Ban the Ban Minnesota October 2008 Newsletter

From:                              Ban the Ban Minnesota [banthebanmn@gmail.com] on behalf of Ban the Ban Minnesota [info@banthebanminnesota.com]

Sent:                               Monday, September 29, 2008 8:48 PM

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Subject:                          Ban the Ban Minnesota October 2008 Newsletter

 

Ban the Ban Minnesota

“The anti-smoking movement is driven by an agenda — an agenda that will not allow science, sound policy analysis, the law, or ethics to get in its way.”

--Michael Siegel, MD, Boston University School of Public Health

 

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Ban the Ban Minnesota is a 401(c)(4) non-profit organization dedicated to fighting for private property rights and individual liberties.

Our belief is that the smoking ban is the first step into increased government regulation of our lives and our property.

Ban the Ban Minnesota Newsletter, October 2008

 

Dear Shawn,

Welcome to the first edition of the Ban the Ban Minnesota (BtBMN) newsletter! We hope to provide you with useful information on our continuing fight for liberty, and also provide you with ways that you can help. We here at BtBMN are very dedicated to what we do, and we want to help you regain your individual liberty and private property rights that were snatched away by busy-body legislators who feel it is their duty to tell you how to run YOUR life. However, we need your help! We cannot do this alone. With over 1,000,000 smokers, and hundreds of thousands of non-smokers out there that support allowing the use of a legal product in a private business, we can certainly win, but we need to get organized to do so.

We hope you find our newsletter informational, and encourage you to share any thoughts with us regarding the newsletter, or other smoking-ban related ideas. We sure hope you'll be willing to join us!

(The formatting of this newsletter may be a bit off. We're still working on that and hope to have it fixed in time for the November Newsletter)

-Sheila, Shawn, & Cathy, Ban the Ban Minnesota, Inc.

Our Legislative Scorecard

 

 

 

 

If you haven't checked it out yet, please visit our legislative scorecard, which can be found here.

The Minnesota House election in November is critical in our effort to modify or repeal the smoking ban. We currently have 80+ House candidates that have told us that they would support repeal of the ban or meaningful exemptions to the ban. If every one of them were to be elected, it's very likely that the smoking ban would be less restrictive by the end of next year's legislative session.

If you're not sure which district you're in, please click here to visit the Minnesota District Finder web page and simply enter the address of your home.

Please support candidates that support our cause with your Political Contribution Refund (PCR) money. If you are not familiar with the PCR program, it allows you to give money to Minnesota candidates and receive a refund of that money, up to $50 total (or $100 per married couple), from the state. To be eligible for that refund, you must follow the guidelines set up by the Minnesota Department of Revenue, and you will typically receive your refund in about a month from the time you file the required documents. Also, if you owe any taxes to the state, the refund will be applied towards the balance of your taxes.

If the candidates in your district do not support our cause, you may contact us to find a candidate that needs the money, and is willing to take a stand again the ban. For more information, please contact us at info@banthebanminnesota, or click here.

 

BtBMN's Advertising Campaign

 

 

 

 

On September 15th, BtBMN began running an advertising campaign with KQRS Radio. Our ad will run on the KQRS web stream until October 15th, and if our financial situation allows it, we will continue running the ad until Election Day. The ad has nearly tripled the amount of visitors we receive at our website. To listen to the ad, click here to take a listen. We would encourage any feedback on the ad.

We are also exploring other advertising mediums to get our message out. We are considering other radio ads, newspapers, and other forms of advertising such as various types of billboards.

Contact us at info@banthebanminnesota.com with any suggestions or to share your thoughts on a potential advertising campaign.

 

BtBMN at the Conservative Issues Fair

 

 

 

BtBMN was at the Conservative Issues Fair on Saturday, September 20th, at the Airport Hilton in Bloomington, and we want to thank everyone who stopped by to say hi and share their thoughts and support. A special thanks to Joey (of Ban the Ban Wisconsin) and her son, Mitchel, who helped us organize and prepare for the event. Also, Sue Jeffers of KTLK radio was very helpful and supportive, and we want to thank her as well.

We were impressed with the amount of interest we received at the fair, and Jason Lewis of KTLK radio was kind enough to give us a warm introduction as Shawn gave a short speech about our organization.

We've posted pictures of the event on our weblog, which can be found here. We hope that the Conservative Issues Fair will be an annual event, as we will surely be there again next year!

