The Smokers' Rebellion

Thank You Dr. Michael Siegel

2006-05-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

Trackback to "Face of The Enemy"

Physician and long-time tobacco control advocate, Dr. Michael Siegel has joined the fight against Chris Covert-Bowlds and his low-key, but vicious effort to criminalize smokers by characterizing them as child abusers.

Read his post today about the issue. And here is his welcome response to my request for his help in making this public:

Kathleen-
I have sent in two letters to the editor. One to the Oregonian and one to the Portland Tribune. I'll let you know if either one is published. This issue is not going to go away, and I will continue to write about it, both on the blog and publicly. But to start, let's see if we can't get something immediately into an Oregon newspaper to serve notice that we're not going to sit by and let this happen unnoticed and uncontested (like the Arkansas car smoking ban).

In the meantime, I would note that this post has been highlighted on the tobacco.org site, so it should now be seen by a large number of anti-smoking advocates and groups (see: http://www.tobacco.org/news/223006.html).

I really do think there is a socioeconomic/racial and a class issue here. Basically, well-off anti-smoking advocates are telling poorer less well-off Americans how to live their lives and how to raise their children. That's truly what this amounts to.

And because the well-off don't have as much respect for the lower classes, they don't understand the implications of developing a criminal record, having to pay fines, or having one's children threatened to be taken away.

The lack of sensitivity is appalling, but it's really a shame to me that this is coming from within my own movement.
Michael Siegel | Homepage | 05.01.06 - 5:56 pm | #

Dr Siegel doesn't wholeheartedly agree with the entire scope of the overall issue regarding the health effects of ETS as I see it. But he has serious concerns about the outrageous tactics now being employed by many antismoking groups. He has been blacklisted and ostracized by some of his former colleagues and deserves a great deal of credit for continuing to pursue -under the gun- the subject of hyperbole masquerading as "Scientific Evidence."

Besides our thanks, he deserves our moral support and encouragement.

The Face of The Enemy

2006-04-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

NOTE: The word covert,used as an adjective, describes something that is secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed.

An article published yesterday by KATU 2 in Portland, Oregon, with the headline Doctor pushes to make smoking an act of child abuse exposes this man as the tyrannical fanatic he is. As the first half of his pretentiously hyphenated name suggests, he appears to be in the process of undercover and underhanded negotiations to yank the children of smokers from their parents and their homes!

"Dr. Chris Covert-Bowlds is a member of the informal, unorganized and quiet movement toward making it a criminal act to smoke around kids.

The physician is the father of Washington's new sweeping anti-smoking law for public places. He believes protecting children from smoking parents is next."

"...informal, unorganized and quiet", huh? Well, we need to shout it from the rooftops and make absolutely certain the public becomes aware of what this man and his "movement" have in mind for us, and - MOST IMPORTANT - the LIES this campaign uses to influence voters and legislators!!

I'm in the process of trying to find out more about Covert-Bowlds beyond the fact that he is a "family physician". He may be a physician, but it's pretty obvious he cares less about "family" than he does about total control over other people's children. This man and all others like him need to be stopped...NOW!

UPDATE:

A note below a letter to the editor by Dr. Chris Covert-Bowlds, discloses that he received funding for "Tobacco Cessation Talks" from GlaxoSmithKline. Now, isn't THAT interesting. Dr.Covert-Bowlds is also president of an organization called COMMIT for a Tobacco Free Whatcom County. And guess who makes the COMMIT "stop-smoking" lozenge. Why gee whiz, its initials are GSK. You suppose that's merely a coincidence? Sure it is...

A quick look at the GSK web site also tells us that they manufacture Consumer Brands Nicoderm CQ, Nicorette, NiQuitin and Nicabate and the list something called Committed Quitters: "A behavioural support programme that offers advice and counselling for smokers trying to quit using GSK's nicotine replacement therapy products. Committed Quitters typically involves a free, personally tailored quit plan, complete with newsletters, award certificates and other motivational material, as well as a toll-free help line."

GSK prescription medicines include Zyban, ("Sustained-release tablets are a non-nicotine aid to smoking cessation") also sold as the antidepressant Wellbutrin.

