Clearing The Air

Eden Prairie, MN official describes the aggressive nature of Nicoderm funded pro-smoking ban activists

http://edenprairieweblogs.org/scottneal/post/185/

Excerpts:

....After a long interview process.......I finally secured my new job here in Eden Prairie...I got up early the next day to head into my office ....I had a voice mail message......the message was from a woman named Ms. Isis Stark congratulating me on my new job in Eden Prairie, and requesting a meeting with me......she was working on behalf of the American Cancer Society and that she needed my help in getting a smoking ban ordinance adopted in Eden Prairie....The proponents of the smoking ban ordinances are...people who believe strongly in the rightousness of what they are doing. As the instigators of a new initiative, they have the advantage of being able to plan and advance on a target....They will investigate the personal lives of elected officials ....and attempt to exploit any perceived political vulnerabilities with a vengeance....

What Scott Neal doesn't disclose is whether he was aware that the "well intentioned" American Cancer Society was actually funded by Nicoderm interests from Johnson & Johnson Company's Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.....$99 million conflict of interest funding.

Gee why would a company that manufactures alernative nicotine products like Nicoderm want tobacco use banned? And more importantly why wouldn't lawmakers take 15 minutes to research the rent seeking motives behind these unnecessary smoking ban laws?

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2007/11/johns-hopkins-air-quality-testing-of.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2007/04/bmj-published-air-quality-test-results.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2004/04/american-cancer-society-test-results.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2006/02/air-quality-testing-and-secondhand.html

Especially when these laws cause serious financial harm to businesses and our economy with significant job losses:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2007/01/100-bars-and-restaurants-put-out-of.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2008/01/us-unemployment-rate-increase-to-2-year.html

In the end Eden Prairie opted not to pass a smoking ban in 2002, and as I was personally involved with providing ventilation options and information to city engineers, I naively assumed that other local governments would also be open to consider sound scientific facts and options in allowing smokers and non-smokers to co-exist in a pro-choice, free market setting.

Boy was I wrong, $200+ million in Nicoderm RWJF special interest funding easily overcomes facts and common sense.

posted by marcus aurelius @ 6:28 AM