Become a Member of BtBMN!

 

 

 

We hate to do it, but fighting the smoking ban takes money, so we need to ask for donations. We have already invested over $1,000 of our own money for BtBMN, primarily for advertising. We do have several members that have also contributed to the fight, and we really want to thank them for their kindness! Unfortunately, we don't get any money from the Tobacco Settlement, and we're not a front for Big Tobacco, so we get nothing from them, either. Also, remember that we have full-time jobs, and we don't get paid for any of the work we do for BtBMN.

In these tough economic times, we would't ask for money if it wasn't truly needed. And we certainly understand that a lot of bar owners and employees are stuggling because of that along with the negative effects of the ban.

So, we've set up a membership program. For $25 a year (or $75 for a business), you'll become an official member of BtBMN. And if that wasn't enough, you'll also be among the first to receive our promotional items as we get them. That would include things such as BtBMN pens, lighters, bumper stickers, t-shirts, etc., and you will receive them at no additional cost to you! Also, as a member, you will be invited to BtBMN special events and our annual meetings so that you can have a say about BtBMN.

Of course, if you can't afford to come up with $25, and you really want to help us out, we'll accept anything you can come up with. BtBMN is now incorporated as a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation, and a business membership may be tax deductible.

Go here for more information and to sign up if you haven't already!

We thank you for your consideration!

Help Wanted!

 

 

 

 

We're running ourselves ragged, and we could use some help. If you have a little ambition and a little passion, you may want to help. Here's what we're looking for:

A Blog Poster--If you have lots of opinions about the smoking ban, you may want to make posts to our blog! Currently, Shawn & Sheila are doing most of the posts, and we could use a fresh mind or two. Whether you want to post several times a day, or several times a month, we would certainly welcome you to do so, and we would set you up with the tools needed. Our blog can be found at http://banthebanminnesota.wordpress.com/.

A Data gatherer--If you love sorting through data and information, there's a ton of it out there, and it takes a lot of time to look through all of it. We would appreciate someone offering their time and energy to do that.

A Fundraiser--Fundraising is not easy, especially for us. We are not sales people nor telemarketers. If you think you have a knack for soliciting donations, and a little free time, you may want to help.

A Bar Owner--If you're a bar owner who is really determined to help us with this fight, we could certainly use a bar at which we could have a fundraising or similar event.

If you are interested in helping us, shoot us an email at info@banthebanminnesota.com

 

 

Thank you for supporting our efforts and remember to pass the word!

 

Ban the Ban Minnesota (BtBMN) sent you a copy of this newsletter, as it was requested by you, or you have been involved in the fight against the smoking ban. Our intention is not to send any unwanted emails.

If you wish to be removed from our email list, please click here, and send the email, and we will promptly remove you from our email list.

Second Theater Night Update 10-9-08

Hello Everyone -

Below are a few items of interest. I would like to draw special attention to the article below pertaining to the Surgeon General Carmona's 2006 report...this report was the beginning of the SHS issue. It was the "foot in the door" for all these smoking bans. Let's hope it gets the investigation that it deserves along with our esteemed Congress & Wallstreet for the current fiasco. We cannot allow Lies & Corruption to continue and then we suffer the consequences! For one....I am sick and tired of it and we deserve better! Don't forget to visit the www.freedomtoact.com and read the article "Fired-up Obama still smokes a cigarette now and then". http://freedomtoact.blogspot.com/2008/10/fired-up-obama-still-smokes-cigarette.html




"At Issues" (Channel 5 KSTP - Sue Jeffers debates Senator Sheran on Smoking Ban)

To watch the video with some comments added by Shawn. (Nice job Shawn!)