So, what do you suppose the doc cares most about... children's health or forcing their parents into a position where they have no choice but to quit and turn to some GSK product to help them do that?

UPDATE II:

I just finished sending a copy of the letter below to the editor of every newspaper in Oregon (as listed HERE). I sincerely hope others will get involved in helping to expose this man's underhanded agenda to voters in Oregon before it's too late.

Exposing "Covert" Operations

KATU in Portland, Or., published "Doctor pushes to make smoking an act of child abuse" on their web site April 27. One would assume it was part of their news broadcast that day, paving the way as Oregon gears up to put new smoking laws on the ballot next year.

The doctor quoted extensively is Chris Covert-Bowlds, and he is hailed as "the father of Washington's new sweeping anti-smoking law for public places."

As this news item states, Covert-Bowlds is "a member of the 'informal, unorganized and quiet' movement toward making it a criminal act to smoke around kids." This man wants to yank children from loving homes solely because their parents smoke.

Dr. Chris Covert-Bowlds also receives financial backing from GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of the tobacco cessation products Nicoderm CQ, Nicorette, Nicabate and NiQuitin, as well as the prescription drug Zyban.

Another notable fact is that he is president of the organization Commit for a Tobacco-Free Whatcom County. Is it merely a coincidence that GSK makes Commit ("stop smoking") Lozenges?

Oregon voters, get all of the FACTS before it's too late. Start by reading the KATU news report thoroughly and pay attention to what it's really telling you. Remember it's nearly impossible to "un-fire the bullet". Understand that Dr. Chris Covert-Bowlds is holding a gun loaded with ammunition from his chief benefactor, GlaxoSmithKline. He has plans to force all smokers to Commit to his will. Perhaps he intends to make himself wealthy at the same time?

I Have Met The Enemy

2006-04-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, many times the enemy is us. By "us", I mean smokers and even those non-smokers who agree with our side of the Anti-smoker issue. We seem to be LETTING "them" defeat us.

The thing that strikes me, as I read posts on various blogs and forums, from smokers and anti-smokers throughout cyberspace and representing a cross-section of the "civilized" world, is how often WE seem to accept and express defeat. Even in defiance, ie: "Okay so you won. You made your point and I understand that my smoke makes you sick so I don't have a right to do it around you. Can you understand that even though I am a stupid, weak, tobacco junkie I have a right to kick your ass if you try to tell me what to do when I'm outside your smoke-free zone?"

Then there are those who have come to believe that they are indeed stupid, ugly, selfish addicts who should be ashamed of themselves. They hide the fact that they choose to smoke, sometimes even from their own friends and families. They agree that they should quit and sometimes say they agree that smoking bans are a good thing. "Maybe it will help me kick the habit." "I know I shouldn't smoke around my kids because it will give them asthma." "Well the vote was 2 to 1, so I guess I have to go along with the majority."

Not that it's surprising we should feel defeated. After all, the campaign against us has been going on a long, long time and we know it's extremely well funded, well organized and insidious. But, we shouldn't forget that we have facts on our side, while they only have "truth" - their own particular brand of "truth".

And even when we KNOW The Truth Is A Lie, we say "Well, what can we do about it? That's the way it is."

There is a lot we can do about it. First of all, smokers must take back their dignity and recognize that choosing to smoke does NOT make anyone a "loser". I don't know who to thank for this web page, but I guarantee it will lift your spirits and remind you who you are.

And BTW, my profile pic is less than a year old. At 5'7", I weigh a tidy 140 pounds, still chew with my very own teeth and though my hair is beginning to grey around the edges, have been mistaken for someone 10-15 years younger than the 58 I'll be in two weeks. I still walk a mile or two almost every day because I enjoy it (even in the frequently-rainy climate of Western Washington), can still run up two flights of stairs without panting and do water aerobics with more energy and enthusiam than most of the 30-somethings who share the pool with me. I have smoked an average of a pack a day since I was 22.

If you do want to quit smoking because YOU have decided it effects your health or it's a habit you can live without, there are plenty of methods out there to help you. But do it because you WANT to, not because you feel forced into it. And once you become a non-smoker - don't join the anti-smoker crusade.

