New York

Mayor Bloombug: &quot;This city will not back away from its commitment to make drinking as difficult and expensive as possible! <br />
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Whooops! Sorry…. I mis-spelled &quot;smoking&quot; in that quote. Ah well, nobody wants to hire or rent to drinkers anyway, right? And a buck a bottle (for beer that is… $10/bottle for booze) will cover the new SCHIP II costs for educating crippled children, so who can complain about it, right?

Marin County, California

<p>Marin’s war on smoking was blunted Tuesday as a measure cracking down on tobacco and other &quot;weed&quot; was sent back for revision to make clear the crackdown does not include marijuana.</p>
<p>Although supervisors were in agreement with the policy when county staff last month asserted an ordinance outlawing smoking in unincorporated-area apartments included marijuana and other herbs as well as tobacco, the county board Tuesday abruptly called for revisions making clear tobacco was the only weed at issue.</p>
<p>Unbelievable!</p>

Finding New Ways To Sell Nicotine

Older adults who are starting to have problems with memory may benefit from small amounts of nicotine therapy, according to a US study published on Monday. Those on nicotine therapy showed better results on cognitive tests for attention, memory, as well as how fast and consistently they could process information.<br />
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Big Pharma is always looking for new ways to sell their nicotine this is a good example.&nbsp; <br type="_moz" />

New York

With increasing vigor, public health experts and think tanks are calling for extra taxes on foods and drinks that are heavy in calories and light on nutrition. New York Gov. David Paterson proposed an 18% soda tax last year as a budget-balancing measure, only to abandon it three months later in the face of stiff public opposition. Lawmakers in at least five other states have gone on the record in support of the idea.<br />
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Kalifornia used to be the land of crazies but now I think we have to give that award to New York, who just can’t get enough in taxes and behavior modification.<br />

Omaha

<div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff; COLOR: #000000; OVERFLOW: hidden; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; TEXT-DECORATION: none">A new law that bans smoking inside all Douglas County Housing Authority apartments has some residents fuming.&nbsp; The law took effect January 1 but allows for outdoor smoking stations.<br />
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It is outrageous to pick on the elderly and the poor which people who are rich can join private clubs and smoke.<br />
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Hysteria in Vermont

City councilors passed the outdoor smoking ban on a vote of 8-6. It extends beyond Church Street; there could be no lighting up for most of downtown Burlington. The exception is you can smoke after 9 p.m.&nbsp; The police have said they could not enforce the law without the help of the people.<br />
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There is no reason to pass outdoor smoking bans this is just the typical knee jerk hysteria that is being promoted the American Cancer Society.&nbsp; They not only want indoor/outdoor, cars, condo’s and apartment smoking bans they now want the public to report smoking against fellow American’s.&nbsp; Let’s keep in mind that tobacco is legal and there are no clinical studies on outdoor smoking.&nbsp; As a society we are going backwards into the days of fascism.<br />

Baton Rouge

<p>The Town Talk reports that smoking and the use of other tobacco products no longer is allowed in any bar in the city of Alexandria.<br />
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Nix them off and go to New Orleans where you can drink on the streets and smoke in the bar.&nbsp; The music is better too!</p>

A New Urban Myth

Recently the British Medical Journal published an article that claimed smoking in a car was 23 times more toxic than a smokey bar.&nbsp; However, they then retracted and came up with a new number of 11 times more toxic than a smokey bar.&nbsp; When you actually look at the <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2688598/?tool=pubmed">study </a>it does not take into consideration the outside pollution levels. I suspect they didn’t because if they did the reading would actually be a minor blimp and nothing more.&nbsp; <br />
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Once the &quot;appropriate scare tactic&quot; has been published the retraction and lack of outdoor pollution consideration will never be changed, it will be quoted forever as 23 times more toxic.<br />

Indiana Is A Backward State

In addition to attempt a statewide ban on tobacco is a bill authored by Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield, would reverse state law that protects smokers from job discrimination.&nbsp; <br />
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What is going on in Indiana?&nbsp; Good thing it is an election year you can vote the crazies out!<br />
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Smoking Cessation Devices

&quot;A new study suggests cigarette smokers who quit after using over-the-counter medication such as nicotine patches are just as likely to relapse as smokers who go &quot;cold turkey,&quot; casting fresh doubt on the effectiveness of such products&quot;. <br />
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The war against smokers was started by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation to sell their nicotine smoking cessation devices.&nbsp; They don’t work and that has been known for quite some time but it doesn’t stop them from their crusade to eliminate tobacco globally.<br />