http://banthebanminnesota.wordpress.com/




Four Groups File Complaints Against Carmona's 2006 Report
Wed Oct 8, 11:30 AM ET
To: LEGAL AFFAIRS EDITORS
Contact: Pam Parker of Opponents of Ohio Bans, +1-614-565-6560, truth@opponentsofohiobans.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In June, 2006, then Surgeon General Carmona released his report titled "The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke". Since that date, his report has drawn criticism from Scientists and Epidemiologists worldwide.
Four separate groups have filed complaints with the Office of Research Integrity, Health and Human Services against Ex-Surgeon General Carmona's 2006 Report.
Opponents of Ohio Bans filed a complaint against the scientific misconduct (manipulation of research) of the economic assessment/impact of smoking bans. According to Carmona's report, smokefree policies do not harm business. Two thirds of the studies in Carmona's report were either authored or co-authored by Stanton Glantz, Director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, who is not an economist. He and his university have profited heavily by anti-tobacco funding and grants. Absolutely no studies or reports conducted by economists or trade organizations were cited in Carmona's report, although many sources were available at the time. For example, the highly regarded Deloitte and Touche reported a study for the National Restaurant Association study (2004), the Ridgeway Economic Associates New York Nightlife Association/Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association Study (05/12/2004), and Terry L. Clower, Ph.D. & Bernard L. Weinstein, Ph.D. completed a study for Dallas Restaurant Association Study (10/01/2004). "This is a glaring and obvious attempt to stack the deck in favor of anti-tobacco versus the real damage done to the hospitality industry. How was it even possible that the highest medical authority in this country got away with this?" asks Pam Parker of Opponents of Ohio Bans.
The Hawaii Smokers Alliance filed a complaint against the public statement "there is no safe level of exposure". In addition to violating the basic tenets of toxicology, this actually crosses the line of fabricating results because the SG is the highest healthcare authority in the United States of America and his press release to announce the results of his meta-analysis truly is his report to the American public. "We are committed to holding those who have chosen to misinform or misrepresent information to the general public accountable for such reckless and egregious behavior. Such misrepresentations are solely responsible for the destruction and incalculable financial harm to businesses both large and small across the nation," states Jolyn Tenn of Hawaii Smokers Alliance.
Ban the Ban Wisconsin's complaint cites the haphazard use of RRs or "relative risks". Coupled with the fact that the larger studies not included in Carmona's report would have diminished the already unacceptably low RRs, questionable studies inflated the appearance of RRs. Moreover, the relative risks don't appear to be discussed with respect to absolute risks. In the ORI's terms, this is a significant departure from accepted practice in the relevant field. Early in Carmona's report, a brief subsection stated that, "The quantitative results of the meta-analyses, however, were not determinate in making causal inferences in this Surgeon General's report." Clearly, in the absence of hard evidence, the Surgeon General chose to pontificate according to his pre-determined results. Carmona couldn't have deviated any further from accepted practice in the relevant field without stepping in something.
Citizens Freedom Alliance's complaint is centered on "changing and omitting data". The data for a meta-analysis is the studies collected from the body of research, but the SG's meta-analysis omits relevant studies such as the Enstrom/Kabat study, belittles other large relevant studies, includes highly questionable studies, and relies heavily on the thoroughly discredited 1992 EPA report (which was not only discredited by a Federal Judge, but by three congressional committees). By omitting relevant long-term, large studies as well as relying heavily on discredited reports, the Surgeon General both changed and omitted data in his meta-analysis of research on secondhand smoke (SHS)/environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), which did indeed ensure that the research is not accurately represented in the research record. He, therefore, committed "research misconduct" as defined by the "falsification" according to the "Public Health Service Policies on Research Misconduct". According to Gary Nolan, U.S. Regional Director for Citizens Freedom Alliance, "Americans should be angry about this waste of tax payer dollars. I truly believe this study was released for purely political reasons and is an insult to every honorable scientist in the world. The result of Carmona's ETS study was to needlessly ruin business, cost jobs and harm the economies of local communities and states across the country. He should be ashamed of his actions."
Dr. Michael Siegel is a prominent doctor specializing in Preventative Medicine and Public Health. From his commentary on Carmona's 2006 report, he is quoted as saying, "The Surgeon General is publicly claiming that brief exposure to secondhand smoke increases risk for heart disease and lung cancer. But there is absolutely no evidence to support this claim. Certainly, no evidence is presented in the Surgeon General's report to support this claim. And certainly, the Surgeon General's report draws no such conclusion." http://tinyurl.com/5fq7r6
Many researchers and prominent organizations have written about the powerful influences of the anti-tobacco activists. Dr. Carl Phillips, University of Alberta School of Public Health, Edmonton, Canada wrote "Warning: Anti-Tobacco Activism May Be Hazardous to Epidemiological Science". http://www.epi-perspectives.com/content/pdf/1742-5573-4-13.pdf . Other articles such as "Science and Secondhand Smoke: the Need for a Good Puff of Skepticism" by Sidney Zion (Skeptic, Volume 13, Number 3, 2007), "Where's the Consensus on Second Hand Smoke?" by Joseph Bast of Heartland Institute, and "Did Carmona Read His Own Report?" by Jacob Scullum with Reason Magazine 06/29/2006 http://www.reason.com/blog/show/114497.html are but a small representation of the articles that give a glimpse of how damaging the epidemic of anti-smoking is.
The fact is, the Surgeon General title is one that is held in highest esteem. It is the medical authority in this country. When, for whatever reason, that position is compromised into producing a report that wreaks the damage his report has had on this country, that authority should be held accountable. Carmona's 2006 report is the sole reason given for several smoking bans, Ohio's ban for one. These bans have had devastating financial impacts on businesses. The worst offense is the offense against the American People and the Scientific Community. People will no longer be able to trust the word of the person holding the Surgeon General title. The damage to the science of Epidemiology is irreversible. The good news is many ethical doctors and scientists can no longer remain silent about the abuses of Epidemiology and are starting to speak out. "Because they've committed a huge fraud on the American public. And because they should be held accountable for that. They should be held accountable to the same rules of corporate and individual behavior as everybody else. It's very simple." This is a quote by Stanton Glantz during a PBS interview about Big Tobacco. Shouldn't the same apply to the Surgeon General?
Related Web site: www.opponentsofohiobans.com
SOURCE Opponents of Ohio Bans
http://tinyurl.com/4vx6m6