Second of all, we need to educate ourselves about the methods, motives and maliciousness of the anti-smoker brigade. Michael J. McFadden's Dissecting Antismokers Brains is, hands down, the BEST investment you will ever make in this regard. You'll also find links at left to other excellent sources of information.

And once you understand what's really going on, you can educate others. Start with friends and family, whether smokers or non-smokers. Help them to see the fallacies, the loss of freedom, the risk to their own liberties; and encourage them to spread the word as well. Many non-smokers would support us if they were fully aware of the scope of the issue. As it is, they usually don't think it effects them much, so...oh well.

But most of all, make certain that every smoker you know understands the facts and refuses to believe the propaganda about ETS. As long as smokers themselves believe the lie that their smoke "injures" others, we have no chance to change the culture we find ourselves in. "They" count on us to be good little citizens in their smoke-free utopia because they know that most people don't want to harm others by their actions. "They" have made us compliant by lying to us for the past 30 years and their lies are becoming more shrill and egregious. As long as no one offers any serious challenge, the lies and outrageous bigotry toward smokers will continue unabated.

Third, stop thinking that the only way to win is to have enough money to fight on the same terms as the massive ATI. A true "grassroots" organization can have enormous influence if it's large enough and ever-present. There's a lot we can accomplish with our own computers and printers, a little courage and bit of creativity.

I'll have more on that idea in the days to come and I'll soon be posting the next chapter of The Smokers' Rebellion too. Look for a new character to fire up your imagination and perhaps, to inspire you.

Of Fancy Flights and Fights for Right

2006-04-07T11:00:00.002-07:00

As a small business owner AND a housewife (still on her "honeymoon" since we've been married less than a year), I don't have a lot of spare time. So, my apologies for letting nearly a week go by since my last post.

The spare time I did have this past week was spent perusing the various forums and informational sites I like to call the Anti-ANTIS. Found lots of interesting stuff to share... Here's a sample:

First on the list is Smokers International Airways. Are they joking? Is this satire? Go take a look at their well-produced web site and see what you think. Looks like a serious endeavor and a viable operation to me. And a travel option like this would certainly be welcome:

" Although innovative, SMINTAIR will treat it's passengers like the staff of an international Grand Hotel treats their guests. It is an obligation to SMINTAIR bringing back the exclusivity in flying encountered in the 1960s and dearly missed by so many. The classic ambience pared with today's technology will make flying SMINTAIR a unique experience."

Unfortunately, if you want to be aboard the first SMINTAIR flight scheduled for October 29, 2006, and you don't live in Germany, you'll have to take a regular old clunky, cramped, peanut-and-flat-cola-serving, no-smoking airline to get there.

Item #2 is the ongoing battle of Dr. Michael Siegel to hold anti-smoking fanatics accountable for the outrageous pronouncements they make to serve their cause. This past week he revealed and reviled 25 different organizations for parroting the "30 minutes exposure to tobacco smoke can kill a non-smoker" bullsh--. He also exposed the trickery being employed by Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids' with their "Kick Butts" Day.

The rest of the story about Dr. Siegel is that he has long been a tobacco control advocate. Now the very movement he has supported attempts at every turn to discredit him because he dares to speak out against the gross exaggeration he rightly believes is eroding the credibility of anti-smoking groups. While he remains steadfast in his support of work-place and other INDOOR public space smoking bans, he is outspoken in his objection to outdoor restrictions and unflinchingly critical of the increasing trend toward vilifying smokers themselves.

Thank you for your integrity and courage, Dr. Mike.

More later...
K.

I Don' Theen' So, Lucy!

2006-03-29T15:55:00.000-08:00

Lucy Page Gaston - the face of the anti-smoking movement early in the last century. Founded the Anti-Cigarette League of America in 1899. The organization claimed 300,000 members by 1901 and had a paid staff overseeing chapters thoughout the U.S. and Canada. An alumna of the WCTU (Women's Christian Temperance Union), Lucy was to tobacco as Carry Nation was to alcohol.

