France
The French are largely ignoring their smoking ban which is five years old. People have begun to smoke in their offices and at restaurants. Viva the French!
Sugar Is Toxic
<p class="first">Sugar is so toxic that it should be taxed and slapped with regulations like alcohol, some U.S. researchers argue.</p>
<p>In a <b>commentary</b> published in Wednesday’s issue of the journal Nature, doctors from the University of California, San Francisco, say that rising global rates of major killers such as heart disease and Type 2 diabetes aren’t caused by obesity as commonly thought.<br />
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Note: there is no study or documentation to support this new claim. The heath nannies are so heady with thier successful campaign against smokers, they have no boundries now. These people must be dethrowned and put back in thier place.</p>
The Netherlands
<p>In the Netherlands, politicians are being accused of allowing the powerful tobacco lobby to exercise undue influence over smoking policy.</p>
<p>In recent years while most countries have been tightening anti-smoking legislation, the Netherlands has partially reversed some of its laws – allowing people to smoke in some bars again and cutting funding for anti-smoking organisations.<br />
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Big Tobacco didn’t change the law, the people did. Small bars and cafe’s united against the smoking ban, if the people don’t want a ban, there isn’t a ban. Many politicians believe that people should be free to choose if they want to smoke or not (what a novel idea – freedom). This indeed is an enlightened country.</p>
Indiana
It appeared that a smoking ban was passed by the Indianapolis city council last night however the Mayor has said that he plans to veto this bill. We hope he does veto and stands firm on his convictions. We are sure he is being bullied right now sometimes you must smack that bully down!<br />
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Meanwhile on the state level: State representatives voted 61-34 Tuesday to pass House Bill 1149, sending the legislation to the opposite chamber—where Senate President Pro Tem David Long has promised full debate. The House has approved a statewide smoking ban at least five times in recent years, but those measures died before a Senate vote.<br />
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Let’s hope the Senate understands economics and freedom of choice.<br />
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Utah
There is a bill in Utah which would, once again, discriminate against the poor who smoke. Republican Rep. Paul Ray has proposed that could become a first-in-the-nation state law imposing a higher co-payment for tobacco-using residents enrolled in Medicaid.<br />
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The American Lung Association opposes the proposed co-payment. There is no evidence that it would encourage smokers to quit, said Jennifer Singleterry, the association’s manager of cessation policy. Instead, low-income smokers on Medicaid would just have to pay more. "We feel that this is a punitive measure for smokers," she said.<br />
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Funny, they don’t seem to have any problem with promoting and lobbying for $1.00 or more in taxes on a pack of cigarettes in all 50 states. These people just can’t get it together, it is alright to discriminate if they get a chunk of the money but if the States reap the benefits they aren’t interested. This has never been about health it is about control.<br type="_moz" />
Hawaii
<p>Last week, Hawaii’s state legislature introduced <a target="_blank" href="http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-hawaii-bills-hb2557-and-sb2819-from-being-signed-into-law">two bills</a> that would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and tax the devices at 70% of their wholesale price, the same rate as tobacco products. Like similar state proposals designed to regulate the smoking alternatives, Hawaii’s effort is well-intentioned but misguided. The state’s proposal is based on bad science and creates several unintended consequences.<br />
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The Hawaii legislature has put forth many bans on tobacco, if any of them pass, it will be a state that smoker’s can cross off thier list of "places to visit".</p>
US Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, weighing in on a lawsuit over graphic cigarette warning labels, says the federal government has no legitimate authority to take space on a tobacco company’s packaging or advertising to persuade consumers not to buy the product.
Crossing The Line
<p class="inside-copy">Editorial from USA Today. On Jan. 1, Baylor went a step too far: It <a target="popup729" href="http://media.baylorhealth.com/pages/baylor-smoke-free-policy-2012#9">stopped hiring</a> anyone who smokes at work — or anywhere else. Treating smoking, in essence, like illegal drug use takes Baylor and an increasing number of other employers down a dangerous road, one that extends far too deeply into the private lives of prospective workers.<br />
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21 states do not have laws that protect smokers from discrimination. The ACLU has taken the lead on preventing discrimination against using a legal product, they still have more work to do. </p>
Heath Police In Florida
Rhonda Storms, is a republican state senator, who believes that "unhealthy" foods should not be covered by food stamps. <br />
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That sense of unfairness, plus a concern about the health of needy children, is the motivation behind a bill Storms sponsored that would prohibit people from purchasing "nonstaple, unhealthy foods" with funds provided by the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Unhealthy foods in her mind are cookies, soda and potato chips.<br />
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The Government has no business telling people what they can eat especially people who are in need of government assistance in this dreadful economy. <br />
Washington Legal Foundation
The Washington Legal Foundation has published a paper titled "Health Warnings on Consumer Products: Why Scarier is not better." by Dr. Patrick Bansham and Dr. John C. Luik.<br />
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This <a href="http://www.wlf.org/publishing/publication_detail.asp?id=2293">paper </a>thoroughly debunks the notion that graphic labels on any product work. <br />