Fired-up Obama still smokes a cigarette now and then.


Tackle obesity like smoking, says researcher Michael Kahn Reuters Tackling the global obesity epidemic will require governments to take similar action to that many have used to curb smoking, a top researcher said Wednesday.This could include regulations that restrict how companies market junk food to children and requirements for schools to serve healthy meals, said Professor Boyd Swinburn, a public health researcher who works with the World Health Organization."The brakes on the obesity epidemic need to be policy-led and governments need to take centre stage," Swinburn, a researcher at Deakin University in Australia, said at the 2008 European Congress on Obesity."Governments have to lead the way they did with the tobacco epidemic. We need hard-hitting messages."Action is urgent because, aside from sub-Saharan Africa, nearly every country has suffered a dramatic rise in the number of obese people in the past 30 years. That increase has likely been a tripling in many industrialized nations, he said.The WHO classifies about 400 million people around the world as obese, 20 million of them children under the age of five.Obesity raises the risk of diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and heart problems, and is piling pressure on already overburdened national health systems.Swinburn said the food industry has largely driven the epidemic with a stream of processed products that are cheaper and better-tasting but filled with unhealthy ingredients.Lack of physical fitness and exercise, while important, have played only a small role in explaining why the number of obese people has soared in recent decades, he said."Commercial drivers around food have been the biggest influence over the past 30 years," he said. "The product, the price, the promotion and the placement have changed dramatically.Swinburn urged governments to introduce policies similar to those taken against smoking. These have included tightly controlled marketing to children and regulations warning of the dangers of smoking on cigarette packages.Obesity is persistent despite people being increasingly aware of the risks of being overweight, demonstrating the problem requires direct government intervention, he said."Governments have a number of ways to influence the behaviours of a population," Swinburn said.Among anti-obesity measures taken, New York has banned artery-clogging trans fats from city restaurants and is forcing fast-food chains to display calorie counts on their menu boards.Britain plans to spend $145 million on a campaign encouraging healthy lifestyles as part of a wider anti-obesity strategy, including compulsory cooking lessons for children and the promotion of exercise.Other measures are being considered here in Alberta.To encourage healthy living Calgary-Lougheed MLA Dave Rodney proposed a private member's bill earlier this week that would give active Albertans up to $1,500 in fitness tax credits.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/health/story.html?id=ea886eb9-f48d-41b9-a60d-10509abebafe

Theater Nite Update 10-9-08

Hello Everyone -
Well it looks like they are ratching up on obesity! I wonder if that will take some of the pressure off the smokers? They now have someone else's life style to demoralize. Read both the articles below....bad habit coaches and stomach stapling for children? What next!