It is little, my lad, but it's terribly bad
The vile old Cigarette.
And without any joking, there's danger in smoking
The vile old Cigarette;
It adds to expenses and lessens the senses,
It only brings grief and regret;
Then let us endeavor to shun it forever,
The vile old Cigarette.
Anti-Cigarette League (1912)

Google lists a number of references to Lucy, but by far the best source of information is The Cigarette Wars - the Triumph of "The Little White Slaver" by Cassandra Tate. It's apparently no longer in publication, but I purchased a used copy in very good condition through Amazon.

Chapter 2, "The Clean Life Crusade" is especially fascinating and enlightening. The message put forth by The Anti-Cigarette League and other health reformers of their day was remarkably similar to the tactics of today's public health activists.

"...Some of this rhetoric was extreme, as in a report a bout a cigarette smoker whose veins had burst upon his untimely death at age twenty-five, revealing blood 'black as ink'..."

Though hazards to the health of the smoker were used in an attempt to scare people from "The Vile Cigarette", critics of the time were far more concerned about morality. A New Jersey doctor in a letter to the New York Times reported in all earnestness that cigarette smoking "increases sexual propensities and leads to secret practices". "Secret practices" was the euphemism for masturbation, thought to be both sinful and dangerous.

As the New York Times (THEM again!) observed in 1879, "The practice of cigarette-smoking among ladies seems to be generally regarded as the usual accompaniment of, or prelude to, immorality."

Through suggestion in newspaper and magazine articles, cigarettes were linked in the public's mind to narcotics such as opium, cocaine and morphine. Rumors persisted that cigarette tobacco was "adulterated" with one or more of those substances, which were at the time essentially unrestricted and used widely in patent medicines. Coincidentally, the increasing availability of cigarettes came at a time of growing public awareness of problems created by narcotic drugs. In the words of one writer, "The main reason why the cigarette obtains so fatal a power over young men is because of the opium in it."

Noteworthy among scientific reports to the contrary, were those directed by the chief chemist for the Department of Agriculture who later became first director of the Food and Drug Administration. He reported that he personally had tested the thirteen most popular brands of cigarettes and found no trace of opium or its derivatives in any of them.

Scientific reports notwithstanding, between 1889 and 1907, four states prohibited the sale of cigarettes that were "adulterated", and two others passed laws that defined cigarettes as narcotics.

Any of this beginning to sound familiar??

Ms. Tate pays great tribute to her mother at the beginning of the book and in the coda at the end she has more to say about this woman she so obviously respected and admired as well as deeply loved. Her mother died of lung cancer in 1994 at the age of 72 after having smoked at least a pack a day every day for fifty years.

"Smoking shaved five or six years from her life, by her reckoning, but she did not seem to begrudge it. I never heard her say she wished she had taken her father's advice and stayed clear of what he had called 'coffin nails,' any more than she wished she had eaten more tofu and less red meat, exercised more, kept her weight down, substituted white wine for bourbon, or made other sacrifices in the pursuit of a longer life."

And the last sentence of the book is a quote from her mother, Mary Elizabeth Haggerty. After stating that she was glad that most of her children didn't smoke and saying she hoped none of her grandchildren ever did, she said, "...But I choose to smoke. I can't imagine being without cigarettes. It would be very frightening for me. It would be hazardous to my mental health."

But in her introduction, Cassandra Tate tells us, "...the first generation of anti-cigarette crusader articulated virtually every issue that is still being debated about smoking today. Theirs was not a failure of rhetoric or determination, but of timing."

Today in "Lighting Lucy's Fuse" you'll be introduced to to the fictional Lucy Stewart Ryan, who ultimately will tell the "descendants" of Lucy Page Gaston. "Not THIS time, either!"

"Outgassing"??

2006-03-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

How long will it be before this is no joke?

