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Parks’s preamble to both items is almost as shocking as his proposal: “second hand smoke is the Number 1 cause of preventable health disease in America” and “research has shown that inhaling second hand smoke is more harmful that actually smoking, primarily due to the unfiltered nature of the smoke and that fact that it may be cooled by the air . . .” There is no research anywhere that even suggests that secondhand smoke is anywhere close to being as impactful as direct smoking. Even Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor in the Boston University School of Public Health and a well-known, long-time supporter of indoor smoking bans, is dead-set against outdoor bans and he explains why in a recent blog entry about a similar ban in tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com: “There is clearly no need to ban smoking in every outdoor location in a city in order to protect nonsmokers from the hazards of tobacco smoke exposure. Banning smoking on every street and in every sidewalk, alley and parking lot is simply not justified by any science which demonstrates that exposure to secondhand smoke in these locations represents a significant public health problem.” He also notes that the same justifications used “to ban smoking in virtually all outdoors locations could also be used to ban the consumption of fatty foods in public, or even to ban obese people from public places.” Perhaps Parks has this in mind for the future. Parks also claims in an editorial on the CityWatchLA.com site that “This is not a request that will drain law enforcement resources but primarily would be a code enforcement activity via either an infraction or misdemeanor.” This is a stunning statement, since Parks – for 36 years a member of the Los Angeles Police Department and chief from 1997-2002 – knows that enforcement of infractions and misdemeanors is done by the Los Angeles Police Department and then prosecuted by the already-overloaded City Attorney’s Office. Isn’t their time better spent continuing their efforts to fight violent crime, gang activities and enforcing existing Municipal Code prohibitions against graffiti and drug use? As of Thursday evening, there has been no movement on either the Motion or the Resolution other than to assign them to City Council committees, and hearings are likely to be held. We do not propose to wait. If you wish to help keep this horrifying limit on civil liberties from becoming law, we have set up a separate site called: WeAreNotCriminals.com There you will find complete instructions on messages you can send today to Councilman Parks concerning his drive to prohibit consuming a legal product – tobacco – in the City of Los Angeles as well as his request for the County to do the same. Even if you do not live in the City of Los Angeles, this fight is important as the anti-smoking trends which start in California have usually spread across the country. California was only too eager to adopt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s dubious classification of second-hand smoke as a Class A carcinogen in 1992 and a wide-spread smoking ban was passed by initiative in 1994. Now this. Friends, Prohibition is at our doorstep once again. We can fight, or cower in the corner. I intend to fight. Please visit WeAreNotCriminals.com ~ Rich Perelman CLASSIFIED ADVERTISINGCigar Humidors and Cigar Accessories at Humidor Vault! Your online cigar humidor source, with rock-bottom pricing and fantastic customer support!Like sports? Get news and commentary you won’t see in your morning newspaper at TheSportsExaminer.com! Join the examination! A limited amount of classified advertising is available in this space on a weekly basis. For details, call Pat Harris at (213) 365-7965 or inquire by email by clicking here. Have an opinion? You can send it using the “Comment” button below! Don’t forget to register for our drawing for free cigars and accessories! Just click on the “Register & Win” button above; enter today! Looking for a cigar party? Take a look at our exclusive list of hundreds of cigar events across the country, listed by state and date, only on CigarCyclopedia.com!
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Did you know?
“Avo Uvezian, creator of the Avo line, helped write the 1960s smash "Strangers in the Night".
