Saturday, June 10, 2006

Prove It


Each year, 16,000 Ontarians die from tobacco use and roughly 3,000 die from exposure to second-hand smoke. Peter Goodhand, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Division, Canadian Cancer Society, Toronto


Oh really prove it. Like a magician pulling rabbits out of the hat the anti-smoking lobby, who have their hand out for more of your money for their failed cancer research, pull these stats out of their hat of tricks. I say prove it. Prove the deaths were from tobacco smoke and not oh say smog. Or heavy metals in the air. Or air pollution from cars. Or toxic chemicals that poision us every day at work and now in public.

New tests find poisons in children's blood, urine
Minister accepts challenge to have blood and urine tested for contamination

On Thursday, the group released results showing that the bodies of seven children tested are contaminated by a cocktail of toxic chemicals ranging from PCBs to flame retardants. The study found an average of 23 known or suspected toxins -- including carcinogens, hormone disrupters and neurotoxins -- in the bodies of the children tested. The researchers tested 13 individuals from five families, six adults and seven children. The families live in Vancouver, Toronto, Sarnia, Montreal and Quispamsis, N.B. "Our children are being poisoned every day by toxic chemicals that surround them at home, school and play,'' said Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence.

Our dirty little secret
Capital's sole air monitor in Sandy Hill not enough to keep up with our car-driven toxic soup

Milking It:
Moms find industrial chemicals in their breast milk an outrage -- and a call to action

The Walrus Magazine | Everyday Poisons
Are fire retardants actually a toxic hazard? by Paul Webster

Toxic exposure

professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester

Martin Mittelstaedt's Toxic Shock series (May 27-June 1 Globe and Mail) on chemical safety strikes a long-neglected note. As he points out, the list of potentially harmful chemicals is so exhaustive there's really no one among us who has not been exposed to at least a few of them. Chances are, we've been exposed to a great many.

The chemical industry often plays down the risks by saying individual exposures are so minimal we should not be concerned. But they fail to take into account that low-dose exposures are often most harmful, and that exposures to chemicals simply do not occur in isolation. Thank you for staying on top of this critical public-health story.



Yep prove it wasn't these that caused the cancer.

Sure bars that have smoking are polluted, but if they also have cooking they are polluted from the deep fryers and grease, as well as the chemicals used to clean with.

If the politicians were concerned about workplace health and safety of workers, which is what these anti-smoking laws claim, they would demand proper ventilation in the work place. They would enforce existing laws around WHMIS and hazardous materials in the workplace. But they don't. They could make workplaces really safe by enforcing the laws on the books now.

You see its easier to ban a social pyriah than to admit that work kills. Which it does. Smoking is a symptom not the problem. Capitalism is the problem.


Ontario goes smoke-free this June
The ban includes all indoor-smoking in public places such as restaurants, casinos, bars and bingo halls. But many are calling the government's move one filled with hypocrisy. "If politicians really cared about our health, they would ban the production of polluting vehicles with poor gas mileage. They could do so many things that would reflect a serious purpose, but banning tobacco — even from places where only smokers concentrate — is a little too farfetched," adds Nidhi Mehta, who is often seen taking a puff outside her Bay Street office in Downtown Toronto during break and lunch time.

Also See: Smoking


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