An article I posted in another forum drew a couple of comments from someone who left no doubt that she (at least I suspect it was a she) is a nicotine nanny. She claimed that a co-worker had had to go home sick because:

"... a client at the agency where we both work came in stinking of cigarette smoke and set off my coworker's allergies. Within a half-hour, she was completely stuffed up and her head was pounding! You might not think you're causing trouble for others with your "personal" habit, but cigarette smoke does not stay on and in your person. It travels across the room and clings to not only your clothes and hair, but mine as well. You have every right to smoke whereever it does not affect me. In my state, the law says anywhere outdoors is fine. Well, it wasn't fine for my coworker. The client she encountered smelled so heavily of smoke that I, who have a poor sense of smell, could smell her 10 feet away"

I replied that if her co-worker's allergies were so severe that the mere smell of residual smoke clinging to someone else's person was enough to send her home ill, it was surprising she could hold a job - one would think she would be confined to a sterile environment instead of out in the real world where there are so many pollutants.

She came back with:

"When you smoke in a public place, the smoke -- the actual chemicals in the smoke -- do not just hang out on your person. The smoke migrates in all directions and affects everyone around you. It also clings to your clothes and hair. What we are smelling on you is not just a scent, but the actual chemicals outgassing in our air space."

Apparently she is of the opinion that smoking should be confined exclusively to one's own home, and before going out in public, the smoker should shower to remove all traces of "outgassed chemicals" and put on garments that have been stored in a totally smoke free location. We must protect the "innocent" and the "sensitive" from the evil smoker.

Attitudes of this sort might be funny if they weren't so scary. Scary because this is the way our society seems to be headed and we're not doing much to stop it.

Participate in The Smokers' Rebellion

2006-03-24T12:49:00.000-08:00

To turn the tide we're going to need a true National Alliance and a united coalition of individuals and groups working to restore the balance of liberty. We can only hope that eventually it will become reality. For now, we can create one of our own and have some fun expressing ourselves and relieving the frustration by joining together to bring about The Smokers' Rebellion.

Relate your own experiences and ideas through comments on this post and the best ones will be incorporated into future chapters of the story. I won't use anyone's real name (unless you want me to and I have written permission) because I don't want to take anyone somewhere they might not want to go.

Following posts in various forums and reading comments on other blogs tells me that individuals and groups ARE protesting and making statements. Problem is nobody hears much about it in MSM (main stream media).

As with their bias toward reporting only the negative news from Iraq to reinforce their campaign against the war, against the president, against America herself; major newspapers and network television turn a blind eye to events that fail to echo the message they want us to hear. Or they spin and twist them until they SEEM to confirm what they've said all along.

In this case, that message is that even smokers think smoking bans are a good idea. "I haven't seen any resistance from anyone to this new law", one legislator is quoted as saying. "There really haven't been any significant protests at all, so we must be doing something right" Note the use of the qualifier 'significant'.

While claiming to be "grassroots" organizations, tobacco control advocates have access to an enormous budget, subsidized by contributions from the likes of AHA, ALA, ACS who grow fat soliciting donations most of the public believes goes to medical research seeking cures for diseases. More about this funding fraud in a future post, but the point is it takes a lot to be heard above all the loudly proclaimed propaganda.

Who Says It's A Sin?

2006-03-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

A Creative Writing course I took many years ago stressed the importance of writing what you know. If a story is to be believable, the setting should be based on real places and the characters should be created with friends, lovers, acquaintances and enemies from the writer's life. Events should reflect the writer's feelings about actual situations he has encountered. The course instructor was also big on motivation. "Think about your Mo-ti-VA-shun for writing this particular story", he always intoned.

So I thought about my "Mo-ti-VA-shun" as I began to formulate my story. Pondering the politics and the social conditions which have led us to where we are today led me to consider how my own life and experience is reflected in my disgust about the situation and my passion to do something to change it.

The guidance of a parent who encouraged thinking for one's self and standing up for one's convictions was a blessing and advantage I'm grateful to have had. It has served me well throughout life and continues to be the basis of my value system. I learned not to take things at face value, not to automatically believe something just because "everyone else" did and to understand that opinions are only as good as the facts upon which they are based.

I grew up in Idaho; a staunchly conservative state long governed by a Republican majority. The predominant religious influence comes from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), or Mormons, as they're commonly known. The tenets of the church include the prohibition of "stimulants" such as caffeine and "harmful substances" such as alcohol and nicotine. Of course Mormons don't drink or smoke (at least not where anyone might see them) and they've never been shy about castigating those who do.