The show goes on!
Sheila


Medica wants to put health coach between you and your bad habits
By MAURA LERNER, Star Tribune
October 1, 2008
If a doctor advised you to lose weight, eat more vegetables and start exercising, what are the chances that you would do it -- and stick with it?
Pretty low, if history is any guide.
To increase the odds, Medica Health Plans is to announce today that it is launching an aggressive program to help people kick the bad habits that can make them sick.
Medica has hired and trained 30 professionals to work the phones as full-time "health coaches" to coax, cajole and inspire others to live healthier lives.
It's the latest evolution in a fast-growing health care field. For some time, businesses have hired health coaches to help employees on diet, exercise, smoking and other lifestyle choices to lower health costs. Many clinics use coaches to help patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes and depression.
Medica's is more ambitious. It uses a computer program to identify which members of the plan need help the most. They'll get invitations in the mail to take part, at no cost.
The idea, said Dr. Charles Fazio, Medica's medical director, is to "get people working on those hard choices that we make every day that influence our health." That could mean anything from how they handle stress to taking their blood-pressure pills.
He argues that it will save money by keeping people healthier.
Critics, though, complain that it's an example of a heavy-handed bureaucracy overstepping its bounds. "It seems to me like health plans are trying to encroach more and more on the individual's life and lifestyle," said Twila Brase, a health-privacy advocate in St. Paul. "It's sort of like the big health version of Big Brother."
Coaching patients to act
Supporters say it's really about helping people take more responsibility for their own welfare.
"So many of the old models assumed that if you gave people the right information, that they would make a change," said Mary Jo Kreitzer, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Spirituality and Healing. "It really doesn't work."
Health coaching, she said, helps people discover what really motivates them, and what gets in the way. The university now offers its own health-coach training program.
Today, Medica is rolling out its own ambitious version, after three years of testing.
The insurer studied who among its 1.3 million members was most likely to get sick. Now it's asking some of them if they're willing to talk with a coach about what's going on in their lives.
That may seem like a roundabout way to improve health. But Medica's coaches, many of them nurses and therapists, have taken extra training on how to motivate patients with broad-ranging conversations.
Judith Pinke of St. Louis Park got one of those calls about a year ago, as part of a test group. The call came "out of the blue," she said, and she was both intrigued and cautious.
Although she has several health problems, she said, she wasn't told why her name came up. The voice on the line, coach Holly Link, merely told her about the service and asked if she was interested. "I decided, you know, this sounds like it's worth a shot," said Pinke, 63.
She confided to Link about her sleep problems, that she was exhausted most mornings. They brainstormed and came up with a plan. "I must say she was very good about not pushing me," Pinke said. "She was really following my lead." The plan: no TV after 8 p.m.; and before bedtime, warm milk with honey and an hour playing piano to relax. Now, she says, she wakes up more rested and has resumed exercising.
It helps, she admits, to know that she will be checking in with her coach once a month.
Link, her coach, said it's critical to let patients take the lead in solving their own problems. "It really is about active listening," she said.
Concerns about privacy
In Medica's first test of "high risk" patients, the coaching experiment saved an average of $300 a month per person, Fazio said. "Most of the difference was in [less] use of the hospital and the emergency room," he said. "We created a difference just by calling."
Yet four out of five people refuse to participate, Medica found. "A lot of people say no because they're just not ready," said Leslie Frank, who developed the coaching program as Medica's quality director.
Brase, the privacy advocate, sees other reasons. "The clearest thing that happens when you get the phone call is you realize that people have been looking at data about you," said Brase, who heads the Citizens' Council on Health Care. "You didn't ask them to call you, but now they want to help direct your life. .. Probably what people are going to feel more than anything is violated."
Others worry about hidden agendas, and whether patients who refuse could end up paying higher premiums. "I get increasingly nervous with how much information they have about how we're living our lives," said Dr. Steven Miles, a medical ethicist at the University of Minnesota. "Their fundamental interest is their bottom line, it's not my health."
Medica officials point out that the coaching program is strictly voluntary.
"We've recognized that this is a gap in the health care system," said Frank, Medica's quality director. Doctors simply don't have the time or training, to talk to patients this way.
Eventually, she said, clinics may offer their own coaches. In fact, Medica is working on a pilot project with two Fairview clinics for coaches on site.
At some point, Medica says, it plans to offer coaching to all its members, not just those with health problems.
But no one expects coaching to work for everybody, said Kreitzer, of the University of Minnesota. "If somebody's absolutely not ready to make a changes, there's absolutely nothing that's going to work."
Maura Lerner • 612-673-7384
© 2008 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.


