PBS - newshour - The Real Reason Behind Public Smoking Bans
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I actually think this was a good perspective. This is all nanny state. This is becoming a big problem and goes far beyond smoking. If we are supposed to support bans based on health, then IMHO smokers should be able to smoke outside in public period. We know what is happening as one cant even smoke cigs or ecigs in front of certain stores. Things continue to get out of hand. What's refreshing is people are starting to notice and talk about violations of peoples rights!
Hear! Hear! Imagine how many smokers would quit tomorrow if 'Public Health Officials' endorsed e-cigs ONLY at the beach and parks ... EVERYWHERE .... but more importantly .... how many peoples lives they would save. I'd go as far as to say that non-smokers would jump on the campaign and every time they saw smokers they would say "why don't you use an e-cig, it's much better for us all".
Public Health Officials need to wake-up, be honest and get back to protecting public health not feeding us BS.
An extremely good point! Now all we have to do is make this happen!
I'm too tired tonight, but damn it! - I will go back through my philosophy and ethics textbooks to pull out the appropriate references to and support for, the right to autonomy. I will say though, that the level of intellectualism on the PBS comments is a little better than the majority of those I've seen on the average newspaper article comments.
Still, it is so frustrating to see/read/hear otherwise normal and reasonable people cling to such utterly non-scientific CRAP!!!!! De-normalization has gone far beyond any scrap of "public good" and is now in the realm of persecution. This cannot be healthy for a society that proclaims acceptance and accommodation for differences! Even though a month ago I stopped smoking cigarettes (thanks to vaping), rest assured that I do not now, nor will I ever, denigrate those who are still in the grip of that habit.
If these same people were as vehement about the exhaust of busses, cars and heavy industry - I might cut them a little slack. This is simply self-righteousness - and that I cannot abhor!
Still, it is so frustrating to see/read/hear otherwise normal and reasonable people cling to such utterly non-scientific CRAP!!!!! De-normalization has gone far beyond any scrap of "public good" and is now in the realm of persecution. This cannot be healthy for a society that proclaims acceptance and accommodation for differences! Even though a month ago I stopped smoking cigarettes (thanks to vaping), rest assured that I do not now, nor will I ever, denigrate those who are still in the grip of that habit.
If these same people were as vehement about the exhaust of busses, cars and heavy industry - I might cut them a little slack. This is simply self-righteousness - and that I cannot abhor!
- Apr 2, 2009
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I posted the following comment on the PBS Newshour's excellent interview with Ronald Bayer.
Abstinence-only tobacco prohibitionists (funded primarily by drug companies, CDC, NCI and state taxpayers) have taken over most of the public health community (especially during the Obama administration) and the largely grassroots movement that campaigned to ban smoking in nearly all indoor workplaces and public places during the past 30 years.
The American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers Rights, CDC's Tom Frieden and other public health officials have not only been lobbying to enact counterproductive comprehensive outdoor smoking bans, but these extremists are also lobbying to ban outdoor use of smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes (which pose no risks to nonusers).
Instead of desiring to reducing the 400,000 deaths annually caused by daily cigarette smoking (the goal of public health advocates including myself), the goals of these prohibitionists are to ban all tobacco products, all tobacco companies, all tobacco use, and to even ban tobacco free e-cigarettes and their use (just because e-cigs remind them of cigarettes).
Instead of working to help smokers quit or switch to far less hazardous smokefree alternatives, these extremists have also been lobbying to ban menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars and smokeless tobacco, smokefree dissolvable tobacco products and electronic cigarettes, and tobacco tobacco displays in retail stores.
But there are many public health advocates (including me) who continue to oppose these unwarranted outdoor smoking bans, the totally absurd indoor/outdoor bans on the use of smokefree e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, and other extremist prohibition policies.
William T. Godshall, MPH
Executive Director
Smokefree Pennsylvania
1926 Monongahela Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
412-351-5880
smokefree@compuserve.com
Abstinence-only tobacco prohibitionists (funded primarily by drug companies, CDC, NCI and state taxpayers) have taken over most of the public health community (especially during the Obama administration) and the largely grassroots movement that campaigned to ban smoking in nearly all indoor workplaces and public places during the past 30 years.
The American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers Rights, CDC's Tom Frieden and other public health officials have not only been lobbying to enact counterproductive comprehensive outdoor smoking bans, but these extremists are also lobbying to ban outdoor use of smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes (which pose no risks to nonusers).
Instead of desiring to reducing the 400,000 deaths annually caused by daily cigarette smoking (the goal of public health advocates including myself), the goals of these prohibitionists are to ban all tobacco products, all tobacco companies, all tobacco use, and to even ban tobacco free e-cigarettes and their use (just because e-cigs remind them of cigarettes).
Instead of working to help smokers quit or switch to far less hazardous smokefree alternatives, these extremists have also been lobbying to ban menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars and smokeless tobacco, smokefree dissolvable tobacco products and electronic cigarettes, and tobacco tobacco displays in retail stores.
But there are many public health advocates (including me) who continue to oppose these unwarranted outdoor smoking bans, the totally absurd indoor/outdoor bans on the use of smokefree e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, and other extremist prohibition policies.
William T. Godshall, MPH
Executive Director
Smokefree Pennsylvania
1926 Monongahela Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
412-351-5880
smokefree@compuserve.com
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