Clearing The Air

Smoking bans negatively impact the air filtration industry

I recently found this article that chronicled the business losses, due to nationwide smoking bans, and its affect on the manufacturer of Smokeeter, United Air Specialists an Ohio company with 100+ employees.

Excerpt:

........ the same anti-smoking sentiment that boosted Smokeeter sales in the past - especially as the health threats posed by second-hand smoke became a serious concern - is now hurting sales as more states and localities prohibit smoking in and adjacent to enclosed public places.

"Over the past five years, with the smoking bans, we've seen a decline," Wilhelmus said of the demand for Smokeeters. Ohio is the 16th state to ban smoking in public places.

Smokeeters now account for a relatively small share of United Air's overall sales, she said, although she declined to give more specifics.

Regular readers know that local smoking bans ended my career as the local exclusive sales rep for the same Smokeeter brand equipment, and any savings I once had...... eventually costing me my home.

Here, it must be noted that all the non-profit groups, which misled lawmakers into enacting smoking bans, as well as the philanthropic health organization RWJF, and even MPAAT ClearWay MN.....basically said "....too bad so sad......no we don't have a program to help you, even though it was our lobbying efforts that eliminated your job....."

In fact Bob Moffitt from the American Lung Association MN stated "....too bad Mark even the buggy whip industry went out of business....." (paraphrased). What Bobby conveniently neglects to mention is that the buggy whip industry declined gradually over decades due to free market forces........while government smoking bans on the other hand, enacted at his and other activists request, eliminated our business literally the very next day. And the fact that every one of these groups couldn't care less about the jobs and businesses eliminated due to their actions, tells you all you need to know about their collective concern for the health and welfare of the general public.

As I have demonstrated in the past, if it weren't for the multi-million dollar awards given to these non-profits by the pharmaceutical nicotine industry to increase product sales* of Nicoderm, Nicotrol, etc. for the Johnson & Johnson Company and the stock portfolio of its affiliate, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the smoking ban movement would have quietly disappeared long ago.

I am curious at what point the job losses will be significant enough to get the attention of the media and lawmakers, is it 10,000? 100,000? (2,000 - 3,000 jobs lost, due to smoking bans, here in the Twin Cities in one month alone).......for it is abundantly apparent that the pharmaceutical nicotine industry and their pawns, the non-profit health organizations, have no intention of letting job losses get in their way of their agenda.

*sales of over the counter pharmaceutical nicotine products exceeds $500,000,000.00 annually.

posted by marcus aurelius @ 2:54 PM