Exclusive: Fat children 'should be taken from parents and given stomach-stapling surgery' Dangerously overweight children should be taken away from their homes and given radical weight-loss surgery, a health expert will urge next week. By Martin Beckford, Social Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 1:07AM BST 04 Oct 2008Tam Fry, a member of the National Obesity Forum's board, will tell a key conference that young people who are overfed by their parents should be treated as victims of abuse, just as malnourished children are.He will argue that authorities should take obese children away from their families and into care, and that those whose health is at risk should then undergo stomach-stapling operations.Mr Fry said parents should be allowed to visit their overweight children in hospital, but they must first be "frisked" to ensure they are not trying to smuggle them junk food or fizzy drinks.He admits his ideas are radical and that he will likely lose a debate on whether child obesity should be treated as a form of abuse, to be held at the forum's annual conference on Tuesday.But Mr Fry insists Britain's obesity epidemic poses such a risk to public health, with the overweight likely to suffer from heart disease and diabetes, that drastic action must be taken.Recent figures suggest a third of 13-year-olds are obese or overweight, and it is predicted that a million children in England will be obese within five years.Children across the country, from Tower Hamlets to Lincolnshire, have already been placed on "at-risk" registers or taken into care because of their weight. Last year Cumbria County Council removed an obese eight-year-old girl from her family.Mr Fry said: "My point will be that we regard malnourished children as being abused and so with those children who are so overweight, either consciously or by neglect because their parents allow it, there should be a case for them being removed from their parents."They need to be removed to a paediatric ward and put under weight management by doctors and nurses who know what they are doing."The parents will be permitted access but they will be frisked for chocolate and fizzy drinks when they ender the ward."The social services then sort out the family home, which is the problem at the case, and when everything is equal the child goes back."It is quite drastic but it's a long-term therapy. For the sake of the children it does need to be done because we have got children who are horrendously fat."In many cases it will mean thinking the unthinkable."He said some seriously obese children should be given bariatric surgery, in which the stomach is stapled or bypassed, leaving them only able to eat tiny amounts of pureed food.Mr Fry went on: "I fully expect to be defeated in the debate. I go into it knowing that the prospect of removing children from their parents is something that the medical profession will shy away from, but it needs to be done."The television presenter Anne Diamond, who in 2006 had a gastric band fitted to reduce the amount she could eat, will also address the conference in London.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/health/3130908/Exclusive-Fat-children-should-be-taken-from-parents-and-given-stomach-stapling-surgery.html

Redrant: With the light smoking Obama Barak is, in the parlance a "chipper" with a few cigarettes per day not the pack a day of most smokers (like I was before I quit). In earlier interviews Obama said he has using the "patch" and his wife was heavily pressuring him to quit. Those are the three factors that generally help in quitting. Every campaign rally I have ever seen has been non-smoking, even thirty years ago. "Chippers" can generally quit fairly easily with proper motivation, especially a goal that requires them to be a non smoker. (I cite a former female friend who wanted to winter in Antarctica). It is odd, that Obama can't quit completely, even with the "patch". He obviously has the "motive" to quit and has pharmaceutical help. His staff can easily limit his contact with second hand smoke if that is a "trigger" (it was for me when I quit in the early 1970's).


It might be an "addiction personality" at work. Obama Barak cited past heavy drug use including using crack cocaine.

Greg Lang

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/10/08/2008-10-08_firedup_obama_still_smokes_a_cigarette_n.html

Fired-up Obama still smokes a cigarette now and then

BY MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

Wednesday, October 8th 2008, 11:26 AM

Barack Obama says he sometimes treats himself to a cigarette on the campaign trail.

Obama, who supposedly quit smoking at his wife's insistence in 2006, told Men's Health magazine he has bummed a few cigarettes during the White House race.

"But I figure, seeing as I'm running for President, I need to cut myself a little slack," Obama, 47, told the magazine.

Obama said he hasn't experienced "huge withdrawal symptoms" in part because he smoked only seven or eight cigarettes a day at his peak.

In June, when asked about his last puff during a news conference at a St. Louishospital, Obama sputtered, "I don't remember, but it was probably, it's been a while, you know, months."

Theater Nite Update 10-7-08

Hello Everyone -

 

A couple of things of interest. Posted on Greg's www.freedomtoact.com website is the article that came out in the Pioneer press last Monday. I could not resist responding with a letter to the editor.....and they actually printed it or at least part of it. They must of felt the need to edit. The portion of the letter in bold was edited out. Perhaps they thought my 40,000 number was wrong....however I doubled checked and it is accurate. Starting this month we also have a full page ad in NiteTimes magazine....pick one up at your local watering hole! Below is also some pictures from the Conservative Issues Fair....it was a great success! Greg has also posted some articles on the website www.freedomtoact.com , make sure you visit.