During elementary school years, my playmates in the neighborhood where we lived and school I attended were mostly from Mormon families. My younger brother and I went to the First Christian Church with my mother and grandmother. I was six years old the first time I encountered the idea that something I enjoyed was "sinful" and I didn't hear it in Sunday School or a sermon from the minister of the church where I went.

One of the girls in our neighborhood had a birthday party that was held in the park a few blocks away and included splashing in the swimming pool followed by a wiener roast at the barbecue pit. With supervision from Sharon's father, a dozen or so little guests put hotdogs on pointed sticks and held them close enough to the fire to get black on the outside, then took them back to the picnic table.

Sharon's mother and some other ladies who were there, allowed each of us to get paper plates and buns and to add mustard and ketchup to our hot-dogs if we wanted it; but we all had to wait until everyone was at the table so we could fold our arms and say a prayer before we ate.

Next to the big birthday cake decorated with yellow and pink roses, was a plastic punch bowl containing a syrupy-sweet orange drink with no ice. The birthday girl got to ladle some into little plastic cups and serve her guests. I was quite thirsty, but one sip told me the orange stuff wasn't the answer, so I excused myself from the table and took my coin purse to the concession stand near the swimming pool. I brought back an ice cold Coca-Cola in a telltale red paper cup. The excited, girlish chatter stopped as I sat down again and everyone stared at me.

I decided maybe I had been rude and said quietly, "I'm sorry, does anyone else want a Coke? I think I have enough money."

One of the girls said loudly, "My dad says it's a SIN and anybody who drinks Coca Cola will go straight to H-E-double toothpicks!"

Sharon's mother shook her head and smiled at me. "Katie and her family don't go to our church, so they probably don't know Our Heavenly Father doesn't want us to put anything in our mouths that might hurt us. Now she knows, I'm sure she'll do the right thing and put it in the trash instead." My face was hot with embarrassment and I had tears in my eyes, besides which I was still very thirsty, but I did what I was told.

I was fortunate to have a wise and wonderful mother, who soothed my distress about the incident and helped me see it as a lesson in tolerance. My tolerance of others' ideas, that is - and ways to deal with their intolerance of mine. I don't remember her exact words. She probably used pretty simple terms to explain differences in religious beliefs and teachings; and whatever she said assured me that drinking Coca-Cola, coffee or tea was not something most churches considered a sin, so I shouldn't worry about it.

"But what should I say when people tell me that", I remember asking, "Can I tell them it's a lie?"

"No, because they aren't really lying since they believe it is the truth", she said. "You could say something like 'I won't tell you what to drink because it's not hurting me and you don't tell me what to drink since it's not hurting you.' "

Simple advice that usually worked in situations involving only other children my age, but when they brought their parents into it, religious dogma and attempts to convert always complicated matters. It got so I dreaded being around them. I didn't hate the Mormons, I just got tired of their constant attempts to make me one of them. The easiest solution was to distance myself from them and find other friends, so that's what I did.

Throughout my life, my inclination has been to follow that wise old advice to live and let live. I believe that to be the foundation of a commitment to individual freedom and personal responsibility. But when the direction of society is influenced by forces that work to overturn the concept of Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, the time has come to fight back.

Introduction - Not Just For Smokers

2006-03-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

"Tolerance is about accepting somebody else's lifestyle, even if you do not approve of it. If you value your own freedom, your own right to choose, then you should be ready to speak up for the rights of others to choose, even if they choose things you would not. …The best way to protect your own freedom is by being ready to fight for that of your neighbour."
- Daniel Romano (non-smoker, self-proclaimed "health nut"), Founder of Citizens Against Government Encroachment

The Smokers' Rebellion is written as fiction. That's not to say I don't harbor the small hope that eventually Life will begin to imitate - at least to some degree - this particular bit of "Art".

While the events are a creation of imagination, the facts surrounding those events are real. So is the decline of Western Civilization and individual freedom throughout the world. Some say tobacco control is the canary in the coal mine and that rings true to me.

Have you noticed the recent increase in network television feature stories, newspaper and magazine articles, even late-night talk show monologue jokes about the "Obesity Epidemic"?

