Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Second-Hand Politics

The American Lung Association has given four San Diego an “F” for smoking restrictions. Debra Kelley, senior director of advocacy for the Lung Association in San Diego, said that while California’s anti-smoking laws lead the nation, that doesn’t mean more can’t be done.

Really? It’s already illegal to smoke at the beach, near buildings, in parks, and bars and restaurants. The reasoning being that second-hand smoke is dangerous to non-smokers. But those studies are incomplete, and sometimes outright bogus. (http://tinyurl.com/yuhvzd) The largest study to conclude that second hand smoke is dangerous was funded by a pharmaceutical company who sells medication to stop smoking. Imagine the hue and cry if a cigarette company produced a study with such self serving results?

We could ban cigarettes, but then what would Washington and Sacramento do without the billions in taxes from the sale of tobacco? A tax that is regressive, since the poorer and less educated one is, the more likely he will smoke. And what percentages of those revenues go to smoking cessation programs? According to the CDC, less than 2% of cigarette taxes actually help people quit smoking.

So maybe, it’s not the smokers we should ban from our streets, restaurants, parks and public buildings. Maybe it’s time to go after the real merchants of death. Because it’s not smoke that’s killing you, it’s the second hand policies of the political status quo, doing a slow burn on your money and your rights.

http://youtu.be/L7OZGByzIMM

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

San Diego Reader Best of 2024

A world-class museum, best drinking, best eating, best shops, ups and downs of Del Cerro, parent-friendly playgrounds, peaceful, eaze-y feeling
Next Article

When Rafael Payare met with Irwin Jacobs

The new Music Center is a heavenly hall

The American Lung Association has given four San Diego an “F” for smoking restrictions. Debra Kelley, senior director of advocacy for the Lung Association in San Diego, said that while California’s anti-smoking laws lead the nation, that doesn’t mean more can’t be done.

Really? It’s already illegal to smoke at the beach, near buildings, in parks, and bars and restaurants. The reasoning being that second-hand smoke is dangerous to non-smokers. But those studies are incomplete, and sometimes outright bogus. (http://tinyurl.com/yuhvzd) The largest study to conclude that second hand smoke is dangerous was funded by a pharmaceutical company who sells medication to stop smoking. Imagine the hue and cry if a cigarette company produced a study with such self serving results?

We could ban cigarettes, but then what would Washington and Sacramento do without the billions in taxes from the sale of tobacco? A tax that is regressive, since the poorer and less educated one is, the more likely he will smoke. And what percentages of those revenues go to smoking cessation programs? According to the CDC, less than 2% of cigarette taxes actually help people quit smoking.

So maybe, it’s not the smokers we should ban from our streets, restaurants, parks and public buildings. Maybe it’s time to go after the real merchants of death. Because it’s not smoke that’s killing you, it’s the second hand policies of the political status quo, doing a slow burn on your money and your rights.

http://youtu.be/L7OZGByzIMM

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The shame that San Diego smokers feel

"There are a lot of vices and addictions that are much worse"
Next Article

Failing Grades Across San Diego County on American Lung Association Tobacco Report

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader