Lines are being drawn and those that want to step over better be very careful.
I for one will NOT give in to "The System"
Posted on 06/04/2003 7:05:08 PM PDT by Mister Magoo
'Ban all tobacco' - US health chief
Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles Thursday June 5, 2003 The Guardian
The surgeon general of the United States, Richard Carmona, has said he would support the abolition of cigarettes and all tobacco products, the first time that such a senior public health official has taken that kind of stand over the industry. Dr Carmona's statement was welcomed yesterday by anti-smoking organisations and condemned by the tobacco industry. The Bush administration, which enjoys the support and financial backing of the tobacco industry, yesterday distanced itself from the abolition position.
The US already has some of the toughest anti-smoking legislation in the world. California has led the way. Last year it banned smoking in all areas next to playgrounds or "tot lot" areas. Similar measures are being considered nationwide.
The state, which has banned smoking in public buildings, bars and restaurants, is also considering a ban in some blocks of flats. Delaware has a similar ban. Connecticut will impose one from next April, and this week Maine moved towards a ban. New York has banned smoking in bars and restaurants.
Ordinances framed also by local councils curtailing cigarette smoking are introduced almost weekly. Santa Monica recently made it an offence, punishable by a £160 fine, to dispose of "smoking-related waste" in a public park.
There have, however, been few suggestions that tobacco should be banned altogether.
Dr Carmona made his controversial remarks while giving evidence to energy and commerce sub-committee hearings at Congress on smoking products that supposedly reduce the risk of cancer. He was asked if he would support the abolition of "all tobacco products". He said: "I would at this point, yes."
He said that he was not a legislator but that he would "support banning or abolishing tobacco products ". He saw "no need for any tobacco products in society".
One of the country's leading anti-smoking campaigners, Jeffrey Wigand, the head of Smokefree Kids, said: "I applaud him. I hope that stirs people up to do something. This would set a tremendous precedent and would have a major effect on world health."
Mr Wigand, a tobacco industry whistleblower who was portrayed by the actor Russell Crowe in the film The Insider, said it was notable that such a senior public health official was so outspoken. "There are 460,000 deaths directly attributable to tobacco in the United States every year," said Mr Wigand. "The World Health Organisation estimates that by 2015 tobacco will be killing more than 10 million a year."
He said that the US, as the leading exporter of tobacco, had a particular responsibility to regulate tobacco use.
But Dr Carmona's remarks are unlikely to lead to any radical moves by the administration. The tobacco industry is a longtime supporter of the Republican party and there have been objections by conservative and libertarian commentators to the restaurant and bar smoking bans.
The White House yesterday said that Dr Carmona's remarks represented his views as a doctor, not those of the administration, whose main focus was discouraging young people from smoking. About 45 million Americans smoke, in a population of 280 million.
Tobacco companies have changed their strategies on the issue of regulation. Philip Morris, the country's biggest tobacco company, is running adverts urging teenagers to "think, don't smoke". They argue that their products are aimed at adults and the issue is one of freedom of choice.
Cigarettes in films is the subject of one of the latest anti-smoking campaigns; the public has been urged to complain by writing to actors who smoke on screen. Tobacco firms have denied that they paid for actors to use their products in films.
You cheered the anarcho-ideologue on when he declared that it is "too late to work within the system (of self-governance)." If pointing that fact out makes you feel ... awkward..., and if your trigger finger is all itchy, and you're all flustered and frustrated over the agonizing wait, then you'll just have to learn to lump it, Lumpy.
Apparently some moral-liberals were on their way to LP-DU to proselytize their pro-dope, pro-sodomy, and pro-porn preaching, and made an ... awkwardly wrong turn ... to the conservative FreeRepublic forum.
Lines are being drawn and those that want to step over better be very careful.
I for one will NOT give in to "The System"
Hmmm...there IS money to be made here. TOBACCO ADDICTION REHAB CENTERS!
First of all, I was just asking you if your opinion had changed regarding prison sentences for marijuana offenses - I was not asking you to "change" Pennsylvania law.
Secondly, as you're probably aware, the 10th Amendment is a dead letter nowadays, and the feds trample all over the states that don't toe the "Reefer Madness" line - jusk ask Ed Rosenthal and Steve Kubby. So much for self-governance.
More of the nonresponsive ad hominem bilge we've come to expect from you.
And you chimed in:
Some day the people of this great nation will wake up. But I don't see that happening for maybe 25 years.
"The greatness of America is found not in the halls of Congress, but in the homes and hearts of Americans." George W. Bush. I wish he really believed that.
There may be something wrong with that poster. He seems unbalanced.
He will probably hit the abuse button on this post too.
Oh wait, we're ahelluvalot easier to beat up on. I get it...
That's ironic, pinging a recent suspendee to a discussion on FR guidelines.
And moral-liberal does not mean conservative.
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