has snuffed out cigarettes...

I can hear it coming already: faux outrage, MSM feeding frenzy, Worst Person in the World designation, and a 24-hour cycle of cable TV teeth-gnashing over McCain’s off-handed joke about cigarette exports to Iran. Here we go. In 5, 4, 3, 2… “McCain jokes about killing Iranians with cigarettes” Presidential candidate John McCain, who once sang in jest about bombing Iran, on Tuesday reacted to a report of rising U.S. cigarette exports to the country by saying it may be “a way of killing ‘em.” McCain, known for acerbic comments and for sometimes firing verbally from the hip, was responding...

U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who once sang in jest about bombing Iran, on Tuesday reacted to a report of rising U.S. cigarette exports to the country by saying it may be "a way of killing 'em." McCain, known for acerbic comments and for sometimes firing verbally from the hip, was responding to a report that U.S. exports to Iran rose tenfold during President George W. Bush's term in office despite hostility between the two states. A rise in cigarette sales was a big part of that, according to an Associated Press analysis of seven years of U.S. trade...

STILLWATER: Oklahoma State University today becomes the largest campus in the state to ban tobacco. Getting Burns Hargis to work early sure has paid off for OSU. OSU President Burns Hargis said the policy aims to make OSU a clean and healthy environment. "We have enough afflictions that affect the human condition without voluntarily adding to the problem, he said. "It sets a strong example and a consistent example of our commitment to be a healthy and attractive campus. OSU's wellness center offers cessation help and, in some cases, medication and nicotine replacement products, to students and employees. Student Charles...

Cannabis lovers will be exempted from a public smoking ban in the Netherlands from next week onwards. Marijuana is technically illegal in the Netherlands but has been decriminalised, with small quantities sold in coffee shops, making them big attractions for tourists. Cutting the Cannabis with tobacco which some smokers do, could land the shop owners a fine of up to 2,400 euros (3,778 US dollars). Not a problem, says coffee shop owner Arjan Roskam whose marijuana strains have won 31 Cannabis Cup prizes over the years and who count Hollywood celebrities, members of Europe's royal families, lawyers, judges and police...