Clearing The Air

Dr. Siegel condemns the tobacco control activists for their misinformation given during testimony before lawmakers to promote smoking bans

According to testimony given by the American Heart Association in support of a proposed smoke-free restaurant ordinance in Rochester, Minnesota: "When you leave a restaurant after dining...[tobacco smoke has] made your blood 'stickier' promoting blood clots."

The Minnesota Medical Association went so far as to include this fallacious health claim in its "Testimony Talking Points," which instructs anti-smoking advocates to testify that: "even brief exposure to secondhand smoke - just 30 minutes - increases hardening of the arteries, contributing to coronary heart disease."

The Rest of the Story
It is disturbing to me that inaccurate testimony is being given by anti-smoking groups in an effort to promote smoking bans. Although I have made it clear that I support most of these policies, I do not support the use of false scientific testimony to promote policy... read Dr Siegel's complete post here.

Dr. Siegel exposes the lies and deceipt being used by anti-smoking activists to force government policy change on small businesses. It's time for lawmakers to send these liars and charlatans packing. Especially now that a local government health department conducted AQ testing and determined secondhand smoke to be 500 - 15 times safer than OSHA workplace indoor air quality guidelines. And here the American Cancer Society air quality testing of secondhand smoke proved concentrations in smoking establishments are 532 - 25,000 times SAFER than OSHA regulations.

posted by marcus aurelius @ 12:10 PM