A Smoker's Blog

So for right now I do have cigarettes that will last me for a while.

I won't get any adsense money until two weeks from now so hopefully my cigarettes will last until then.

Labels: I Have Cigarettes Again, My Supply

Large E-Cigarette Company Settles Law Suit Makes Major Concessions, Copycat Suits Likely One of the country's largest e-cigarette [e-cig] companies has been forced to make major concessions to settle a law suit which threatened to put it out of business, says Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the national legal-action antismoking organization which helped inspire the legal action. Under the legally-binding settlement agreement, the company agreed not to sell e-cigs to minors, sell flavored e-cig cartridges that could appeal to minors, advertise its product as a device that can help people quit smoking, sell cartridges that contain vitamins unless they're scientifically proven to boost health, or claim its e-cigs are safer than tobacco cigarettes without scientific proof. Previous law suits actually stopped several e-cig companies from continuing to do business in a state, notes public interest law professor John Banzhaf, Executive Director of ASH. The settlement comes on the heels of an announcement by ASH of a new scientific study highlighting new dangers to users of e-cigs. http://www.prlog.org/10831614-cigarettes-new-potential-dangers-for-users-and-new-ban-in-singapore.html The Food and Drug Administration [FDA] had already concluded that e-cigs pose "acute health risks," that the "danger posed by the unrestricted distribution of [these] unregulated products containing toxic chemicals cannot seriously be questioned," and that they have caused a wide variety of potentially serious problems "including racing pulse, dizziness, slurred speech, mouth ulcers, heartburn, coughing, diarrhea, and sore throat." It has declared the products "illegal." Many medical experts, as well as major public health organizations, share these concerns, and have argued for many of the restrictions included in this new legal settlement. E-cigs have already been banned in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, and Singapore, restricted in Finland and Malaysia, are pending restriction in the UK as a drug, and the subject of law suits in several states. In part as a result of urging by ASH, New Jersey and Suffolk County, NY, have prohibited their use in no-smoking sections, and New York is also moving to ban them. E-cigs, which emit into the air a mixture of nicotine (a deadly and addictive drug which can contribute to fatal heart attacks), propylene glycol (a respiratory irritant used in antifreeze and known to cause respiratory tract infections), and other substances the FDA has labeled "carcinogenic" and "toxic," can also be used to administer other dangerous substances. ASH has previously reported to the FDA instances in which e-cigs are being marketed as containing Ciallis, as well as others containing a potent form of marijuana. http://www.cigarettesreviews.com/fda-may-ban-marijuana-e-cigarettes

Banzhaf suggests that this very recent legal victory will probably encourage additional law suits against e-cig companies, since the legal complaints which initiated them as well as the settlements are public documents which can easily be copied and/or rewritten by others. With minor modifications, they can easily be used in other jurisdictions also, he notes. ASH is actively encouraging such law suits, says Banzhaf.

ASH does not oppose the use of e-cigs to help smokers quit. But it has actively sought - through legal action, regulation, and legislation - to attain many of the goals just achieved in this settlement. These including restrictions on the sale to minors, prevention of misleading claims, bans on kid-friendly-flavors, etc.

For a copy of the settlement, see http://ash.org/settlementcalecig

PROFESSOR JOHN F. BANZHAF III Professor of Public Interest Law at GWU, FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor, FELLOW, World Technology Network, and Executive Director and Chief Counsel Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) America's First Antismoking Organization 2013 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20006, USA (202) 659-4310 // (703) 527-8418 Internet: http://ash.org/

Labels: In The News, Links, Misc

Many States Debate Banning Smoking in Cars Dramatic On-Line Video Shows How Dangerous It Is

Six countries, five states, and many local jurisdictions have banned smoking in cars when children are present to protect them from the clearly established dangers of tobacco smoking pollution, and an estimated sixteen states are now debating similar restrictions, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf, Executive Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), America's first antismoking organization, who just finished a heated debate on this topic on Fox News. http://video.foxnews.com/v/4305659/government-control-or-child-safety

In preparation for the debate he posted on his website [http://ash.org/] a brief video showing just how dangerous tobacco smoke in the car can be. It shows that, within a few seconds of lighting only one cigarette, the level of particulate pollution goes from the EPA's SAFE level to a level the agency regards as HAZARDOUS. Indeed, in a few more seconds, the level of pollution is at least ten times higher than the level the EPA considers HAZARDOUS to all, not just to the elderly, children, or those who might have conditions making them especially susceptible. http://ash.org/carsmoking

His website also shows that the federal government has reported that secondhand tobacco smoke kills tens of thousands of Americans each year, that a leading medical journal has reported that parental smoking kills thousands of children annually, and that many studies - including the dramatic video - have shown that the pollution level from smoking in a car is UNHEALTHY even with all the windows rolled down. Rolling all the windows down, however, isn't healthy for the children inside when its very cold, very hot, or raining, notes Banzhaf, and it is not reasonable to expect drivers to roll all the windows down in these conditions. In sharp contrast, asking them to refrain from smoking during the very brief period of most drives with children seems very reasonable.

Banzhaf noted that laws already require parents to protect their children by buckling them into expensive safety seats, locating them only on the rear seat, refraining from watching TV or having an open bottle of liquor in the car, and other requirements far more bothersome that simply not smoking. He also notes that we have accepted laws which require adults to buckle up - a requirement which is even more intrusive, especially since it aimed at protecting adults from their own carelessness rather than protecting children.

We ban smoking in bars so that adults will not be exposed even to a whiff of smoke, but we provide no protection whatsoever for millions of children who are daily strapped into rolling smokehouses, argues Banzhaf. That's exactly backwards because children are for more vulnerable to tobacco smoke pollution and, unlike adults who can avoid bars or leave if they are bothered by the smoke, children have no choice but to suffer, and no one will heed their cries.

Banzhaf's organization has helped many nonsmoking parents obtain court order against smoking around their children, and more recently helped persuade more than a dozen states to ban smoking in cars when foster children are present. This helped lead to the breakthrough where more and more states are likely to ban smoking to protect children in cars.

PROFESSOR JOHN F. BANZHAF III Professor of Public Interest Law at GWU, FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor, FELLOW, World Technology Network, and Executive Director and Chief Counsel Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) America's First Antismoking Organization 2013 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20006, USA (202) 659-4310 // (703) 527-8418 Internet: http://ash.org/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/AshOrg

Labels: In The News, Misc

I'm very excited about having cigarettes now. There was this big snow storm here in Philly and I'm grateful that I didn't have to go out in all that snow and ice just to get cigarettes.

There have been times when the weather has been so bad but it didn't matter what the weather was like. If I had money to get cigarettes then the weather wouldn't matter because I would go out and buy the cigarettes if I were out of them and had enough money to buy a pack or two.

I also found out about "rolling" one's own cigarettes. But I would rather have the real thing!

Labels: I Have Cigarettes Again, My Supply