Clearing The Air

Copy letter submitted to New Jersey lawmakers, restaurant association and media

Friends in New Jersey,

I used to sell Smokeeters in bars & restaurants in MN. for 15 years, however, partial smoking bans and the threat of a statewide ban here eliminated a great paying career. I am looking for work, my cars are up for repossession my house is in foreclosure, and I recently spent 8 days in jail over Christmas (with a New Jersey inmate incidentally) for not paying child support. When the non-profits tell lawmakers that business will be unaffected, or will even increase with a ban on smoking, they are lying and need to be held accountable. I am mad as hell about smoking bans to say the least.

Anyway for the last year I have put together a weblog, and have used it to educate lawmakers about air quality facts regarding secondhand smoke. We have fought off state lawmakers from imposing a statewide ban for two years now, and one of our counties eased their smoking ban restrictions. Below are some posts about air quality facts that may interest you in your efforts.

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2004/09/st-louis-park-mn-secondhand-smoke-test.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2005/11/did-i-miss-anything.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2005/12/ventilation-not-legislation.html

How I spent my Xmas holiday:
http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2006/01/being-out-of-work-is-just-cause-for.html

One of the biggest strikes against you folks in New Jersey is the proximity to Johnson & Johnson Company who manufactures Nicoderm & Nicoderm CQ (ALZA div.) (feel free to circulate this website http://boycottjohnsonandjohnson.blogspot.com/), and whose sister organization Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supplies hundreds of millions of dollars to the non-profits to influence smoking ban legislation.
http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2005/07/why-is-pharmaceutical-company-funding.html

http://www.rwjf.org/research/researchdetail.jsp?id=2002&ia=143 $99 mill grant from RWJF to the ALA, ACS, AHA to become "activists" in pushing for smoking ban legislation

http://www.rwjf.org/reports/grr/035929.htm $70 mill grant from RWJF to Tobacco Free Kids (nice sounding name, but why are they spending money to keep kids out of secondhand smoke in bars?)

You can still challange the ban as they are all passed by local government agencies who claim they have the authority because secondhand smoke poses a public health hazard, however this comparison to OSHA guidelines http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2005/11/did-i-miss-anything.html proves that to be a disingenuous justification.

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2005/10/secondhand-smoke-in-bars-restaurants.html

Good luck, keep up the fight, and contact me if I can be of further help.

posted by marcus aurelius @ 10:13 AM