Clearing The Air

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Smoking bans promote use of replacement nicotine products......but the "cure" may cause cancer

Unless you live under of rock, CTA readers know that smoking ban lobbyists are heavily funded ($446,000,000.00+) by replacement nicotine product manufacturer Johnson & Johnson Company's Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)......a rent seeking marketing ploy pure and simple. J & J manufactures or owns Nicoderm, Nicoderm CQ, Nicorette, Nicotrol and Commit.

Now however, Johnson & Johnson/RWJF , and the non-profits they fund to promote smoking bans (American Lung, American Cancer, Non-Smoker's Rights, Tobacco Free Kids, etc) may find themselves to be defendants in lawsuits similar to the tobacco companies in years past, as a new study finds that alternative nicotine products may cause cancer.

Excerpt:

Nicotine chewing gum, lozenges and inhalers designed to help people to give up smoking may have the potential to cause cancer, research has suggested.

Scientists have discovered a link between mouth cancer and exposure to nicotine, which may indicate that using oral nicotine replacement therapies for long periods could contribute to a raised risk of the disease. A study funded by the Medical Research Council, led by Muy-Teck Teh, of Queen Mary, University of London, has found that the effects of a genetic mutation that is common in mouth cancer can be worsened by nicotine in the levels that are typically found in smoking cessation products.

The results raise the prospect that nicotine, the addictive chemical in tobacco, may be more carcinogenic than had previously been appreciated. “Although we acknowledge the importance of encouraging people to quit smoking, our research suggests nicotine found in lozenges and chewing gums may increase the risk of mouth cancer,” Dr Teh said.

The major difference is the alternative nicotine special interests brought these lawsuits upon themselves. Meanwhile CTA (a non-smoking publication) finds perverse pleasure at the thought of RWJF and all their minions being subjected to mega billion dollar lawsuits.....couldn't happen to a more well deserving bunch of rent seeking, economy damaging, scam artists.

Smokers if you decide to quit smoking go cold turkey, don't reward the special interests who funded the smoking ban movement by purchasing or using government funded (quit line) alternative nicotine products.....which may be hazardous to your health.

As a reminder, air quality testing by some well known organizations prove that secondhand smoke is up to 25,000 times SAFER than OSHA workplace air quality standards:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2010/09/new-st-louis-aq-study-published-by.html

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

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2008/03/british-medical-journal-who-conclude.html

Man dies of esophageal cancer after chewing Nicorette for 5 years:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/022603/new_1352450.shtml

Monday, April 20, 2009

Nevada Senate overwhelmingly approves reversing statewide smoking ban.

http://money.aol.com/article/nevada-committee-endorses-bill-easing/421226?icid=sphere_searchsphere_news

LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Senate voted 16-5 on Friday to advance a measure that would soften a statewide smoking ban, putting the state on track to become the first in the nation to ease restrictions it had imposed on cigarette use in public spaces.

The fact that Nevada's smoking ban has had a disastrous effect on their economy is no doubt the driving factor to re-instating freedom. And that lawmakers are now being educated about special interests who manufacture alternative nicotine products like Nicoderm (J & J / RWJF) being the primary lobbyists behind the smoking ban movement is giving them cause to rethink these draconian, rent seeking laws.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Hypocrisy of the decade

This is allowed in the workplace:

This is not allowed:

Perhaps the fact that a pharmaceutical nicotine (Nicoderm) manufacturer (Johnson & Johnson / RWJF) funded the smoking ban movement has something to do with this blatant hypocrisy.

Meanwhile, the result of such hypocritical, rent seeking legislation is significant business closings and economy crippling job losses.

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2009/03/worldwide-economic-meltdown-and.html

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Johnson & Johnson 1Q 2009 sales are down as smokers become aware of the role J & J played in marginalizing them

Johnson and Johnson's sales were down by 7.2 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009, while its net earnings fell by 2.5 per cent, the company has announced.

That online story can be found here.

This loss in revenue comes as no surprise to CTA readers. Approximately 50 - 60 million Americans smoke, and as those smokers become educated about the role that J & J and their political partner RWJF played in implementing smoking bans, they are less than enthusiastic about doing business with this rent seeking pharmaceutical company.