 

 

 

Letter to the Editor (Pioneer Press)

 

Well, it is abundantly clear that Clearway has not changed. They are still up to their deceitful tactics as can be seen in their latest survey. Perhaps quite different results would have been obtained if their survey question was phrased as, “Do you favor or oppose the state wide smoking ban in bars & private clubs?”  But of course, Clearway would never be so direct for fear of the survey’s results.

According to this same article, Sen Sheran said the law has been a success, however, she forgot to mention how successful it was in decreasing charitable gambling revenues and putting small business owners out of business. If our esteemed legislature continues down this path, we can look forward to them creating 80,000 new government jobs this next legislative session instead of the 40,000 government jobs they created this last session. By the way, did I mention who pays the salaries of these government jobs? Here’s a hint taxpayers…it’s not Santa Claus.

 

 

 

 

Philip Morris and Walgreens File Suit Over San Francisco's Ban on Tobacco Sales at Pharmacies - seewww.freedomtoact.com for full article

 

 

 

 

Conservative Issue's Fair

 

You are invited to view gertk5's photo album: Conservative Issues Fair Conservative Issues Fair Sep 20, 2008 by gertk5 View Album  Play slideshow Message from gertk5: Here are the pictures from today. Let me know if you want to download any of them and don't know how to do that. Sheila--Let me know which picture you like best for our website. I have one in mind, I want to see if it's the same one you choose.  Thanks to both of you for everything you did to help with this! I think it was a sucess!! If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://picasaweb.google.com/sgertken/ConservativeIssuesFair?authkey=hgVDp80bW04 To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.

Philip Morris and Walgreens File Suit Over San Francisco's Ban on Tobacco Sales at Pharmacies

Philip Morris and Walgreens File Suit Over San Francisco's Ban on Tobacco Sales at Pharmacies

In two separate lawsuits, Philip Morris and Walgreens are challenging the constitutionality of San Francisco's recently enacted ban on tobacco sales in pharmacies. Philip Morris has filed suit in federal court, arguing that it has a First Amendment right to sell its products. Walgreens filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court, arguing that the regulation is unfair because its treats various types of retailers differently.

According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle: "Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest tobacco company, filed suit in federal court Wednesday, arguing the city of San Francisco has unconstitutionally banned pharmacies from selling tobacco products. ... Philip Morris is arguing that it has a First Amendment right of free expression to sell its products. 'Although called a ban on sales, the purpose and effect of the ordinance is to suppress communications directed to adult smokers, in violation of our constitutional rights,' said Joe Murillo, a lawyer representing Philip Morris USA. 'Likewise, the ban unfairly deprives adult consumers of the opportunity to buy tobacco products from legitimate, licensed retail businesses.'"

"Mitch Katz, director of the city's Department of Public Health, remarked that he must have missed the day in social studies class the teacher discussed the constitutionality of cigarette sales. 'Do you remember any part of the Bill of Rights being about pharmacies selling tobacco?' he asked." ...

"Walgreens, meanwhile, filed a brief Wednesday stating the company would lose millions of dollars, equal to 9 percent of a store's non-pharmacy sales, if the ban takes effect. The company said the city is discriminating by not applying the ban to grocery stores or big-box stores that have pharmacies within them and also sell cigarettes. Katz has said it's a contradictory message for Walgreens to use the motto "the pharmacy America trusts" while selling cancer-causing tobacco products. In its brief, Walgreens said grocery stores are also perceived as health-promoting venues and pointed out that Safeway's slogan is "ingredients for life" but that the chain also sells cigarettes."

According to another article in the San Francisco Chronicle: "Attorneys for Walgreens are seeking an emergency injunction to stop San Francisco from banning the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies. In July, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to ban the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies such as Walgreens and Rite Aid, saying sick people getting their prescriptions filled shouldn't be faced with cancer-causing products sitting nearby. But the ban, which is scheduled to take effect Oct. 1, doesn't extend to grocery stores or big-box stores that also have pharmacies. That's why the company wants the plan stopped, said Walgreens spokeswoman Tiffani Bruce. 'Our position is based solely on being fair across different types of retailers,' she said, noting that smokers will just buy their cigarettes at another store down the block."

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