This week I sent this letter to City of St. Charles Mayor York:

Dear Mayor York,

Just released research predicts that a St. Charles smoking ban would
increase St. Charles drunk driving fatalities by 13 percent or more as
smokers drive farther to find venues in which they can both smoke and
drink. This means a St. Charles smoking ban would put innocent people,
people who never set foot in bars, at new and deadly risk. Today I called
one of the researchers, Dr. Chad Cotti, and he confirmed that the average
community imposing a smoking ban will experience, on average, a 13 percent
increase in drunk driving deaths. Some communities, he warns, will
experience a much higher loss of life. Please take this grim warning into
account when considering a smoking ban for St. Charles.

http://www.econ.iastate.edu/calendar/papers/CottiPaperDrunkDriving.pdf

Sincerely,

Bill Hannegan

I really think my St. Louis Public Smoking Compromise would work for St. Charles too, without any increase in the exposure of young children to secondhand smoke or increase in drunk driving fatalities that stricter smoking bans cause:

http://keepstlouisfree.blogspot.com/2007/11/st-louis-public-smoking-compromise.html

Mr. H,

Your check is in the mail.

Dr. Michael Siegel wrote recently about Big T’s tactics against me:

http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/search?q=Bill+Hannegan+Playbook

To quote your own rules: “Play nice! Messages containing intentionally misleading or false information, defamatory content, threats, verbal abuse, harassment, obscenity or personal information about other individuals are not allowed.”

Why then have you allowed ‘Big T’ to post an accusation that in effect calls Bill Hannegan a shill for big tobacco? Let him put a name and address to the ‘Big T’ moniker and maybe Bill can get him in a court of law for defamation of character.

Big T is the typical anti. He cannot refute the evidence logically or intelligently, or jproduce solid proof to the contrary, therefore he will just call the author a shill for big tobacco and consider his work done. AND they always do so anonymously as they haven’t the spine to do so to your face.

Meanwhile, those he does admire are all shills for big pharma, but he apparently has NO problem with that.

Keep up the fight Bill H. You know you’re doing a good job when the best the other side can come up with is name-calling.

These same people will in the end come crying to you for help when something they enjoy is being legislated against.

It’s amazing how many don’t remember history, or just choose to not remember it as it suits their agendas.

First, since the PD does not cover Congress, could someone give me a website that lays out what is going on in Congress on a daily basis. Someone had a great site a few months ago, but I missplaced it.

Also, anyone who wants to sign Newt Gingrich’s petition to demand that Congress start drilling now before it’s too late, please go here:
http://www.americansolutions.com/actioncenter/petitions/?Guid=54ec6e43-75a8-445b-aa7b-346a1e096659

Thanks!

Does Big T stand for big tobacco?

Anyone cheering for a smoking ban is certainly standing in their corner. In the year 2000 Big T’s stock prices were at an all time low. They didn’t start to rise toward the record high prices of today, until the day they decided to start co-operating with the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids; at that time TFC was their largest critic.

Now we see a negotiated settlement to FDA regulate Tobacco products which protects the manufacturers and works to clean up their public image.

We have heard the same tired focus group tested spin; talking about 5000 deadly ingredients, about all the far fetched sciences and the no safe cigarette jargon repeated around the planet. Identical to the Al Gore scam and the anti alcohol scam starting up in Europe. Jargon repeated so many times it makes you ill to listen to it. While all the brave parrots speak as though they were recanting some celestial testament from above. Oh it has taken on a religious distinction alright, unfortunately most refer to it as cult worship.

The tambourine bangers didn’t die off decades ago. They went into hiding and someone disturbed the rock they were hiding under, because they are obviously back.

The old bait and switch has the media promotions bashing smokers and blaming the victims for the health results of; first a government who had no problem taking a huge profit from what they call an addiction, while neglecting their duty by leaving it on the shelf. The other minority partner in tobacco sales along with the profiting investors hoping to sell addictive medical experimentation, in patch form. All sing along, while the victims of any harm caused by tobacco are demonized with public funded witch hunts. Taking advantage of the majority position who are made more comfortable by smoking bans despite the unconscionable methods being wrought against their neighbors. Isn’t there an ambitious lawyer in the crowd? to at least sort the criminals from the victims here.

The side taking all the money while making all the rules have all agreed Tobacco use caused trillions in damages which the victims of that damage have been paying for at a premium for decades.

Isn’t it time someone started paying the smokers for all the money stolen and calculated as damages they would suffer, at the hands of the real profiteers the stakeholders in government and industry who’s greed has no limit.

If we accept a society ruled by hatred and mistrust always divided upon ourselves, we make ourselves willing victims to the lowest form of snake oil sales and fraudulent advertising. Rule by industry whims [Mussolini's dream] which prostitutes those real scientists among us, who should be on the track of cures, not finger pointing. Also known as “disease management” which if supported will eventually come around to bite today’s supporters, who will similarly be ignored and abused tomorrow.

Smoking Bans are clearly not about the health of non-smokers; if that were true, we would be debating full blown tobacco prohibition; not restrictions on tobacco use, or the forfeiture of individual liberty in the clandestine interest of corporate profit. The only healthy interests associated with Smoking Bans, is that of the corporate bottom line.

There are of course compromise solutions, but Anti-Tobacco proponents will routinely rail against the alternatives proclaiming that workers shouldn’t have to “choose health over job” or that bans promote a “level the playing field” and routinely cite the ever popular, all inclusive and completely meaningless statement about how it’s all “for sake of the children”.
These things are ALL nothing more than spin control, they are advertising slogans and bumper sticker politics.
These arguments are designed to elicit an emotional response, not reasoned thought, or any kind of compromise. Unfortunately, this sound-byte approach seems to work all too well on our state legislative bodies.
Smoking Bans are not about the nonsensical and statistically insignificant risk of harm from a wisp of tobacco smoke. Observational common sense simply doesn’t bare this out as true. They are about preservation of the clearly successful Anti-Smoking INDUSTRY whose mercantile driven agenda requires the forfeiture of liberty in order to grow, and that is being allowed to spread like the cancer it purports to battle. It is in reality, the “progressive” disease causing the most immediate harm to the states economies wherever they are imposed. Socialism promoted by Pharmaceutical companies and endorsed by uninformed politicians will never be “for your own good”.

Lets hope that Missourah returns to it’s tradional role as a bellweather Red State and brings home a victory or John McCain in Nov.