Thank You For Not Smoking

[Lew]

Trav and Greg-

absolutely there could be a whole can of worms stemming from these new laws. What is or is not a "business," what is or is not "private," and so forth.

And who's to say these new laws are constitional anyway? The public has no more right to pass an unconstitutional law than the legislature.

Let's just go ahead and make smoking a felony punishable by 3 years in prison. That should curtail it.

And then let's move on towards fast food.

[cincygreg]

Ok, then let's discuss fast food.... [img]wink.gif[/img]

Is it's actually being "fast food" determined by how long you have to wait to get it? [img]graemlins/hmmm.gif[/img]

Does the first car in line actually get "fast food" whereas the 5th car in line gets "slightly less than quick food" and the 10th car in line get's "moderately delayed food"? [img]graemlins/sure.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/wonder.gif[/img]

What if you order food that's fast but you eat it slow?
Is it still fast food if you wait until you get home to eat it?

I"M SO CONFUSED!!!!!!!!!!! [img]eek.gif[/img]

OK, I'll stop...


Actually, many fast food places allready fry with trans fat free oils.

[cincygreg]

One final smoking ban note...

All these areas of Kentucky allready have a ban of sort sort in place

Ashland
Frankfort
Henderson
Letcher County
Lexington Fayette County
Morehead

It shouldnt be too far down the line that the areas of NKY closetes to Cincinnati put it on their ballots as well.

[Lew]

Guns are another one. Now, obviously, there are significant distinctions- first and foremost, the Constitution specifically addresses the right to bear arms, but is silent regarding smoking; two, the gun lobby is far more organized and powerful than its pro-smoking counterpart; and perhaps most significantly in this day an age, to my knowledge, the gun-makers have never lied to Congress (like the tobacco companies did, and I maintain to this day that more than anything else turned the tide against them).

But the arguments would be parallel- we can't have individuals using a product that poses a threat to the health/safety of the public at-large.

Fast food is a little different in that it's hard to quantify how your consumption of a Big Mac somehow endangers my health. But what they'll argue is that the Fast Food companied misrepresent their product to the masses, and that they're product is slowly but surely killing its users (hmmm.........where have we heard that argument before?)

[travelinman]

Public Health Group Calls for Troop Pullout, End to Abstinence-Only Ed
CNSNEWS ^ | November 10, 2006 | Randy Hall

The world's largest organization of public health professionals concluded its annual meeting in Boston Wednesday by calling for U.S. forces to leave Iraq and for an end to abstinence-only sex education.

The American Public Health Association (APHA) also expressed its support for a ban on serving trans fats in restaurants and a treaty instituting global control of alcohol consumption.

Holding its four-day 134th annual gathering, the APHA called "for the immediate initiation of the safe withdrawal of U.S. armed forces from Iraq accompanied by the deployment of U.N. peacekeeping troops in areas of high risk for inter-ethnic conflict or civil war."

"The association urges reconstruction of vital health-supporting infrastructure in Iraq and ensuring safe access to this infrastructure by the Iraqi people while also guaranteeing that adequate resources are provided for the care and rehabilitation of injured U.S. military personnel and their families," it said.

"APHA has long supported using the funds saved by the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq to meet public health needs in the United States and in developing countries," it said.

The document was approved by the 13,000 public health professionals from around the world attending the meeting.

Participants also expressed strong opposition to abstinence-only sex education.

"The association notes that while abstinence from sexual intercourse is theoretically fully protective against pregnancy and disease, in actual practice, abstinence often fails, leaving students unequipped to prevent unintended pregnancies and protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other consequences," the group said.

As a result, "APHA calls for repealing current federal funding for abstinence-only programs and replacing it with funding for a new federal program to promote comprehensive sexuality education, combining information about abstinence with age-appropriate sexuality education."

Hallmarks of such a program should include "information about concepts of healthy sexuality; sexuality orientation and tolerance; risks of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy; access to reproductive health care, such as birth control; and benefits and risks of condoms and other contraceptives," the organization noted.

The medical personnel also expressed support for steps to reverse the nation's "obesity epidemic" and urged federal, state and local governments "to ban and monitor the use of trans fat-laden partially hydrogenated oils in restaurants."

The APHA said the World Health Organization should adopt and implement a binding international treaty "to help reduce the harmful consumption of alcoholic beverages."

"The global burden of disease for alcohol is approaching that of tobacco," said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the APHA. "A framework convention on alcohol would help strengthen the hand of countries in setting policies that protect human health."

[cincygreg]

Thanks for posting that Trav. I'd seen a part of that. but not the whole article.

Not to get back on the "smoke free" thing, but there's a list of smoke free places on here covering much of the country

SMOKE FREE

For those who dont know, Trans fats are NOT crossdressers with weight problems! [img]eek.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/hmmm.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/sure.gif[/img]

[Lew]

I went to the APHA website and that line about pulling out of Iraq really does hurt their legitimacy, in my eyes. I mean, I'm all for health awareness, I'm all for science and education and all that. While I believe adults should be able to drink and smoke as they wish, I have no objection to teaching children the dangers of smoking, the dangers of drinking, etc.

But then they say we should leave Iraq. And I mean, this is a public health advocacy group who otherwise is concerned with occupational safety, nutrition, education about health issues, etc. I'm not seeing the connection between Iraq and "public healthy", unless you want to argue the "occupational hazards" of a soldier in combat.

[reason]

Originally posted by Lew:
GS hit it right on the head. That's always been my argument. Whenever you do something like this, you always start with a hated target. You all have heard me take exception with some of the sex offender laws; it's not because I support sex offenders, it's because I see those laws paving the way for further such laws which I feel are (or can lead to) excessive government abuse. But few see it that way because who cares what they do to sex offenders?

Same thing here. The tobacco companies are bastards, smoking is dangerous, according to the truth.com cigarettes kill 100 million people every hour. So who cares if a few smokers are pissed off?

But absolutely, let's take a look at the fast-food industry. Or cell phones. Hell, maybe we can dust off the old "video games make kids do evil things" schtick.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I agree. So what if 100 million die every hour!

Lew brings up a good point. Private businesses should operate as they see fit. Our freedoms are encroached every day and this must be stopped.

We should let freedom ring and let the market decide. Let's start with fire and health codes. Also throw out zoning and alcohol regulations.

It's time we end the tyranny of government and let business decide what's best for everybody.

I applaud your argument, Lew. Very uplifting and well-thought.

[cincygreg]

TRANS FAT BAN

I know McDonalds is one of the ones experimenting with Trans fat free frying.

As for smoking areas, everyone to reasons lawn for a puff or two LOL!

Smoking areas open until Dec 7th!
It's the final closeout of the smoking areas statewide!
Hurry, dont wait, time is running short.
Once they're gone, they're gone!
Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

[travelinman]

The charts below show how adults and adolescents living with AIDS in the US most likely became infected with HIV. Around 77% of those living with AIDS are men.




If The Big Sexy had his way we should let the state outlaw sex between men

source

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 16, 2006 09:22 AM: Message edited by: travelinman ]</font>