Are you aware that in some locales, public officials are urging taxes on fast food, soda and snack food? Whether by taxation or through legislation, how long do you suppose it will be before public health agencies turn their "suggestions" into outright control of what we eat and drink?

"…Inert, indifferent and defeated, people continue to allow 'public health' to control their lives more every day. Has the West surrendered individualism and freedom in favor of paternalism and statistical frauds in exchange for the vague perception of 'better' health?" - FORCES, International

In 1773, Colonists outraged by the British Parliament's tax levies, decided to throw the Boston Tea Party. It was to become the fuse that lit the explosion of American Independence. The people involved in The Smokers' Rebellion - whether real or imagined - possess the same spirit as those who fought for liberty two hundred and thirty plus years ago.

Preface: "Everybody's Doing It!"

2006-03-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

Washington state, where I now reside, recently passed what has been touted by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer as the strictest state-wide anti-smoking initiative in the country. This state also has the highest tobacco tax rate in the nation. Idaho, where I lived until last summer, began enforcing its "Clean Air Act" on July 1, 2004. (Still, cigarettes there cost about half as much as they do here, so my husband and I buy our cigarettes in Idaho.)

In the United States, as of this writing, (March, 2006) there are:

15 states that have initiated smoking bans statewide

1 state where the ban will go into effect April 15

10 states where smoking bans are being heavily promoted

large cities and entire counties in most states where smoking bans have been enacted.

(Latest data acquired from the web site of Lynda Farley of Kentucky, who calls them "People's Republics" and calls for boycotts.)

In some locations throughout the country, bars, casinos and private clubs are exempt from the bans, but in many other places they are not. For now, smokers are still allowed the "freedom" to enjoy their cigarette, cigar or pipe in their own homes or their own vehicles, and - with some notable restrictions and deplorable consequences - in the open air. If the fanatics and the "Clean Air Cossacks" have their way, however, that freedom will be lost as well.

The issue is much deeper and more serious than a little inconvenience - and it's becoming steadily worse:

Parents can be denied child custody - even visitation - because they smoke.

People are losing their jobs because they smoke… at home!

Businesses are refusing to hire smokers

If you look for articles in the mainstream news media about successful protests against smoking bans, you will find few, if any. If you expect to find public outrage over the constant decline of individual rights, you will be disappointed. You will notice that in nearly every article about a recently enacted smoking ban the news media takes care to include at least one opinion of a smoker who says they "don't mind" the ban or they "welcome it" because they are trying to quit anyway.

You may begin to believe that the anti-tobacco agenda of organizations such as WHO (World Health Organization) is not only inevitable, but that the majority of people throughout the world think it's a good thing.

Smoking ban protests based on the FACT that private enterprises have the right to determine whether or not to allow a legal activity on their property are absolutely valid. Every American, smoker or not, should be outraged by the very idea that laws can be enacted in opposition to the tenets of our Constitution. But these protests have been doomed to ultimate failure when support dwindles away.

Why? Because the public is being force fed the LIE that smokers harm other people. If a smoker is only hurting himself, he can argue that it's no one else's business. But if he is hurting everyone around him, all kinds of restrictive legislation can be justified. Decent people don't want to do things that hurt others, even if that means they give up their own freedom and the right to use their own property as they see fit.

Convinced of the harmful effects of ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) by the propaganda that has infiltrated our culture, smokers feel guilty about lighting up and smoke haters feel justified in going to extreme lengths in an attempt to make communities, states, countries…the WORLD, safe from the hazards of second hand tobacco smoke. But these good intentions by decent people are based on decades of LIES!

Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Russian Communist Party said, "A lie told often enough becomes truth". Facts reveal when the "truth" is a lie.

Inspired By Frustration

2006-03-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

"For the Sake of the Chiiil-dren"

In 1973, I dated a divorced father of two small children. He had visitation on weekends and we spent much of our time together enjoying activities that included them. A favorite place was one of the local parks that had playground equipment enclosed within a circle of nearby picnic tables and benches.

One crisp autumn afternoon, as we sat on a bench, drinking coffee and watching the kids play on the swings, their father lit the last cigarette in a pack. He got up to toss the empty pack into a trash receptacle a few feet from the bench and was suddenly accosted by a woman who knocked the cigarette from his hand and ground it out on the cement.