J & J manufactures or owns Nicoderm, Nicoderm CQ, Nicorette, Nicotrol,Commit, etc. as such, it becomes increasingly apparent that partner, RWJF's interest in funding smoking ban efforts is not so much based upon health concerns......but rather pharmaceutical nicotine profits. And as RWJF is one of the single largest shareholders of J & J stock their motive for lobbying in favor of those bans becomes very dubious.

More here:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2007/02/smoking-bans-good-public-policy-or.html

http://boycottjohnsonandjohnson.blogspot.com/

Michigan state lawmakers once again defeat smoking ban efforts for right reason...smoking bans increase unemployment

"Until we get our unemployment rate down, issues like the smoking ban are not a good use of the Legislature's time," said Matt Marsden, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester.

Found online here:
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090408/POLITICS02/904080367/1409/METRO

Mr. Marsden's words are very true indeed. Here in Minnesota our smoking bans closed 322+ bars & restaurants and counting......eliminating 10,000+ local jobs.

Elsewhere:

U.K.'s smoking ban closed 3,000+ pubs, eliminating 20,000+ jobs.

Nevada's smoking ban led the way to nearly $1 billion in gambling revenue losses vs previous year revenue reports.

Read more about the economic meltdown due to smoking bans here:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2009/03/worldwide-economic-meltdown-and.html

Just remember what the Nicoderm (RWJF) funded smoking ban lobbyists told lawmakers "...smoking bans are good for business....." They just didn't mention that the business they were referring to was the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical nicotine business:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2007/12/minnesota-smoking-ban-triples-demand-of.html

Friday, April 10, 2009

Smoking bans: significant contributing factor to worldwide economic downturn

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2009/03/worldwide-economic-meltdown-and.html

Update: Fox News aired a report about the alarming number of pubs in the U.K. that closed, eliminating 20,000+ jobs. They cite economy, taxes and smoking ban (in that order) as the primary cause of pub failures.

However, the smoking bans were enacted first, pubs closed as a result, shedding 20,000 jobs which then negatively impacted the economy. But media outlets are loathe to report the truth for reasons explained at the link above.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Nevada Senate committee approves efforts to ease business crippling smoke ban

Approaching nearly $1 billion in revenue losses since smoking ban was enacted in Nevada, Senate committee endorses effort to stop the financial hemorrhaging. Story here:

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20090409/NEWS/904099993/-1/RSS01

Update: 4/20/09 Nevada Senate overwhelmingly approves reversing statewide smoking ban.

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Nevada bill hopes to reverse tens of millions of dollars in revenue losses due to smoking bans

http://www.lvrj.com/news/42467047.html

....ban has cost the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority $41 million in business, Senior Vice President Terry Jicinsky testified...

http://www.pokernewsdaily.com/nevada-gaming-revenues-fall-for-13th-straight-month-1480/

Here is a look at the decline in statewide gaming revenues in Nevada over the past 13 months since the beginning of 2008. These figures represent percent decreases year over year:

January, 2009: (-14.62%)
December, 2008: (-18.94%)
November, 2008: (-14.80%)
October, 2008: (-22.33%)
September, 2008: (-5.44%)
August, 2008: (-8.10%)
July, 2008: (-12.97%)
June, 2008: (-1.11%)
May, 2008: (-15.17%)
April, 2008: (-5.05%)
March, 2008: (-1.52%)
February, 2008: (-3.93%)
January, 2008: (-4.75%)

Posting filed under smoking bans are good for business and our economy.

Minnesota smoke-free laws close over 300 bars & restaurants eliminating 10,000+ jobs

Remember what the Nicoderm paid activists told the media & lawmakers "....smoking bans are good for business....."

Online closed business lists available here:

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

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2005/11/updated-hennepin-ramsey-hospitality.html

PSA: Buy your E-cigarette online at link below and "smoke" anywhere, no smoke, no odor, no harmful tar, better nicotine substitute than patches, gums, or pharmaceutical inhalers. Also an ideal way to defeat the new tax increases on tobacco products.