"You shouldn't be smoking where children play", she shouted at him.

He was so startled, he was speechless for a moment as he stared at the woman standing defiantly with hands on hips. "What the hell?", were his first words. "What right do you have to attack me for doing something that's none of your business?"

"You have NO RIGHT to pollute the air my children breathe. If you want to kill your own children in your own home, I guess that's your business. But MY children are MY business and I have every right to attack you for harming them."

Another woman showed up about then and took the first one by the arm, leading her away. She looked over her shoulder and glared at us, then the two women rounded up three or four little ones from the play area and led them, protesting, out of the park.

I think I realized then that the handwriting was on the wall.

Demonizing Smokers

By the time I was in the seventh or eighth grade in the early 1960's, we were shown films during health class about the "horrors" of smoking. I remember them well. And they scared the hell out of me since my mother, widowed when I was nine, smoked. I was sure she was going to die any minute and leave my younger brother and me orphans. I know I pleaded with her to give up the habit. She handled it with her usual grace and calm and she enjoyed her cigarettes for the rest of her long life. I cringe now to realize what a pest I was about the issue.

I'm certain most of my contemporaries made pests of themselves with their own parents as well. Without a doubt, re-educating parents through pressure from their offspring was part of the reason for introducing the horror movies into the school curriculum.

"Anti-tobacco activists" have been around nearly as long as the cultivation of tobacco itself. (The History of Tobacco Regulation covers it all, if you're interested.) But until the latter half of the twentieth century, there was little debate and certainly no real public censure.

The first warning labels, "Cigarette Smoking May be Hazardous to Your Health", appeared on cigarette packaging in 1965. The ban on television and radio advertising began in 1971. Articles about the risks of smoking to health AND appearance appeared in women's magazines and "public service" announcements were seen frequently on television.

But most smokers believed that, as adults consuming a legal product, it was their right to take whatever risk smoking posed if they chose to do so. "My body. My business. Butt out.", was one way of putting it.

Anti-smokers find the key

We all know by now what that key is... fostering an atmosphere where it is perceived that smokers injure those around them, especially their family, infants, and young children. We began hearing about it thirty-odd years ago and now the impact of this propaganda is being felt throughout the world.

The "injuring others" mantra is now used to invalidate any protest based on individual or property rights. As long as the majority - smokers included - are convinced that smoking is a threat dire to innocent children and other non-smokers, the anti-smoking agenda will win every argument.

So Now What?

Finding information that refutes claims about what is now most commonly called ETS (Environmental Tobacco Smoke) was nearly impossible for the ordinary individual prior to the internet. Now there are lots of sources. I will continue to provide links to some of the best throughout my writing as well as in the sidebar of this blog.

I found confirmation of my conviction that the "studies" and "statistics" used in the war against smokers are, at best, misleading; at worst, outright lies. In becoming enlightened, I also became alarmed by the fanaticism, shocked by the agenda and who is behind it and disgusted that civilized, freedom loving people throughout the world are allowing themselves to be steamrolled into compliance.

I also became frustrated by the fact that there seems to be damned little I can do about it. Beyond keeping on top of the latest depressing news, cheering the few small - probably temporary - victories, what can I add that hasn't already been said.

To this point, I find the contingent of activists and people willing to stand up and fight back to be few and far between. With a few notable exceptions, such as Lynda Farley who has taken her show on the road, we don't seem to doing much to get our message across. Yes, I believe the "pen is mightier than the sword", but aren't we all just preaching to the choir so far?

Web sites such as FORCES and The Smoker's Club, Inc. are phenomenal sources of information kept alive by people and groups who are obviously passionate about the issue. I applaud them and I support them.

But, with all due respect...SO WHAT? The power and the money behind anti-tobacco is tremendous. American colonists faced no less an adversary in 1773 when they undertook a protest that ultimately led to the American Revolution. The human spirit and an overwhelming drive to regain our liberty with determinate action is the only remedy to the tyranny facing us now.

So, using my imagination, I am spinning the tale of The Smokers' Rebellion... A work of fiction. For now.